HOME AT LAST! Ezra-Nehemiah: Introduction (1) Ezra 1:1-11
Today we plunge into new territory, the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah. I have never studied these books in depth, only treating them in passing in Old Testament survey and introduction courses. So it will be a new adventure for me as well as I look forward to gaining a new appreciation of their role as sacred Scripture. So to start, we read the first chapter:
In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom, and also in a written edict declared: “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of those among you who are of his people—may their God be with them! —are now permitted to go up to Jerusalem in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem; and let all survivors, in whatever place they reside, be assisted by the people of their place with silver and gold, with goods and with animals, besides freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.” The heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—got ready to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. All their neighbors aided them with silver vessels, with gold, with goods, with animals, and with valuable gifts, besides all that was freely offered. King Cyrus himself brought out the vessels of the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. King Cyrus of Persia had them released into the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. And this was the inventory: gold basins, thirty; silver basins, one thousand; knives, twenty-nine; gold bowls, thirty; other silver bowls, four hundred ten; other vessels, one thousand; the total of the gold and silver vessels was five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.
We read in these opening verses that the LORD, the God of Israel, stirred up or aroused the spirit of the pagan King Cyrus of Persia and the spirits of the Jewish exiles in Persia to action. A biblical philosophy of history believes that there is a divine presence, a divine activity, and a divine purpose in the affairs of nations and peoples. We will hear an inspired testimony to such a perspective as we study the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah. We begin with their
Historical Setting
These books or “book” of Ezra-Nehemiah date from the first half of the Persian period in Near Eastern history (550-333 B.C.). Under King Cyrus II (550-530) the Persian army had conquered Babylon in 539 where many Jews lived in exile, having been deported in 597 and 587 by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who had conquered Judea and devastated Jerusalem. So we are dealing in the book of Ezra-Nehemiah with the period following the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon beginning in 538 B.C. This era in the history of the Jewish people is a most important chapter in Israel’s life-story, more than is often realized, for “without it Jews and Christians would not have received the religious heritage that has so profoundly influenced Western civilization.”
Briefly, who were the personages whose memoirs are included in the books and after whom the books are named? Ezra arrived in Judah in 458 and Nehemiah thirteen years later in 445. Remember that the exiles began first to return in 538 with Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah (Ezra 1:8; 5:14), in charge, who was soon replaced as leader by Zerubbabel (2:2; 3:2:4:2). Ezra was a priest, “a scribe skilled in the law of Moses that the LORD the God of Israel had given” (Ezra 7:6; cf. 7:12, 21). On his return to Judah Ezra led the Jewish community in the renewal of the covenant of God with Israel in terms of the Book of the Law that he had brought with him (Neh. 8:1).
Nehemiah in Persia was the cupbearer to Artaxerxes I (465-423). Cupbearers were high ranking officials in the courts of Ancient Near Eastern Kings who were responsible for serving wine at the king’s table and protecting the king from poisoning. They were often taken into the king’s confidence and had influence on the king’s decisions. Nehemiah had become concerned about the state of affairs in Jerusalem and succeeded in getting the Persian ruler to send him to Jerusalem with the authority of a governor. Once there, Nehemiah instituted social and religious reforms and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. In Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach, from early in the second century B.C., Nehemiah was named among a long list of Jewish heroes (49:13). Although Ezra was not included in this list he came to hold a place of outstanding significance in the literature of later Judaism.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of Israel’s history from the first return to Jerusalem in 538 to the end of Nehemiah’s second term as governor of Judah just before 400, a period of 137 years. These two books were originally one document in their Hebrew and Greek manuscripts until in the fourth century A.D when apparently Jerome split them into two books when he produced the Latin Vulgate. Their composition took place in two major stages to be dated about 400 B.C. and 300 B.C. Ezra-Nehemiah completes the story began in the work of the Chronicler (1 & 2 Chronicles), written during the same period, which beginning with King David and highlighting his role, retold the history of Israel in ecclesiastical terms. The central conviction of the Chroniclers was that Israel was called to be a worshipping community: “a priestly kingdom and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). God’s covenant with the house of David was permanent. David and his house were to be the heads of the worshipping community whose life was centered in the Temple, and in Zion, the Holy City
In structure and content Ezra-Nehemiah can be outlined as follows:
The Second Temple (Ezra 1:1—6:22) Ezra’s Return and the Torah (Ezra 7:1—10:44) Rearmament of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:1--7:72) Ezra’s Torah Promulgated (Nehemiah 7:73—9:38) Nehemiah’s Reform (Nehemiah 10:1—13:30) As with all the biblical accounts of Israel’s history we are not dealing with straightforward historical narrative in Ezra-Nehemiah. Rather in them historical events are judged by their theological significance and reported in that light, that is, we are to read Ezra-Nehemiah as an instructive example of the development of a history of salvation—God’s dealings with his people. Theologically, the Book of the Law of Moses affords the greatest source of continuity in the books. The Torah of Israel is presented as a way of life for all the people, as God’s revealed will for the life of a community. The Psalmist’s description is apt: . . . their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper (1:2-3).
