Who was Ezra in the Bible?

Son of Seraiah, and descendant of Aaron, priest and scribe. He "had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgements." He was among the captives in Babylon, and by his own request was permitted to return to Palestine. Rich presents of gold and silver were given to him for the service of the house of the Lord. He showed his faith in God in not asking for an escort for himself and his companions: he had declared that the hand of God would protect them. His piety was manifested also in his distress at hearing that the priests and princes had married heathen wives, and he called to God for relief. After this we do not again read of him until about twelve years later, when he stood upon a pulpit of wood and read to the people the book of the law, and the Levites sought to explain it. This at first caused weeping; but they were encouraged, and afterwards rejoiced, and kept the Feast of Tabernacles with such joy as had not been known since the days of Joshua the son of Nun. Nothing more is recorded of Ezra in scripture. Josephus says he died at an advanced age at Jerusalem: but an early writer said there was a tomb near the junction of the Tigris and the Euphrates which was reported to be the tomb of Ezra. Ezra 7-10; Neh. 8:1-18; Neh. 12:26, 36.

No valid proof can be given that the Jewish and early Christian view, that Ezra is the author of the book which bears his name, is incorrect. He was a pious, deeply spiritual man. His genealogy is found in chapter 7:1-6. We learn that he was a lineal descendant of Phineas, the son Of Eleazar, the son of Aaron; and therefore Ezra was a priest. (See chapter 7:11; 10:10, 16.) He was also a scribe--"a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given" (7:6); "a scribe of the words of the commandments and of the statutes of Israel " (7:11). We find him first mentioned in the seventh chapter. The record is given that he went up to Babylon... "and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD God upon him." He received permission from King Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) in the seventh year of his reign (458 B.C.) to lead a number of the people back to Jerusalem. His beautiful, godly character may be seen in the three last chapters of the book, in which he is the principal actor. He was a great man of prayer and worship, with a childlike trust in the LORD, with great zeal for God and an intense interest in His people and their welfare. Much is said of Ezra in talmudical literature, where his greatness and worthiness is celebrated. According to these traditions he was in meekness and godliness like Moses. It is said that he first introduced the Hebrew alphabet in square characters, and that he made the Massorah and punctuation of the Scriptures. He is also considered to be the author of the Jewish canon, and to have rewritten the whole of the Old Testament from memory. most likely he wrote Chronicles besides the record contained in this book. It is more than likely that he collected the Psalms in a book and arranged them under the guidance of the Spirit of God in the order in which we possess them now. His great reformation work we shall point out in the annotations.

The genealogy of Ezra is traced back to Aaron. (vv. 1-5.) He was one therefore entitled to all the rights and privileges of the priesthood (see Ezra 2:62); and, moreover, he was a ready scribe in the law of his God, and thereby qualified to be the instructor of the people in the statutes of Jehovah, (See Lev. 10:8-11; Mal. 2:4-7.) He became a priest by birth and consecration; but he only became "a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given," by personal study of the Word. Inherited office therefore, even with the Jews, could not bestow the qualifications for its exercise — these could only come from individual converse with God in the Scriptures; for while by virtue of consecration the priest was entitled by grace to minister before God, he could only minister acceptably when all was done in obedience to the Word, and it was impossible that he could teach unless he himself were acquainted with the mind of God. It was neglect of this second part of their office that led to the failure and corruption of the priesthood; for so completely was the word of God forgotten in the days of Josiah, that the finding of a copy of the law in the temple became an epoch in his reign.

It is therefore of surpassing interest — like finding a beautiful flower in the midst of a sandy desert — to discover in Ezra one who, while he cherished his priestly descent, found his joy and strength in the law of his God; and in verse 10 the secret of his attainments is unfolded. He had "prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it. "Let the reader ponder this significant and instructive statement — "He had prepared his heart." So the apostle prayed for the Ephesian believers, that "the eyes of their heart" (heart is the right reading) might be enlightened, that they might know what is the hope of His calling, etc. (Eph. 1:18.) Yes, it is to the heart that the revelations of God are made, even as it was to the heart of the Magdalene that the Lord manifested Himself at the sepulchre, rather than to the intelligence of His disciples. Nor can we attach too much importance to this truth. Preparation of heart (and this also cometh from the Lord) is everything, whether for the study of the Word, for prayer, or for worship. (See 1 Cor. 8:1-3; Heb. 10:22; 1 John 3:20-23.)

It was in the seventh year of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, that Ezra went up. The genealogy of Ezra is given, showing that he was a direct descendant of Aaron, the chief priest. Ezra was "a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given." A blessed testimony that the Law of Moses was given by God, and not put together piece-meal, corrected, revised and added to by different hands. Ezra, occupied with the Law and the Word of God, desired to go up to Jerusalem. God put it into his heart, and the Gentile King granted him all his request. In all this the hand of the Lord is acknowledged. "According to the hand of the Lord his God upon him." This phrase we meet a number of times (7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31); and it shows how this man of God trusted in the LORD for guidance. He saw His hand in having all his request granted by Artaxerxes. It was the good hand of God who brought him to Jerusalem (7:9). His hand strengthened him (7:28). The good hand of the LORD is again acknowledged in bringing them ministers (8:18) and in deliverance (8:31). The same hand which was for good upon Ezra, which guided, kept and shielded him, is still upon all His people who trust Him and are obedient to His Word. (The character of our work forbids an attempt to enlarge upon the identity of the different rulers mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah--which is a difficult matter, involving a careful examination of chronology. We suggest a good book on chronology The Romance of Bible Chronology, by M. Anstey.)

