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History · Old Testament · 10 chapters

The book of Ezra

The return from exile and the Word put back at the center

Author
Ezra, priest and scribe (according to tradition)
Written
Around 440 BC (probably)
Time covered
From the edict of Cyrus (538 BC) to Ezra’s reform (around 457 BC), with a gap of about 60 years between chapters 6 and 7
Key word
Restoration

Ezra recounts two returns from exile. First, in 538 BC, Zerubbabel and Jeshua bring back about 50,000 people (2:64-65). They rebuild the altar and lay the foundations of the temple amid shouts of joy and weeping (3:12-13), until opposition halts the work. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah get it going again, Darius confirms the decree of Cyrus, and the temple is finished in 515 (6:15). Nearly sixty years later, Ezra, a scribe skilled in the law, arrives from Babylon (7:6). Crushed by the marriages to foreign women, he prays and confesses, and the people pledge to separate themselves (9-10).

Main theme

True to his word, God brings a remnant back from Babylon: he restores first his temple, then the heart of his people through his Law.

Outline

  1. Ezra 1-2 — The first return under Zerubbabel

    The edict of Cyrus frees the exiles, who return with the temple vessels and are registered family by family.

  2. Ezra 3-6 — The rebuilding of the temple

    Altar, foundations, opposition and a halt, then a fresh start under Haggai and Zechariah up to the dedication in 515 BC.

  3. Ezra 7-8 — The return of Ezra the scribe

    Commissioned by Artaxerxes, Ezra leads a second group, trusting in the hand of God alone.

  4. Ezra 9-10 — The reform of the people

    Ezra’s confession and the sending away of the foreign wives to preserve the holiness of the people.

Key points

  • God keeps his word to the very year: he stirs up the spirit of a pagan king, Cyrus, to fulfill Jeremiah’s prophecy (1:1).
  • The altar is rebuilt before the temple: worship and adoration come before walls (3:2-6).
  • Joy and tears mingle as the foundations are laid: the old men weep over the glory of the past while the young shout for joy (3:12-13).
  • The enemy first tries false cooperation, then intimidation and slander (4:1-5, 12).
  • The preaching of Haggai and Zechariah restarts a project that had been stopped for years (5:1-2; 6:14).
  • The temple is finished in the sixth year of Darius, in 515 BC (6:15).
  • Ezra studies, practices, then teaches the law: the model of a servant of the Word (7:10).
  • Ezra confesses his people’s sin as his own and leads a concrete reform (9:6; 10:11).
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
Ezra 1:1 — God directs the hearts of kings to fulfill his prophetic word.
And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.
Ezra 3:11 — The song at the laying of the foundations: his mercy endures forever.
For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.
Ezra 7:10 — The program of the servant of God: study, practice, teach.

Jesus in Ezra

Ezra shows God preserving the people and the line from which the Messiah would come: Zerubbabel, leader of the return, appears in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1:12). This more modest temple would be filled with a greater glory when Jesus entered it (Hag 2:9), he who is the true temple (John 2:19-21). Ezra, a priest who confesses the people’s sin as his own (9:6), points to the High Priest who intercedes for us continually (Heb 7:25).

Did you know?

  • Two passages of Ezra are written in Aramaic, the diplomatic language of the Persian Empire, rather than Hebrew: 4:8 to 6:18 and 7:12-26.
  • The last two verses of Chronicles repeat the opening of Ezra almost word for word: the story picks up exactly where it left off (2 Chr 36:22-23; 1:1-3).
  • About 60 years separate chapters 6 and 7: it is within that gap, under Ahasuerus, that the story of Esther takes place.

Quiz on Ezra

Which Persian king issues the edict allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem?

Which prophets restart the building of the temple after the work was halted?

What position does Ezra hold?

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