As a spiritual leader Ezra’s concern
was to establish the law of God as the basis for the life of all the people and to introduce an approach to its interpretation that would rescue it from the danger of falling into neglect because of historical and political changes. Judged by this criterion, Ezra was brilliantly successful.
As Ezra’s ”new hermeneutic” opened up the possibility that the old laws of Moses could again become a formative influence on all aspects of the people’s lives in the fifth century B.C., hopefully it will bring to mind both our continuity as a Christian community with ancient Israel, and cause us to reflect anew on how our canonical books of the Old and New Testaments should function in transforming ways in the twenty-first century. Where does “book” fit in the life of a Christian community? What are the strengths of a “book” religion? Are there any dangers? How do we evaluate the contemporary American religious scene in the light of the picture of faith in Ezra-Nehemiah? Any implications for spiritual life in the contemporary Church of the Nazarene? These are some of the questions that our study of Ezra-Nehemiah may lead us to ponder.
We cannot today consider 1:1-11 in detail, for lack of time demands that we leave it for a future lesson. But to complete our introductory perspectives it is helpful to sketch the content of the first division of Ezra-Nehemiah that is 1:1-11 opens. So we take a quick look at its
2 Literary Setting: The Second Temple (Ezra 1:1—6:22)
The First Temple was the one built by King Solomon (1 Kings 5-7, 957 B.C), but for some reason Herod’s Temple, built in 37-20 B.C. and destroyed in A.D. 70, was never designated the Third Temple. This first section of Ezra-Nehemiah focuses on the building of the Second Temple and consists, according to our outline, of the accounts of
A. Cyrus and the Return (1:1-11) Zerubbabel and the List (2:1-70) C. Laying the Cornerstone (3:1-13) Interruption: The Samaritans (4:1-24) Prophetic Nudge to Completion (5:1—6:22)
The story told in these first six chapters briefly put is as follows. In the first year of his reign, Cyrus King of Persia, was divinely motivated to send the Jewish exiles in Babylon back to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple. King Cyrus wrote an edict to that effect and sent it throughout his kingdom. In inspired response the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites prepared to go under the leadership of Sheshbazzar Note the three classes of exiles—Priests, Levites, and laity. As instructed in Cyrus’ edict they were assisted by their neighbors in their future task gifts and offerings. In addition Cyrus released to the exiles the temple vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away to place in the house of his gods. And so they returned to Judah and Jerusalem and settled in their own towns, 42,360 of them not counting their servants (7,237) and the singers (200). On their return they gave freewill offerings to the fund to rebuild the temple on its ancient site.
After seven months the priests set up an altar as prescribed in the law of Moses, offered burnt offerings, and began to keep the sacred festivals of the LORD. Preparations were begun to build the foundation of the temple and materials were ordered from Lebanon. In the second year after their return, the work began under the supervision of the Levites. The priests in their vestments were stationed with their trumpets and the sons of Asaph with their cymbals to praise the LORD. Praising and giving thanks to the LORD they sang responsively
“For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
At this many of the priests and Levites, and those old enough to have seen the first temple on its foundations,
wept with a loud voice when they saw this house, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted so loudly that the sound was heard far away.
Sounds like they had an old-fashioned campmeeting!
Seeing this, the people who had been left in the land became their adversaries. They asked to build with the returnees and to worship with them, but Zerubbabel, now the leader, Jeshua, and the heads of the families, refused. As a result “the people of the land” bribed the Persian officials throughout the reign of Cyrus and wrote letters to his successor, and the work on the temple came to a standstill.
