The two Books of Ezra.
The two Books of Ezra.
§ 131. The two Boohs of Ezra are considered as a single volume among the Hebrews according to Jerome (Epistle ad Paulinum) and Lactantius (Instit., bk. 4, c. 11, where he quotes as from the Book of Ezra what is found in 2 Ezra or Nehemiah, c. 9). The same Lactantius (loc. cit.) calls Ezra a prophet, but Augustine doubts “whether he ought to be called a prophet” (De civit. Dei, bk. 18, c. 36). The Greeks and Latins divide it into two books and assign the first to Ezra, the second to Nehemiah.
Ezra was a scribe, highly skilled in the Law (Ezra 7:1, 6, 11). Jerome says this was Josedech, whose son was the high priest Joshua. (Cf. Ludovicus Vives, commentary on De civ. Dei, bk. 18, c. 36.)
** The first Book of Chronicles calls him Josedech. The Hebrews think he was Malachi, the last of the prophets. **
Munsterus wants him to be Nehemiah, whom Ezra 2:63 calls Hattirschata,22 meaning “cupbearer.” Rabbi Aben Ezra says this is a name of dignity in the Chaldean tongue. Tremellius interprets this as “agent” or “ambassador of the king.” Nehemiah was the son of Hecaliah, cupbearer of King Artaxerxes Memnon (Neh. 2:1), who ruled at Susa, the major city of Persia, which was built by Darius Hystaspes (as Pliny, N. H., bk. 6 c. 27, and Athenaeus, Deipnosoph., bk. 12, write) and where Megasthenes and other historians say a famous library was located.
The first Book of Ezra consists of ten chapters and contains an account of the 146 years from the edict of Cyrus to the nineteenth year of Artaxerxes Memnon. It describes the account of the return of the Jews from their captivity by the leadership of Zerubbabel and of the rebuilding of the temple, along with the beginning of divine worship amid many difficulties. It has two parts: (1) About the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity into their homeland. (2) About the beginning of their divine worship and the state of Israel. Zerubbabel restored the temple; Ezra, the worship; and Nehemiah, the city.
The second Book of Ezra, otherwise called Nehemiah, has thirteen chapters and covers the history of the fifty-five years from the twentieth year of Artaxerxes to the reign of the last Darius.
** This second book is attributed to Ezra (though it was written by Nehemiah) for two reasons: (1) Because it contains what Ezra and Nehemiah did at the same time. (2) Because, among the Hebrews, both books were connected into a single volume, which was divided into two among the Latins.23 **
In it is described the building of the walls and gates of the city, as well as of those things that Nehemiah established beneficially to correct the state of Israel. It can be divided conveniently into those two parts.