The second book of Ezra (Ezra) is the Old Testament Bible book in Orthodoxy, which is absent in the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh ) and is not included in the Old Testament in Catholicism and Protestantism . It was placed in the appendix to the Vulgate [1] , but is absent in the New Vulgate [2] . In the Russian Orthodox Church refers to non-canonical books. In the Greek Bible it is called δσδρας Α ', in the application of the Latin edition of the Bible называется Ezra III ’( Esdra III ) with the title De De Templi restitutione ’ [1] [3] . In Judaism [4] , Catholicism [5] and Protestantism [1] refers to apocryphal books. In Protestantism it is called the first book of Ezra.
| Second Book of Ezra | |
|---|---|
 Artaxerxes grants freedom to the Jews. Engraving by Gustave Dore. | |
| Name in other languages: | Greek Εσδρας Α ' ; |
| Original language | ancient greek or hebrew |
| Legendary author | Ezra |
| Terrain | Judea |
| Genre | History books |
| Previous (Orthodoxy) | Book of Nehemiah |
| Next | Book of Tobit |
It is written in ancient Greek or Hebrew [6] [7] . It is preserved in the Greek text of many codes of the Septuagint , but is absent in the Sinai Codex . The first historical reference to the second book of Ezra is contained in the historian Josephus Flavius (c. 37-100), in connection with which it is dated to the 1st century BC. and no later than the 1st century AD e. [6] [7]
It is a story ο the restoration of the Jerusalem temple and temple worship ; the introduction is an account of the circumstances that led to the destruction of the First Temple , and the conclusion is a story about the activities of Ezra [3] .
Content
- 1 Other names
- 2 Contents
- 2.1 First chapter
- 2.2 Chapters 2-8
- 2.3 Ninth chapter
- 3 Critical analysis
- 4 notes
Other names
In various translations, the book bears the following names: [6]
- the ancient Italian, Syrian and Vatican codes of the Septuagint - the first book of Ezra ( Greek Έσδράς Αˊ ) and is placed in front of the canonical book of Ezra (as it describes more ancient events compared to the canonical book);
- in the appendix to the Vulgate is the third book of Ezra ( Liber tertius ).
Contents
The second book of Ezra consists of nine chapters, and its main part is a presentation with minor modifications of fragments of the canonical books: the Second Book of Chronicles , the First Book of Ezra and the Book of Nehemiah [8] . The only original text of the book is the story of the dispute of the three bodyguards of King Darius (one of which was Zerubbabel) and of the victory won in this dispute by Zorubbabel . It is possible that this is a Persian court story, or the author used Jewish tradition [6] .
Chapter One
It begins with a story about the solemn celebration of Easter under King Josiah (Joshiah). Contains a story ο the restoration of the temple cult under this king and a summary of the further history of Judea until the destruction of the First Temple ; the content of this chapter is borrowed from the Second Book of Chronicles :
- 2 ride 1: 2-5 recounts 2 Chronicles. 35-36 .
Chapters 2-8
The following describes the circumstances surrounding the restoration of the Second Temple , in much the same way as reported in the canonical book of Ezra :
- 2 ride 2: 1-14 retells Ezd. 1: 1-11 ;
- 2 ride 2: 16-31 retells Ezd. 4: 6-24 ;
- 2 ride 5: 7-70 retells Ride. 2: 1 - 4: 5 ;;
- 2 ride 6: 1 - 7:15 retells Ezd. 5-6 ;
- 2 ride 8: 1 - 9:36 recounts Ride. 7-10 .
Chapter Nine
The last 18 verses of the 9th chapter, which describes the public assembly in front of the gates of the temple, are identical in content with a fragment from the Book of Nehemiah (7:73 - 8:13) [3] :
- The episode from the Second Book of Ezra (2 Ezra 9: 37-55 ) is retold in the Book of Nehemiah ( Nehem. 8: 1-13 ).
Critical Review
The main purpose of the compiler was to give a story ο the restoration of the temple and temple worship. The historical significance of this compilation is insignificant, because it bears the obvious features of an ordinary midrash , where facts are distorted for the sake of the special purpose pursued by the author. Errors and contradictions in the book show, in addition to the fact that it went through several editions. [3]
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Michael D. Coogan. The New Oxford Annotated Bible // Oxford. 2007. - P.4
- ↑ James E. Bowley . Living Traditions of the Bible. - Chalice Press, 1999 .-- P. 160
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Ezra III // Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron . - SPb. , 1908-1913.
- ↑ Apocrypha and pseudo-epigraphs // Brief Jewish Encyclopedia , Volume 1, count. 170-172
- ↑ D. G. Dobykin . Lectures on the introduction of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. - St. Petersburg .: St. Petersburg Orthodox Theological Academy, 2012. - C. 22
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Second book of Ezra // The Explanatory Bible of Lopukhin
- ↑ 1 2 P. Youngers. Introduction to the Old Testament. Noncanonical books. The second book of Ezra
- ↑ Second Book of Ezra