Grace Institute: The Writings : Ezra-Nehemiah Part 1

Ezra-Nehemiah Survey of the Old Testament: The Writings Fall 2006

Introduction

Name

The earliest Hebrew and Greek manuscripts combine the books of Ezra and Nehemiah into a single book under the title “Ezra.” The Latin vulgate separated these books and included a couple of apocryphal books to include 1 Esdras (Ezra), 2 Esdras (Nehemiah), 3 & 4 Esdras (apocryphal books). Luther was one of the first to have named the second book under the title of its main character, Nehemiah. The inclusion of Ezra-Nehemiah into the canon of the Old Testament has nev er been under any serious dispute.

Author

The book(s) contain large segments which are written in the first person. Ezra 7:27-9:15 appears to have been written by Ezra. All of Nehemiah is in the first person. This suggests that a latter author compiled the memoirs of Ezra and Nehemiah, perhaps adding the third person narratives, and compiled them into the single book.

Some scholars have suggested that Ezra was the compiler, while others presume that the compiler was a later disciple of Ezra. Given the strong correlation between Ezra-Nehemiah and 1 & 2 Chronicles, most scholars assume that whoever wrote Chronicles was also the compiler of Ezra-Nehemiah (compare 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 with Ezra 1:1-3).

Audience & Occasion for the Writing

The book was written during the post-exilic period to Jews who had returned from their Babylonia n exile. The first return, led by Zerubbabel, took place around 538 BC. Ezra led the second return 80 years later around 458 BC. Nehemiah's return took place around 444 BC, and he remained in Jerusalem for 12 years. That places the earliest date for the book at 432 BC.

The book provides the Jews in Jerusalem with a recounting of the history of the return from exile. In so doing, the book seeks to re-establish a national identity for the Jews centered on the unique worship of Yahweh, the God of Israel. The book also serves as a political defense of the right of the Jews to inhabit the land with a measure of autonomy within the Persian Empire .

Themes of the Book

Throughout the book, both Ezra and Nehemiah call on the returning peoples to set themselves apart from the peoples around them. As temple worshi p is reinstated, the people to be set apart in obedience to the Law of Moses. Yahweh, the God of heaven, requires that those who worship Him do so in truth, obedience and with a purity of faith. This purity of faith will become the center point of the Jewish identity in the post-exilic period leading up to the time of Christ.

Through this single minded promotion of proper worship, Ezra and Nehemiah's leadership ensures that the nation of Israel is never again involved in the idolatry which originally led to the exile.

Structure of the Book

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah follow a parallel structure. They begin with the return of exiles and the physical construction of buildings. This construction meets opposition. After the construction is complete, the attention is then shifted to the spiritual reconstruction of the people. At the end of each book, the spiritual reconstruction then meets internal opposition as the people disobey the demand to be separate from the nations around them.

[Next: Rebuilding the City]