With Ezra a company of people went up to Jerusalem, 1,496 in all. They left on the first day of the first month, and arrived on the first day of the fifth month, corresponding to the end of July or beginning of August. The distance they travelled by way of Carchemish was over 800 miles.

Ezra 7, Ezra 8. There is a long break, historically, of about sixty years, between Ezra 6 and Ezra 7, to which period the Book of Esther belongs if the general opinion is correct that the Ahasuerus of Esther was the king Xerxes. Ezra 7 records what occurred in the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, and here Ezra, 'a ready scribe in the law of Moses' appears for the first time, and is God's agent for blessing: he is elsewhere spoken of as priest and scribe. Ezra made a request unto the king, and God so wrought upon his heart that he granted all that was asked, and was himself liberal in giving gold and silver for the service of the temple. The king also wrote a letter, stating what his will was, and that his treasurers in the land should help Ezra. Then follows a list of the chief men who went up from Babylon with Ezra, and the weights of the gold and silver that they carried with them. They had to cross the desert, and having spoken to the king of the power and goodness of God they would not ask of the king an escort. The good hand of God was upon them and all arrived safely.

It was after these things, as the first verse of chapter 7 tells us, that Ezra the priest with Levitical companions left Babylon and went up to Jerusalem. It was in the seventh year of that Artaxerxes, under whom thirteen years later Nehemiah went up. Ezra's genealogy was clearly known. and it is given in the first 5 verses, showing him to be truly descended from Aaron, the first high priest. This fact qualified him for the place he was about to take. He had the further qualification of being, 'a ready scribe in the law of Moses', which indicates that he was fully acquainted with the original word of God, which still had authority over the lives of the people.

But he had a third qualification of even greater importance, and this is stated in verse 10. He was a man who 'prepared his heart', which indicates that he was a man of spiritual exercise, something like Timothy of New Testament days, who was to meditate upon the things of God and give himself wholly to them. As a scribe he must have had a good knowledge of the words he had often written, and this must have prepared his head. The preparing of his heart went much deeper than this, for it led him to 'seek the law of the Lord'. He really wanted to be instructed of God.

The second group came with Ezra the priest and scribe in 458 BC (Ezra 7). Ezra had devoted himself especially to study and to do the law of Jehovah (the Word of God) and was eager to teach the word in Israel.

Ezra, meaning "help," is written by a scribe of this name, and is an account of a restoring work of God in bringing back some of the Jews to Jerusalem; a first group coming with Zerubbabel (ch. 2:2), with the object of rebuilding the temple. This was at the commandment of Cyrus, king of Persia, for the Medes and Persians had by this time conquered the Babylonian Empire. Cyrus decreed that the vessels of the temple (previously carried away by Nebuchadnezzar) should be restored to the about‑to‑be rebuilt temple. There were hindrances in the building, but God, using the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, eventually enabled the completion of this, as chapter 6:15 shows.

Another group of Jews later returned with Ezra during the reign of Artaxerxes; and he, being a priest of the line of Aaron, was sent both to give help in the service of the rebuilt temple and to establish magistrates and judges who knew the law of God to rule in the land.

The first words of Ezra, whose name means "help", are identical to those ending the book of 2 Chronicles, thus emphasizing the continuity of the history. It was seventy years after the captivity that Cyrus made his decree that the temple at Jerusalem was to be rebuilt. Ezra was a scribe who records the history of the rebuilding, though he was not among the first captives to return to Jerusalem. This return was led by Zerubbabel (ch 1:2), whose name means "melted by Babylon," and it was some years later that Ezra led another group (ch. 7:6), during the reign of Artaxerxes. It was also during this reign that Nehemiah came to Jerusalem (Neh. 2:1). Ezra's ministry was connected with the house of God, while Nehemiah's activity was centered on the building of the wall.

Alas! this was not the end of the history. God, in His goodness, must still watch over the unfaithfulness and the failures of His people, even when they are but a small remnant who by His grace have escaped from the ruin. He puts it into the heart of Ezra, a ready scribe in the law of Moses, to think of the remnant in Jerusalem, to seek the law of Jehovah, to teach it and cause it to be observed. Here again it is still the Gentile king who sends him for this purpose to Jerusalem. All blessing is of God, but nothing (except prophecy, in which God was sovereign, as we have already seen in the case of Samuel at the time of the people's downfall), nothing in point of authority comes immediately from God. He could not pass by unrecognised the throne which He had Himself established among the Gentiles upon the earth. And Israel was an earthly people.

The character of this intervention of God by Ezra's mission is, I think, a touching proof of His loving-kindness. It was exactly suited to the wants of the people. It was not power. That had been removed to another place. It was the knowledge of the will and the ordinances of God, — of the mind of God in the word. The king himself recognised this (Ezra 7:25). Guarded by the good hand of his God, this pious and devoted man goes up with many others to Jerusalem.