INTRODUCTION
Esdras at a Glance
e First Book of Esdras, also known as Esdras, Esdras A, or Greek Ezra, is a text of the Septuagint and Christian Apocrypha. Unfortunately, in several canonical lists and modern versions, various writings go under the name “Esdras.” Bruce M. Metzger (Charlesworth : .) pro- vides a helpful chart of the various works of the Ezraic corpus:
Paraphrase of Chronicles chs –; the whole book Old Testament of Ezra; Nehemiah :– Version/ Old Testament book of :; plus a tale about e Ezra Document book of Ezra Nehemiah Darius’s bodyguards Apocalypse Greek Bible* IIEsdras IEsdras (Septuagint) Latin Vulgate IEsdras IIEsdras IIIEsdras IVEsdras Bible Many later Latin IEsdras IIIEsdras IIEsdras = Manuscripts chs –† IVEsdras = chs – VEsdras = chs – Douay English IEsdras IIEsdras IIIEsdras IVEsdras Version (–) Russian Bible, IEsdras Nehemiah IIEsdras IIIEsdras Moscow Patriarchate () Geneva Bible e Book of e Book of IEsdras IIEsdras ‡ () Ezra Nehemiah Bishops’ Bible () King James Version () Revised Standard Version () introduction
* In this volume, I shall distinguish Esdras of the Septuagint (= Ezra/Nehemiah) and Esdras of the Latin Apocrypha (= – Ezra) by identifying them as Esdras (LXX) and Esdras (Apoc.) respectively. † Also stratiÞed as Ezra (chs –), Ezra (chs –), and Ezra (chs –) in some modern versions. ‡ Other writings attributed to or named aer Ezra include Greek Apocalypse of Ezra, e Visions of Ezra, Questions of Ezra, Apocalypse of Sedrach, and the Revelation of Ezra, which are available in the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (see introduction in Wright ). Esdras is a Greek recension of the biblical history of the reforms under both Josiah and Ezra and spans a period between the seventh to Þh cen- tury bce. It contains material that overlaps considerably with accounts in the Hebrew Bible (MT). It also diverges from the MT of Ezra in sev- eral distinct ways. Esdras includes the story of Josiah from Chronicles – as a preface to the Ezra material. e book contains special mate- rial such as the story of Darius’s three bodyguards in :–: and a few other smaller sections unique to the document (e.g., :–; :c; :c; :a; :; :b). ere is a reorganization of the letters to and from King Artaxerxes. At the very end of the book it also adds elements drawn principally from Nehemiah –. Using the versiÞcation of Rahlfs- Hanhart and the nrsv, the relationship of Esdras to Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah is as follows: Esdr :– = Chr :–: Esdr :– = Ezra :– Esdr :– = Ezra :– Esdr :–: no parallel in the canonical texts Esdr :– = Ezra :– Esdr :– = Ezra :–: Esdr :–: = Ezra :–: Esdr :–: = Ezra :–: and Neh :–: ere are some interesting features about Esdras that make it standout against its MT counterpart. e parallels with the accounts in the Hebrew Bible are not always exact. Some material appears in a dierent order (e.g., Esdr :– = Ezra :–). Consequently, Esdras includes some rather confusing chronology at certain junctures especially in the order of letters and periods of certain kings. ere is an abrupt beginning and staccato ending to the document. e story of Darius’s bodyguards is unique to Esdras and stands apart from the rest of the narrative. e Greek of Esdras is more elegant and reÞned compared to Esdras (LXX). All of which makes for a composition that in its extant form has its own unique features and special qualities. is leads, as we shall see, to some very interesting proposals and concerted debates about