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ESDRAS, BOOKS OF

1 Esdras

The apocryphal book 1 Esdras gets its title from the standard LXX manuscripts, where it appears as Esdras A or 1 Esdras. Condemned by Jerome, it nevertheless appears in Latin Bibles as 3 Esdras. The book is canonical only for the Eastern Orthodox Churches and not for the Roman Catholic Church, although 1 Esdras appears in most collections of the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical literature.

With the exception of 1 Esdr. 3:1–5:6, 1 Esdras is a rather free Greek version of biblical history from Josiah’s Passover to Ezra’s reforms. 1 Esdr. 1:1-55 duplicates 2 Chr. 35:1–36:21; 1 Esdr. 2:1-15 duplicates Ezra 1:1-11; 1 Esdr. 2:16-30 duplicates Ezra 4:7-24. 1 Esdr. 5:7-46 duplicates Ezra 2:1-70; 1 Esdr. 5:47-73 duplicates Ezra 3:1–4:5; 1 Esdr. 6:1–7:15 duplicates Ezra 4:24–6:22; and 1 Esdr. 8:1–9:55 duplicates Ezra 7:1–10:44 and Neh. 7:73–8:12.

The section without parallel in the Chronicler’s work (1 Esdr. 3:1–5:6) is a story of a young man at the court of Darius, the Persian king. He solves the riddle of “what is the strongest thing in the world” with a magnificent display of wit and wisdom in a riddle contest before the king and his court. As the winner of the contest the youth wins the privilege of rebuilding the city of Jerusalem and the temple, leading the Jews home from exile, and taking back certain temple vessels which were still in captivity. By the time this narrative was joined to the rest of 1 Esdras, the winner of the riddle contest had been identified with Zerubbabel, the story becoming a “devotional legend” about Zerubbabel’s wonderful opportunity in exile to influence the course of Jewish history. The success of a wise Jew at the court of a foreign king is a motif found in Daniel (1–6) and Esther, and the deuterocanonical books of Tobit, Judith, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon.

In its present form 1 Esdras can be dated between 165 b.c.e. and 50 c.e. The linguistic and stylistic similarities to Daniel and Esther and the fact that it was used by Josephus justify this dating. There is a strong possibility that it was composed in Egypt during the latter part of the 2nd century b.c.e. This devotional legend, which had as its purpose both to entertain and educate, grew out of an original Persian court tale, discernible in 1 Esdr. 3:1–4:42. An analysis of the structure of this section shows that it is divided into a narrative framework consisting of a long prose introduction (3:1-16a) with a truncated conclusion (4:42) and four long speeches on the strength of wine, the king, women, and truth, respectively (3:16b–4:41).

There is strong evidence that the core narrative is based on the ancient Near Eastern practice of riddling as part of court entertainment. The subjects defended as the strongest by each contestant — wine, the king, and women — would suggest this. The winning answer — truth — was no doubt added at a later time when the story was moralized for religious purposes. The suggestion of the third contestant that “women” were the strongest, no doubt the winning entry in the original tale, may be a reference to a certain Apame (a wife or concubine of a Seleucid king). The cosmic and ethical nature of truth as described in the final version suggests that it could have been added at some point to celebrate the power of Asha in Zoroastrian belief, Hokmah from Hebrew wisdom literature, Greek Sophia, or Egyptian Maat.

The most famous verse in the book is the response of the assembled king and nobles at the conclusion of the hymn in praise of truth: “Great is truth, and strongest of all” (4:41). Augustine in his City of God (17.36) identifies the greatness of Truth in 1 Esdras with Christ the Truth.

Bibliography. J. L. Crenshaw, “The Contest of Darius’ Guards,” in Images of Man and God, ed. B. O. Long (Sheffield, 1981), 74-88; W. R. Goodman, A Study of I Esdras 3:1–5:6 (diss., Duke, 1971); J. M. Myers, I and II Esdras. AB 42 (Garden City, 1974).

2 Esdras

The only apocalypse in the Apocrypha, this work bears the name Ezra or Esdras. It appears as 2 Esdras in some Latin manuscripts, the Geneva Bible, and the Authorized Version, but as 4 Ezra in most Latin manuscripts. Other manuscripts list it as 1 or 3 Esdras.

This is a composite work containing portions from the 1st and 2nd centuries c.e. and dating in its present form to the 3rd century. The major portion was originally written in a Semitic language, probably Hebrew or Aramaic, but unfortunately no Semitic versions have survived. The Greek translation of the Semitic original has also been lost.

