BOOK OF EZRA - BIBLE STUDY

The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah are our most important literary sources for the period of the Restoration, the formation of the Jewish religious community after the Babylonian Captivity. The two most responsible for the reorganization of Jewish life at that time were Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra restored the Mosaic Law and the liturgical practices of Judaism, while Nehemiah restored the gates and walls of Jerusalem. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah also played an important role in encouraging the people to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple of the Lord. The Second Temple was rebuilt in Jerusalem and completed in 516 BC.

The Diaspora, or major dispersion of the Jewish people, occurred during the period known as the Babylonian Exile, when the Jews were deported following the invasion by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The first deportation occurred in 597 BC following his first invasion, and the second major deportation to Babylon occurred following the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 586 BC. The Babylonian Exile (586-516 BC), in fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah, marks an epochal point in the history of Judah and Jerusalem, a period which serves as the point of division between the pre-exilic and post-exilic eras.

King Cyrus of Persia in 538 BC decided upon a policy of local identity and self-rule, and allowed the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem. The high priest at the time of the Restoration was Jeshua the son of Jozadak (Ezra 3:2), called Joshua in Haggai 1:12 and Zechariah 3:1 - his name is spelled Yeshua יֵשׁוּאַ in Hebrew, the name for Jesus. The rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple (Ezra 6:14-18), known as the Second Temple, began in 520 BC and was completed in 516 BC.

Ezra - עֶזְרָא - the Scribe, a descendent of Aaron, was well-versed in the Law of Moses and was commissioned by King Artaxerxes of Persia to return to Jerusalem and restore the Law for the Jewish people (Ezra 7:1-16). Ezra gathered the people of Jerusalem and read before the assembly the book of the Law of Moses which the Lord prescribed for Israel (Nehemiah 8:1-3).

The Book of Ezra was originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah and served as a continuation of the two Books of Chronicles. The Book of Esther described part of the Jewish Diaspora which stayed behind in Persia and did not return to Jerusalem during the Restoration. Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther were originally part of the Writings of Hebrew Scripture, but were placed in the Historical Books in the Greek Septuagint Old Testament. Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah are followed by Tobit, Judith, and then Esther in the Greek Septuagint. The Historical Books are followed by Psalms and the Wisdom Books in the Greek Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, and Christian Old Testaments of the Bible.

This app includes commentaries on key verses of all 10 chapters of the Book of Ezra, which makes it great for Bible Study and analytical purposes.

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