Related Research Articles
The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible; which formerly included the Book of Nehemiah in a single book, commonly distinguished in scholarship as Ezra–Nehemiah. The two became separated with the first printed rabbinic bibles of the early 16th century, following late medieval Latin Christian tradition. Composed in Hebrew and Aramaic, its subject is the Return to Zion following the close of the Babylonian captivity, and it is divided into two parts, the first telling the story of the first return of exiles in the first year of Cyrus the Great (538 BC) and the completion and dedication of the new Temple in Jerusalem in the sixth year of Darius I (515 BC), the second telling of the subsequent mission of Ezra to Jerusalem and his struggle to purify the Jews from marriage with non-Jews. Together with the Book of Nehemiah, it represents the final chapter in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible.
Ezra or Esdras, also called Ezra the Scribe in Chazalic literature, and Ezra the Priest was an important Jewish scribe (sofer) and priest (kohen) in the early Second Temple period. In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras. His name is probably a shortened Aramaic translation of the Hebrew name עזריהו Azaryahu, "Yah helps". In the Greek Septuagint the name is rendered Ésdrās, from which the Latin name Esdras comes.
The history of ancient Israel and Judah begins in the Southern Levant region of Western Asia during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. "Israel" as a people or tribal confederation appears for the first time in the Merneptah Stele, an inscription from ancient Egypt that dates to about 1208 BCE, with the people group possibly being older. According to modern archaeology, ancient Israelite culture developed as an outgrowth from the Semitic Canaanites. Two related Israelite polities known as the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) and the Kingdom of Judah had emerged in the region by Iron Age II.
Yahweh was an ancient Levantine deity, and national god of the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Though no consensus exists regarding the deity's origins, scholars generally contend that Yahweh emerged as a "divine warrior" associated first with Seir, Edom, Paran and Teman, and later with Canaan. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age, if not somewhat earlier.
The Israelites were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their defeat in the Jewish–Babylonian War and the destruction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. The event is described in the Hebrew Bible, and its historicity is supported by archaeological and extra-biblical evidence.
The Second Temple, later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between c. 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which is presumed to have been built at the same location before its destruction by the Neo-Babylonian Empire during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in c. 587 BCE. Construction on the Second Temple began some time after the Neo-Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Achaemenid Persian Empire; it followed a proclamation by Persian king Cyrus the Great that ended the Babylonian captivity and initiated the return to Zion. In Jewish history, the Second Temple's completion in Persian Judah marks the beginning of the Second Temple period.
The Sadducees were a socio-religious sect of Jews active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The Sadducees are often compared to other contemporaneous sects, including the Pharisees and the Essenes.
The chronology of the Bible is an elaborate system of lifespans, 'generations', and other means by which the Masoretic Hebrew Bible measures the passage of events from the creation to around 164 BCE. It was theological in intent, not historical in the modern sense, and functions as an implied prophecy whose key lies in the identification of the final event. The passage of time is measured initially by adding the ages of the Patriarchs at the birth of their firstborn sons, later through express statements, and later still by the synchronised reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah.
The return to Zion is an event recorded in Ezra–Nehemiah of the Hebrew Bible, in which the Jews of the Kingdom of Judah—subjugated by the Neo-Babylonian Empire—were freed from the Babylonian captivity following the Persian conquest of Babylon. After their release, the Persian king Cyrus the Great issued a proclamation known as the Edict of Cyrus that enabled the freed Jewish populace, exiled from Judah, to return to Jerusalem and the Land of Judah, which had begun to function as a self-governing Jewish province under the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
The Yehud coinage is a series of small silver coins bearing the Aramaic inscription Yehud. They derive their name from the inscription YHD (𐤉𐤄𐤃), "Yehud", the Aramaic name of the Achaemenid Persian province of Yehud; others are inscribed YHDH, the same name in Hebrew.
The Second Temple period or Post-Exilic period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years, during which the Second Temple existed. It began with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, and it ended with the First Jewish–Roman War and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
The origins of Judaism lie in the Bronze Age amidst polytheistic ancient Semitic religions, specifically evolving out of the polytheistic ancient Canaanite religion, then co-existing with Babylonian religion, and syncretizing elements of Babylonian belief into the worship of Yahweh as reflected in the early prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible.
Yehud, also known as Yehud Medinata or Yehud Medinta, was an administrative province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the region of Judea that functioned as a self-governing region under its local Jewish population. The province was a part of the Persian satrapy of Eber-Nari, and continued to exist for two centuries until its incorporation into the Hellenistic empires following the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Second Temple Judaism is the Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
Yahwism is the name given by modern scholars to the religion of ancient Israel. Yahwism was essentially polytheistic, with a plethora of gods and goddesses. Heading the pantheon was Yahweh, the national god of the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah, with his consort, the goddess Asherah, and second-tier gods and goddesses such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte, each of whom had their own priests and prophets and numbered royalty among their devotees.
Ezra 10 is the tenth and final chapter of the Book of Ezra in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the tenth chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. The section comprising chapters 7 to 10 mainly describes the activities of Ezra the scribe and the priest. This chapter and the previous one deal with the problem of intermarriage, especially the solution of it, ending with a list of those who sent away their "foreign" wives and children; a somber note which finds relief in the Book of Nehemiah, as the continuation of the Book of Ezra.
Nehemiah 7 is the seventh chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 17th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter records the joint appointments of Hanani and Hananiah over Jerusalem and the second appearance of the Golah ("exiles") list, that is, the list of the first returning group of Jews from Babylon, which was documented earlier in Ezra 2 with few variations.
Nehemiah 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 18th chapter of the book of Ezra–Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter and the next focus mainly on Ezra, with this chapter recording Ezra's reading and instructing God's law to the people, then together they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles with great joy. Nehemiah the governor is mentioned briefly in verse 9 but Smith-Christopher argues that "the presence of Ezra and the virtual absence of Nehemiah support the argument that chapter 8 is among the displaced chapters from the Ezra material", and suggests that "the original place for [this chapter] would logically have been between Ezra 8 and 9".
Nehemiah 9 is the ninth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 19th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter and the previous one focus mainly on Ezra; with this chapter recording Ezra's prayer of repentance for the sake of the people.
References
- 1 2 3 University of Hull me-study group members
- ↑ Davies, Philip R.; Edelman, Diana Vikander (21 October 2010). The Historian and the Bible: Essays in Honour of Lester L. Grabbe. A&C Black. ISBN 9780567202680 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Dupertuis, Ruben. "Institute for Antiquity and Christianity". iac.cgu.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
- ↑ Past Brownlee Memorial Lecturers Archived 2014-10-01 at the Wayback Machine (William H. Brownlee was the first professor of the CGS Religion Department. Archived 2013-10-08 at the Wayback Machine )
- ↑ December 2010 Festschrift notice "Lester Grabbe turned 65 on Nov 5 (which dates him, contrary to popular rumor, well after the Persian period)." (Birth date: 5 November 1945)
- ↑ Philip R. Davies; Diana Vikander Edelman, eds. (2010). The Historian and the Bible: Essays in Honour of Lester L. Grabbe. Continuum. ISBN 9780567202680.
- ↑ "Grabbe, Lester L. [WorldCat.org]". www.worldcat.org.
- ↑ Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) data on Grabbe, Lester L.
