This site will teach you about the Prophet Ezra
I. About Ezra
A. The Return from Exile (Babylon)
B. The Deeds of Ezra
Ezra
was the son of Seraiah and was born in Babylon during the Persian rule. Ezra was considered the “second Moses” because he supposedly brought a second set of laws from Babylon that resembled Mosaic Law. Ezra lived during the reign of
King Antaxeres of Persia (485-464BC.) and served as a loyal scribe to the king. (Ezra was a descendent of Aaron, Moses’ assistant during the Exodus. Ezra spent most of his life studding Mosaic Law and was a strong supporter of interpreting the Letter of the Law (Jews at the time interpreted the Ten Commandments word for word). As a loyal scribe, the king rewarded Ezra and gave him what ever he wanted (power over the Jewish community). One of Ezra’s major accomplishments was the denunciation of mixed marriages.
II. Ezra's role in Salvation History
Ezra is considered important in our Salvation History because the Jewish community looks to him as the leader who restored Jewish literature. Ezra was a talented scholar who supposedly returned form Babylonia with a second set of laws from God, which were similar to the Ten Commandments. Ezra helped lead people closer to God by teaching people to pray to God when asking for forgiveness. During this time it was common for Jewish men to inter-marry with non-Jewish women. Ezra forbade this ritual of inter-marrying because he wanted to avoid raising children in both a Jewish and non-Jewish community.
I felt that this quote in the book of Ezra helps make people more comfortable asking God for forgiveness. Ezra prayed to God asking for forgiveness of his sins (allowing Jews to inter-marry with other people), “And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us form the Lord, our God, who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place, thus our God has brightened our eyes and given us relief in our solitude.”
-The book of Ezra, chapter 9: verse 8.
III. Five review Questions
1. Which famous Old Testament person is a long distant relative of Ezra?
(Hint: He or she is from the Exodus)
2. What was the name that the people gave to Ezra after he returned from Babylon?
3. What was Ezra’s profession (job) throughout his life?
4. Why did Ezra “shun” all of the non-Jewish people (after the denunciation of mixed-marriages?
5. Ezra enforced which interpretation of the Mosaic Law?
IV. Answers
1. Ezra was a long distant realtive of Aaron (Moses' assistant).
2. The Israelites called Ezra "the Second Moses" when he returned from Babylon with a set of laws for the Hebrew people.
3. He was a loyal scribe (person who records events) for the King of Persia.
4. Ezra believed that God would forgive the Jewish Community if they sent their non-Jewish wives and children away. This would help families reaise their children under the Jewish religion, rather than a mizture of Judaism and a pagan religion.
5. Ezra taught people to obe the Letter of the Law rather than the Catholic Contextual Interpretation (where people learn to understand the readings better by learning about the context and background of the story).
