The Book of Ezra, in its complete form, postdates the return of the exiles to the Province of Judah, perhaps, by fifty years or somewhat longer (cir. 440 to 430 BC). How do we arrive at this date? Well, if, both, the text of the Book of Ezra and the “Seventy Weeks Prophecy” of the Book of Daniel are accurate, Ezra doesn’t arrive on the scene, until the Temple is already rebuilt and dedicated, which, according to the prophecy, would be about 49 years after construction was begun. Some events within the text take place after Ezra arrives in the Province of Judah, so how long would it have been before the book was formally completed? If one believes what is written, logic demands it to have been completed not long after Ezra’s arrival.
As for authorship, the text doesn’t specify who the author is. Early Jewish tradition claims Ezra is its author, perhaps, because the text of the book begins in the third person, until Ezra arrives on the scene in chapter seven. There, the text comes to us in the first person (last two verses), and continues in like manner, until we get to chapter ten, whereupon it switches again to the third person. So, did Ezra write the book or not? If he did, why does the text switch to the third person in final chapter? The best we can say about authorship is that Ezra, probably wrote the book, but chapter ten is most likely the work of an editor. Nevertheless, this amounts to a best guess.
Moreover, the Book of Ezra is a single work in its own right in our English Bibles, but this wasn’t always the case. Originally, in the ancient Hebrew editions, it had been united with the Book of Nehemiah. The two are probably different works, but neither one can be correctly understood without the other. Moreover, the Book of Esther is also connected with the Book of Ezra, because the release of Ezra in chapter seven, and the exiles who came with him in chapter eight, is the same release that Xerxes/Artaxerxes made in Esther 2:18. The fact is, most scholars have the events of the Book of Nehemiah occurring after the Book of Ezra was written. Nevertheless, a close study of both books show that Nehemiah came to the Province of Judah with a band of Jews, who were permitted by the king to return to their homeland. Nehemiah’s coming was the second release made by a kings of Persia. The first, of course, was released by Cyrus (Ezra 1). The second was released by Darius Hystaspes in Nehemiah 2:4-10. Darius Hystaspes is the Artaxerxes mentioned in Ezra 4:7, and he recalled Nehemiah in Ezra 4:17, after Nehemiah served as governor of the province for twelve years (cp. Nehemiah 5:14). Later, Nehemiah would return to the Province of Judah with the release that came into the land with Ezra (Ezra 7 & 8; Esther 2:18), whereupon the walls were dedicated in the 49th year of the original release by Cyrus the Great.[1]
The theme of the book concerns the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple of God, and, perhaps, the key verses are, first from the Book of Ezra: “With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: ‘He is good; his love to Israel endures forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid” (Ezra 3:11); and then from the Book of Nehemiah: “And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps” (Nehemiah 12:27).
Ezra (together with Nehemiah and Esther) is a book of hope. It unveils, before our very eyes a merciful and forgiving God. He is present with his people despite our rebellion and unfaithfulness. He strengthens us when we are weak and frustrates the power of those who are strong and oppose us. The Book of Ezra is a book of hope and a book of success, despite its unsettling ending, where confession is made of the nation’s unfaithfulness in the face of the Lord’s merciful grant to bring the Jews back to the land. Like all of us, they were a covenant breaking people, but the Lord is a God of mercy, a God of forgiveness and a God of restoration. Thanks be to God!
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[1] All of the above information will be addressed in greater detail in its proper place, when we come to that part of the study of the books.
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