Ezra (Easton)

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Help. A priest among those that returned to Jerusalem under Zerubabel (Nehemiah 12:1 ). The 'scribe' who led the second body of exiles that returned from Babylon to Jerusalem B.C. 459, and author of the book of Scripture which bears his name. He was the son, or perhaps grandson, of Seraiah (2 Kings"> StudyL ı ght .org Plug in, Turn on and Be En light ened! Not Yet a Member? Click to Sign Up Now! --> --> Bible Study Tools Lang uage Tools Study Lib rary Hist orical Writings Pas toral Resources Per sonal Resources Site Resources Lectionary Calendar Saturday, June 6th, 2026 the Week of Proper 4 / Ordinary 9 video advertismenet advertisement advertisement advertisement Attention! StudyLight.org has pledged to help build churches in Uganda. Help us with that pledge and support pastors in the heart of Africa. Click here to join the effort! Home » Bible Dictionaries » Easton's Bible Dictionary » Letter E Bible Dictionaries Ezra Easton's Bible Dictionary Search for… Enter query below: or A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z Prev Entry Ezion-Geber Next Entry Ezra, Book of Resource Toolbox Print Article Additional Links Concordances Nave Topical Bible Ezra Scofield Reference Index Ezra Thompson Chain Reference Ezra Treasury of Biblical Knowledge Ezra's Journey Dictionaries American Tract Society Ezra Bridgeway Bible Dictionary Ezra Baker's Evangelical Dictionary Ezra, Theology of Chabad Knowledge Base Ibn Ezra, R. 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Aben-Ezra Adams, Ezra (only first 3 shown) The Nuttall Encyclopedia Ezra The Catholic Encyclopedia Abraham-ben-Méir Aben-Ezra The Jewish Encyclopedia Aben-Ezra Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra Abraham Ibn Ezra (only first 3 shown) Lexicons עֶזְרָא עֶזְרָא עֶזְרָה Help. A priest among those that returned to Jerusalem under Zerubabel ( Nehemiah 12:1 ). The "scribe" who led the second body of exiles that returned from Babylon to Jerusalem B.C. 459, and author of the book of Scripture which bears his name. He was the son, or perhaps grandson, of Seraiah ( 2 Kings 25:18-21 ), and a lineal descendant of Phinehas, the son of Aaron ( Ezra 7:1-5 ). All we know of his personal history is contained in the last four chapters of his book, and in Nehemiah 8,12:26 . In the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus (see Ezra 8 ). Artaxerxes manifested great interest in Ezra's undertaking, granting him "all his request," and loading him with gifts for the house of God. Ezra assembled the band of exiles, probably about 5,000 in all, who were prepared to go up with him to Jerusalem, on the banks of the Ahava, where they rested for three days, and were put into order for their march across the desert, which was completed in four months. His proceedings at Jerusalem on his arrival there are recorded in his book. He was "a ready scribe in the law of Moses," who "had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments." "He is," says Professor Binnie, "the first well-defined example of an order of men who have never since ceased in the church; men of sacred erudition, who devote their lives to the study of the Holy Scriptures, in order that they may be in a condition to interpret them for the instruction and edification of the church. It is significant that the earliest mention of the pulpit occurs in the history of Ezra's ministry ( Nehemiah 8:4 ). He was much more of a teacher than a priest. We learn from the account of his labours in the book of Nehemiah that he was careful to have the whole people instructed in the law of Moses; and there is no reason to reject the constant tradition of the Jews which connects his name with the collecting and editing of the Old Testament canon. The final completion of the canon may have been, and probably was, the work of a later generation; but Ezra seems to have put it much into the shape in which it is still found in the Hebrew Bible. When it is added that the complete organization of the synagogue dates from this period, it will be seen that the age was emphatically one of Biblical study" (The Psalms: their History, etc.). For about fourteen years, i.e., till B.C. 445, we have no record of what went on in Jerusalem after Ezra had set in order the ecclesiastical and civil affairs of the nation. In that year another distinguished personage, Nehemiah, appears on the scene. After the ruined wall of the city had been built by Nehemiah, there was a great gathering of the people at Jerusalem preparatory to the dedication of the wall. On the appointed day the whole population assembled, and the law was read aloud to them by Ezra and his assistants ( Nehemiah 8:3 ). The remarkable scene is described in detail. There was a great religious awakening. For successive days they held solemn assemblies, confessing their sins and offering up solemn sacrifices. They kept also the feast of Tabernacles with great solemnity and joyous enthusiasm, and then renewed their national covenant to be the Lord's. Abuses were rectified, and arrangements for the temple service completed, and now nothing remained but the dedication of the walls of the city ( Nehemiah 12 ).

Source

• part_of source-manifest/easton — Easton's Bible Dictionary (PD)