Nehemiah 7-11: The Restoration of Jerusalem

Now that the Israelites had returned to their home, built the Temple, and reconstructed the wall, it was time to get things in order.

Introduction

Chapters 7 through 11 discuss the restoration of Jerusalem. Now that the Israelites had returned to their home, built the Temple, and reconstructed the wall, it was time to get things in order. The covenant needed to be remembered and the organization of the Temple and Levite duties needed to be reestablished. This is covered here.
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Returnees

Nehemiah 7 parallels Ezra 2. There are a few "contradictions" which I discussed in the post on Ezra 2. The list of names provided here represents those who returned to Judah from captivity. These are often the hardest chapters to read because we aren't interested in the list. It doesn't move the story along, nor do we relate to names given. However, an interesting thing to think about when reading this, is the care taken to preserve all these names. I'm glad God preserves names because somewhere in Heaven is the Book of Life, and I would hate for Jesus to skim over my name the way I am often tempted to do so for these chapters.
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Jerusalem After the Wall

After the wall is built, Nehemiah leaves Hanani and Hananiah in charge of Jerusalem. Note that Hanani is Nehemiah's brother. At this point, the city was large, but few people were there. Nehemiah was moved by God to gather people by genealogy. This is the explanation given for the list of returnees mentioned above.
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Ezra Reads the Law

Despite returning to Jerusalem well before Nehemiah, Ezra was apparently still active during Nehemiah's time. There is some debate over the passage in Numbers 8 that confirms Ezra's involvement, however it makes sense that if he were still alive, he would take part in helping Nehemiah. As an old man he may not have been laying the bricks for the wall, but it stands to reason that he would speak when asked to speak, as told in Numbers 8.

The description given in this chapter about Ezra's speech reminds me of pulpits today. Ezra stands here to read the law of God to the people. This brought up one question in my mind. Today, preachers chose a passage or verse and preach about that verse, but it seems that originally, they simply read the Word of God. Although Jesus' sermons are similar in style to what we see now, Jesus is God so Him speaking of His own accord is pretty much the same as reading what God has said. My real concern/question, is why we never simply read the Bible aloud as Ezra did here. The Israelites were explicitly commanded to read the law every year, yet we do not.

When the people hear the law, they weep because they know they have failed. We often feel sadness and grief to learn of how we have come short of God's glory, but Ezra reminds them (and us) not to mourn. The simple fact that they were there listening was evidence of their journey back to God. All we can do is repent and turn back to God; once we take these steps there is no need to mourn.
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The Feast of Booths

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Hector Argüello Canals

During this time the people learn about the Feast of Booths, also known as the Feasts of Tabernacles. This feast is covered in Exodus 23 and Leviticus 23 (you can see the posts here and here). As the Israelites learn critical information on the feast, such as how to prepare the booths, they become excited to honor the feast. They pitch the booths in their courtyards and on their roofs just as God instructed. The feast of booths had not been kept since Joshua! Now, they read the law and kept the feast each day. On the 8th day, they held a solemn assembly according to scripture.

People often skip over the feasts in preference for the pagan holidays Christianity has adopted. However, when you stop to think about it, this sound like way more fun. Imagine, camping out under the stars and feasting for a week! How much fun would that be?
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Learning From Mistakes

Nehemiah 9 recounts the history of Israel, how they came to be a nation, and how they fell. From Abraham to Moses to their current day, they are reminded of the miracles God has shown and the times Israel has turned away. Yet, as promised, God always sent a savior when they repented. The Israelites' inability to keep the law was punished with captivity, and they knew this was the reason for their troubles. Once again the Israelites are in the position to renew their covenant and do right in the eyes of God.

