Ezra

Ezra was a priest, scribe and religious organizer, plus a descendant of Zadok. Five things Ezra did:
1. He restored the Torah.
2. He was the founder and head of the Synagogue 400B.E.
3. He established law of the land.
4. Peddlers were permitted in the city
5. Women were made to wear girdles.
Ezra’s tomb is located in Baserack. His name means Help or helper. Books of Ezra and Nehemiah were one book until the 3rd Century B.E. it covers a 880 year period. Notable names in Ezra:
1. Cyrus - deliver the people.
2. Darius - governor of Babylon.
3. Araxerxes - King Hwder - rebuilding Temple.
4. Nethinims - Means dedicated ones.
Key words are: Jerusalem - 48 times. Law, Commandments - 11 times. Torah and go up - 11 times. Four-fold purpose of Ezra:
1. Show remnants return from captivity.
2. Fall of Babylon and return of Judah.
3. Heathen to do the work.
4. Humans do the impossible task.
Note Ephraim and Manasseh of the Northern tribes are assembled with Judah and Jerusalem, 1 Chron. 9:3. Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin of Judah. King Cyrus later made Zerubbabel governor of Judah. The book records two remnants of Jews returning to Jerusalem: Benjamin and Judah. The work on the Temple stopped for approximately 15 years. G-d raised two prophets, Haddia and Zacriha, who stirred up Joshua, the priest and Zerubbabel, the governor. Five things Ezra had liberty from the king to do in Jerusalem;
1. Purchase animals for sacrifices.
2. Vessels back.
3. Priest was exempt from taxes.
4. Judges to restore Laws.
5. Preserve geology.
Four things that could be done to those who refused to obey G-d’s Law: Banishment, Death, Confiscating goods, imprison. Three things the people did as they celebrated the laying of the foundation of the Temple: Praise, Gave thanks, sang. Ezra traced his ancestry back to Aaron. The Behistun Rock was the key to Babylon language 1835. Tradition says Ezra was the founder of Synagogues worship and the president of the Great synagogue what had a Bet Midrash.722 B.E. 10 tribes whip out but a remnant of all tribes. 120 members of Bet Midrash and Ezra was the president. He help form the cannon of the Scriptures.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah, considered originally being one book 300 B.C.E.
The people known as “Israel” before the exile are now identified as “Jews.” The English term “Jew” comes from the Hebrew word yehudi, that is, Judahite (Esther 2:5; the plural form in Neh.1: 2. The Jewish canon differ significantly from the Christian canon; whereas the latter canon of the Hebrew Bible ends with the book of Malachi, the Jewish canon ends with 2 chronicles. For Christians, Malachi (ending with the fervent hope for the day of the L-rd) appears to be longing for some special divine action to take place. The Christian church has frequently understood Malachi’s expectation of the ‘day of the L-rd” to represent the whole OT’s hope for the coming of the Messiah (Mk. 9:12; 1:2). Because in Christian circles the OT ended with Malachi, this interpretation had a special attraction for the church. But, as we have said in the Jewish canon the Hebrew Bible ends not with Malachi but with Ezra, Nehemiah, and 1-2 Chronicles. The final verses of 2 Chronicles (36: 22-23) contain the announcement that Yahweh has intervened on behalf of the Jews in exile. In the midst of their suffering, He is creating a future for them.
The manner of this intervention is astonishing; Yahweh has chosen Cyrus, king of Persia, to be the one who will enable the exiles to return home and rebuild the Temple. Thus Chronicles does not end with a look to the distant future but with the affirmation that deliverance and restoration are happening now. It is this story that the books of Ezra and Nehemiah preserve for us. The point of our comments above is this: the last tree books of the Jewish canon are optimistic about the present and near future even though the times are difficult.
The traditional view is that Ezra preceded Nehemiah, coming from Babylon 458 B.C.E. (Ezra 7:8). According to this view, Nehemiah arrived some thirteen years later, in 445 B.C. E.
In the person of Ezra, “a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses” we are able to see the emergence of the core of what is now called Rabbinic Judaism. With him emerges a firm emphasis on the study of the Law (Torah) – a written tradition that needed interpretation.
While the Deuteronomist urges the Israelites to consult prophets in the event of doubt, Ezra and his contemporaries seek guidance in the diligent study of the written documents. The living but temperamental and unpredictable instrument of the Word of G-d that the prophet had been was now replaced by the rigid but certain book…now that the Torah of Moses was standardized, it appeared that the prophet could not controvert any of its numerous precepts, which in turn could be stretched by interpretation to cover almost every contingency in life.
Whereas G-d had given the Torah to the people throw Moses, at a later time, when Torah was largely forgotten, Ezra acted to reestablish it in the Jewish community. After the sacred books were burned in the fall of Jerusalem, Ezra, so it was believed was inspired by G-d to dictate to his assistance – for forty days – all the words found in the ruined books. In Matt. 23:2-3 Y’Shua declares: “the scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you.”
The author of Ezra and Nehemiah has little interest in matters, his great concern is to demonstrate that G-d is with those who establish and preserve a pure society. A pure society means positively, loyalty to Yahweh through obedience to Torah and proper Temple worship. Negatively, a pure society means separation from people who would pollute the community. In the latter kind of society there are no free-floating individuals. Everyone is a member of some family and comes from some place. The individual understands himself in terms of that family, and he is known and valued by others as an individual who comes from this particular place. The character of every individual is known by his background, because (it was believed) his ancestors live on through him.