But the prophets among them, Haggai and Zechariah, began to prophesy to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem. Thus motivated, Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem with the prophets helping. Opposition again surfaced, now from the leaders of the Samaritans to the north who came and asked “Who gave you the authority to do this?” When the Jews answered that it was Cyrus, the Samaritan leaders wrote a letter of complaint to Darius I (522-486), now the King of Persia, asking him to search his archives to see whether or not Cyrus had really issued the decree.
The decree was found, the complainers were ordered to desist from their opposition to the work on the temple, and furthermore they are to contribute to the project from the royal revenue gathered in their land. So the work on the temple prospered under the encouragement of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and was completed in five years. The new temple was dedicated on March 12, 515 B.C., attended by a great religious celebration of offerings and feasts. These first six chapters end with celebration of the Passover:
So they killed the passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves. It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by all who had joined them and separated themselves from the pollutions of the nations of the land to worship the LORD, the God of Israel. With joy they celebrated the festival of unleavened bread seven days; for the LORD has made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them so that he aided them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel (6:22).
The worshipping community was back home, they had their new house of worship, and they were ready in the restored community to fulfill the will of God in the presence of God!
But how ready were they?
All dates cited are of course B.C. unless otherwise noted. For reference, key dates in the history of the Old Testament people include Abraham (early 2nd millennium), The Exodus (1240), Judges (1240-1040), United Monarchy (1000-922), Divided Monarchy (922-722-721), Fall of Samaria (722-721), First Deportation to Babylon (597), Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Deportation to Babylon (587), Under Persian Rule (539-330) Edict of Cyrus and Return of the Exiles (538), Temple Rebuilt 520-(515), Alexander the Great (356-323), Empire of Alexander the Great (336-323) Under Egyptian Control (323-200), Under Syrian Control (200-168), Maccabean Revolt (168), Rededication of the Temple Romans under Pompey Capture Jerusalem (63). Not all dates are precise for scholarly opinion often differs by a year or two. The prophet Ezekiel was among those deported. The capture of Babylon by the Persian King Cyrus began a new period in the history of the Near East. After Cyrus’ son Cambyses had subjected Egypt in 525 B.C., the Persians were for the next two centuries masters of a territorially larger empire than any yet known in classical antiquity—from the Persian Gulf to the Agean Sea. The Roman empire exceeded it in population, but not in territory. Bernard W. Anderson and Katheryn Pfisterer Darr, Understanding the Old Testament (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 4th ed., 1998), 456. Ezra’s Memoir includes Ezra 7-10 and Nehemiah 8, and possibly Nehemiah 9-10. Nehemiah’s Memoir is found in Nehemiah 1-7, parts of 12:27-43, and 13:4-31. Nehemiah may have included the lists in 3 and 7 that are of independent origin. Ezra arrived 80 years after the first return of the exiles and Nehemiah 93 years after. The precise chronological relationship of Ezra and Nehemiah, however, is not totally certain. In Persia Ezra may have held an official position, approximately titled as “Advisor on Israelite religious affairs.” Rolf Rendtorff, Men of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1968), 111. The Book of the Law was probably the Five Books of Moses, the Pentateuch. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate became the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church until modern times. Its unique readings are still taken very seriously by Roman Catholic biblical scholars in the translation of the Hebrew and Greek texts into modern languages. Robert North, S.J. “The Chronicler: 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah,” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. Raymond E, Brown, S.S., Joseph A. Fitzmeyer, S.J., and Roland E. Murphy, O.Carm. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1968), 385-386. Psalms 1; 19:7-14; 119 are Torah psalms.. H. G. M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah, Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 16 (Waco, Texas: Word Books, Publisher, 1985). xlvii. North, “The Chronicler,: 385. See Psalm 118, the last of the “Egyption Hallel” songs (113-118), and Psalm 136 that uses “for his steadfast love endures forever” as a congregational response. The text names Artaxerxes, but the chronology of this paragraph is difficult. We will sort it out later.
5.2.11 DATE \@ "M/d/yyyy" 12/6/2007 TIME \@ "h:mm:ss am/pm" 8:47:33 AM
PAGE 6 January 14, 2007 Frank G. Carver