This is a powerful passage. Hindsight is 20/20, but it takes a lot to admit when we are wrong. We aren't always able to say "I sinned" that’s why God punished me. Many times we feel we've been wronged or chose to ignore what's happened all together. The Jews not only acknowledged they're failure and recommitted themselves to God, they wrote this down and signed it! Nehemiah 10 gives us the names of those who signed the renewed covenant. Interestingly, one of those names is Daniel—is this the same as the prophet Daniel?
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Tithes

Nehemiah 10 also rehashes much of the law, and goes into detail about tithes. People often forget that tithes were not just money, but the first fruits of labor. The best of everything we do is to go to God, first. This can be art, music, athleticism, etc. We are to given what we create to God because He created us first. How do we give to God? We can give to those who do His work, or we can give to those around us. Jesus tells us that when we do for the least among us, we do for Him. Now imagine if every farmer in the US gave 10% of their crop to the poor... If every apartment complex gave 10% of it's units to the homeless until they could get on their feet... If artists didn't just thank God on stage, but 10% of their album was music praising God... How different would the world look?
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More Names

Nehemiah 11 gives us another list of people. The people listed are assigned duties within the covenant. Each family was responsible for certain tasks related to carrying out God's law. The first step to replenishing the city is to assign duties, naturally. This would provide organization as well as keep the people on track with the covenant.
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References

Decrees and Edicts

Ezra is one of those books no one reads, but it contains something very important.

Lessons Learned: The Importance of Ezra

I don't remember ever discussing the book of Ezra in church. Perhaps a pastor mentioned Ezra the priest, but actually reading and quoting from Ezra was never a thing. It's a short book, boasting only 10 chapters, and focuses on the reconstruction of the Temple. It makes sense that churches don't spend much time on this book considering we no longer need the Temple. Yet, Ezra's focus on rebuilding the Temple is very important. It contains the key to identifying Christ!

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.Daniel 9:25 KJV

Daniel tells us that the Messiah would appear 69 weeks after the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. (Note that in prophecy 1 day = 1 year.^[1][2]) The Bible identifies 4 decrees, all given by a Persian king, to rebuild or repair the city of Jerusalem. 3 of the 4 decrees are given in the book of Ezra. I will get into identifying which decree marks the beginning of the 70 weeks prophecy when I get to Daniel 9, however, it is impossible to understand this prophecy without the basis of Ezra. The first time I read Daniel, I had no idea how people understood how to apply the 70 weeks because I hadn't read Ezra!

Not only does Ezra gives us a marker for identifying when the Messiah would appear (the first time), it shows us the persistence pays off. Israel's enemies are relentless in trying to halt the progress of the Temple. Although they have some success, the Israelites do not give up. The Israelites continue to build, petition, and fight for the house of God. There is much to be learned from their perseverance. People will try to stop us from carrying out God's Will and these blockades may last for years, but we cannot give up.

References

1. Numbers 14:34
2. Ezekiel 4:5-6

Ezra 9&10: Confessions of Sin

The last two chapters of Ezra deal with an admission of sin and how the community will repent of that sin.

Introduction

Given the history of the Israelites, they were bound to lose steam in keeping God's law vigilantly. Part of the need for the Messiah is the fact that it's impossible to perfectly keep the law. Note, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try or that the law is broken. There are numerous posts on the site about the law that go into more detail on this note, but for now, we're focusing on the struggle of the Israelites with keeping the law. Every time they dedicated themselves to following God's law, something drew them back into sin. Ezra 9 and 10 inform us of the sin that was growing amongst the Israelites now that they were partially free from captivity and how Ezra handled it.
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Intermarriage

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Scott Webb

The Israelites were forbidden from intermarrying with those who had not chosen to follow God. This wasn't a case of God saying one race was better than another, remember all of the nations are related to each other through the sons of Noah. God issued this law to keep the Israelites from falling into idolatry. In relationships where the couple belongs to different religions, each person is expected to make sacrifices that may be against their religion to make the relationship work. Further, there is the issue of which religion will be taught to their children. In essence, by marrying a person, you are also accepting their beliefs, and paganism is not something God wanted His children to accept.

Before the exile, the Israelites were very fond of intermarrying and now that they had returned to Jerusalem, they were back to marrying off their sons and daughters to pagan nations. This isn't surprising when you realize that there are groups of people of almost every race that claim Jewish heritage. Ezra finds this to be unacceptable since it is disobedience to God and likely to end in idolatry as it had all the times before. In a prayer to God, Ezra stresses that disobedience was what led to their captivity and reminds us that God never forsook them so it wasn't too late to repent. After everything that had happened, they should have learned their lesson, but they didn't. We repeat this cycle ourselves in the modern era.

