Characters
Known As
The Priest – Reader of Laws
Where in the Bible?
The Book of Ezra
Did You Know
Ezra was also known as Ezra the Scribe, and was skilled in both Hebrew and Aramaic. His zeal and passion for God and God’s law helped to bring the Jewish people back to God, and his efforts did much to give Jewish religion the form that was to characterise it for centuries, and enabled the Jews to survive as a community, even when scattered across the world.
Bio – Ezra
c. 5th century BC
Ezra was a religious leader of the Jews who returned to Jerusalem after their time in exile in Babylon. His father was Seraiah, the high priest, and he was descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses. Ezra lived in Babylon until Artaxerxes, king of Persia—the Persian Empire had replaced the Babylonian Empire that originally exiled the people of Judah—sent him to his homeland to teach the laws of God to those who did not know them, taking with him a group of Judean exiles.
When he arrived in Jerusalem, he was dismayed to find that the people were not keeping to God’s laws. He was not part of the first wave of returning exiles—indeed, many of the Israelites had returned to Jerusalem around 70 years previously—and he discovered that their early zeal and hard work had petered out, and they had fallen into spiritual apathy, He was particularly appalled that, despite God’s laws, Jewish men had been marrying foreign wives who worshipped other gods. Ezra worked to stop this from happening again, and the foreign wives were sent away.
At around the same time, Nehemiah—another exile, in service to King Artaxerxes—also returned from exile to help his people, and he encouraged them to rebuild the city walls. When work on the city was complete, Nehemiah asked Ezra to read to the people from the Book of Law of Moses. While the people were anguished to realise how they had dishonored the covenant they had made with God, and how far wrong they had gone, Ezra told them not to be sad, but to be joyful, for this was a holy day.
Ezra read from the Book of Law for seven days and during that time the people feasted and shared what they had with the poor. At the end of that time, they renewed their covenant with God and promised to honor him.
Ezra was also known as Ezra the Scribe, and was skilled in both Hebrew and Aramaic. His zeal and passion for God and God’s law helped to bring the Jewish people back to God, and his efforts did much to give Jewish religion the form that was to characterise it for centuries, and enabled the Jews to survive as a community, even when scattered across the world.
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Bible Verses About Ezra
Ezra:9–10
On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Ezra 8:22
“The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.”
Ezra 10:4
“Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it.”
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