The work consists of three distinct parts of varying length and date: 2 Esdr. 1-2; 3-14; and 15-16. The style and content of the three portions lead scholars to date each to a different period. The first section (chs. 1-2) introduces Ezra as the author receiving his commission from the Lord to deliver a message to his people. This section dates to the middle of the 2nd century and appears to have been written by a Christian author. The main body of the work (chs. 3-14) has Ezra in Babylon receiving seven revelations, some of which took the form of visions. Most scholars think that this core section was written toward the end of the 1st century in Hebrew or Aramaic by an unknown Jew. The final section (chs. 15-16) also appears to have been written, like the first two chapters, in Greek by a Christian author and appended to the core section, perhaps around the middle of the 3rd century. This final portion reflects the Parthian threat to the stability of the Roman Empire at that time.

The first section contains NT phraseology (1:30, 37; 2:42), a very strong argument in favor of Christian authorship. Ezra warns Israel that for their sins God will scatter them among the nations and choose the gentile nations instead for his people. Then innumerable saints (Christian martyrs?) will stand on Mt. Zion and victoriously receive their rewards of crowns and palms from a young man of great stature, whom an angel identifies as “the Son of God” (2:47).

The central section contains a series of revelations mediated through the angel Uriel. The first vision (3:1–5:20) is dated to 30 years after the destruction of “our city,” probably referring to Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c.e. Many take this dating to mean the author was writing 30 years after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 c.e., thus giving an approximate date of 100 c.e. for the composition of the central portion of the book. Troubled by what he perceives to be God’s unjust treatment of Israel, Ezra receives in the first dream vision the answer that God’s ways are simply beyond human understanding. The seer in the second vision (5:21–6:34) again complains about the unjust way God seems to be dealing with Israel. Again, the ways of the earth and the judgments and purposes of God are beyond understanding. Such perplexing problems as the inferiority of the latter generations compared to the earlier ones in the divine plan for the world in the coming of the messianic age, and determining the time of the end of the age, are answered with a caution of not being overanxious about these things: “Believe and do not be afraid!” The third vision (6:35–9:25) deals with God’s work in creation, the messianic kingdom, and the end of the world. The seer is perplexed that only a small number will be saved and there will be no intercession for the evil at the judgment day. The seer’s plea to God to have mercy on his creations is answered with the word that God will rejoice in the righteous saved and forget the wicked. The seer will be among the blessed saved and should trouble his thoughts no more for the punishment of the lost sinners. The final section presents a description of the last days and the signs which will precede it. In the fourth vision (9:26–10:59) Israel’s record is compared unfavorably with the Mosiac law. Israel’s destruction will be devastating, but the heavenly Zion will be glorious and beautiful. In the fifth vision (11:1–12:51), known as the “eagle vision,” Ezra sees the destruction of a mighty beast in eagle form, probably symbolizing the struggles in the Roman Empire after Nero’s death (68 c.e.), as the interpretation of the vision (12:3b-39) would suggest. Ezra is then asked to write down his visions in a book, hide it, and then teach the visions to the “wise,” who will be the only ones who can understand them. The sixth vision (13:1-58) presents to Ezra the appearance of the Messiah in the form of a man coming up from the sea and flying with the clouds of heaven, gazing at and speaking to all in judgment, finally destroying by fire the multitudes who would fight against him. In the interpretation the seer understands that he alone has been enlightened about the time of the messianic woes and the coming of the Son of God. In the seventh and final vision (14:1-48) God orders Ezra to restore the holy Scriptures, perhaps the OT, making some public but saving some for the “wise” alone. Ezra then gathers the people and pleads with them to rule over their minds and discipline their hearts so they might obtain mercy after death and live again. Ezra along with five men leaves for 40 days. Ezra receives the inspiration of the Spirit and writes 24 books, which are to be made public. Seventy books, however, are to be kept for the wise. In them “is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge.” Finally Ezra is taken up into heaven.

The third division of 2 Esdras (15:1–16:78) is a Christian appendix from the 3rd century which repeats many of the themes of the apocalyptic central section, such as the vengeance of God upon the wicked and signs of the end. Nation will fight nation and cities will be places of confusion and destruction, starvation, and plunder. Babylon (Rome), Asia, Egypt, and Syria are denounced; sinners are warned not to deny their sin, and the righteous are promised that God will surely deliver them from the time of tribulation.

Bibliography. R. J. Coggins and M. A. Knibb, The First and Second Books of Esdras (Cambridge, 1979); W. R. Goodman, A Study of I Esdras 3:1–5:6 (diss., Duke, 1972); J. M. Myers, I and II Esdras. AB 42 (Garden City, 1974); M. E. Stone, Features of the Eschatology of IV Ezra. HSM 35 (Atlanta, 1989).

William R. Goodman, Jr.

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ESDRAS, BOOKS OF

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)