After the prayer, the people of Israel gathered around him and wept. Ezra proposes that the Israelites send their foreign wives and children away so that they may preserve the covenant. Divorce for reasons other than adultery was not allow, so why did God allow this? The new testament tells us that we are to stay with a spouse who doesn't share our faith if they will have us. These spouses, likely were not happy with the crack down imposed by Ezra. In addition, the text never says the people were divorced. It is quite possible that women who sent their pagan husbands away were not allowed to remarry. Men who sent their wives away probably shouldn't have remarried, but may have since men often had multiple wives.

Everyone was called to Jerusalem to hear this decree, and those that did not come after 3 days were cut off from the community. At this time. This meeting occurred on the 20th day of the ninth month. We are also given a list of people found guilty of this trespass, many of which were Levites. The list is probably there to remind us that even "the chosen" are to be held accountable for their sins.
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Word Choice

Ezra 10:3 contains the phrase "my lord," but the Masoretic Text reads "my Lord." The difference is that lord would refer to an earthly master, whereas Lord was the phrase substituted when referring to God. It is unclear if Shechaniah was speaking of God (Lord) or Ezra (lord) when he gives his speech.^[1] In either case, it is he who proposes that the Israelites send their foreign wives and offspring away to preserve the covenant.
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References

1. Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible, pg. 811-812. 2014

Ezra 5&6: Darius' Decree

During the reconstruction of the Temple, the Israelites face adversity but they don't give up. Eventually Darius I reinstitute the command to rebuild the Temple.

Introduction

During the reconstruction of the Temple, the Israelites face adversity but they don't give up. The Israelites don't immediately stop building the Temple. Instead they continued their work such that the king has to send people to investigate. This is a classic case of the question is your duty to your country or to God. Our duty is first to God. If was the king or president mandates goes against what God has said, we are to follow God. The Jews were fully aware of why they had been taken into captivity so they understood the importance of rebuilding the Temple and sticking to God's plan.
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Darius

When Darius takes over the Persian throne, he discovers the decree Cyrus had given the Jews. This decree not only gave them permission to build the Temple, but called for the king's treasury to fund it. The idea the a Persian king would command the Jews to rebuild the Temple, let alone fund it, used to be doubted by scholars. However evidence has since proven this to be a possibility, as the Persians funded many extra-religious buildings.^[1] This proclamation moves Darius to reissue this decree and made it so that the Israelites could rebuild their Temple. From Ezra 4 we see that construction restarted on the Temple during Darius' 2nd year, and in Ezra 6 we are told they completed the Temple in his 6th year. However, since they actually began reconstruction during Cyrus' reign, we can't estimate the length of time they actually spent working the Temple.

Once the Temple was complete, the Israelites had great sacrifices for the dedication and hosted Passover. Now that they had experienced punishment for disobeying God, they were committed to following His law.
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How Big Was It?

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Rob Bye

The dimensions given of the Temple in Cyrus' decree do not match those of Solomon's Temple. Some people cite this as a contradiction, however, we aren't being told about the old Temple, we're being told about the new Temple. Perhaps they wanted to upgrade the original Temple. It is possible that where they may not have been able to add gold and silver, they could add space. Although we don't think about it much today, land is a vary valuable commodity. It could also be a copyist error. Another important the to remember is that since one king halted the construction and Darius took over the decree, Darius could have changed these Dimensions based on how much he was willing to provide financially.
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References

1. Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible, pg. 803-806. 2014

Ezra 7&8: Introducing Ezra

Despite the book being named after Ezra, we aren't introduced to him until chapter 7.

Introduction

Despite the book being named after Ezra, we aren't introduced to him until chapter 7 and he is only present in the last four chapters of the book. Ezra was a dedicated priest who lived during the time of Artaxerxes I.
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Ezra

Ezra is a descendant of Aaron's son Eleazar and a scribe of the law. The establishes him as a member of the tribe of Levi and a priest. Notably, he is also descended from Zadok, who is discussed frequently in Kings and Chronicles.

Although we generally assume priests (preachers, ministers, etc.) have a closer relationship with God than the average person, this isn't actually true. In our time, this is evidenced by the number of priest and preachers committing heinous acts such as child molestation. However, during biblical times, this wasn't true either. The books of Kings and Chronicles frame the state of Israel based on the king, not the priests. Om the Books of Law, we are told that the priesthood represented the firstborn of Israel. They were supposed to be set apart and keep the law so that they could enter the holy place and touch the holy objects. Of course, if we look at Bible history, they firstborn usually turns out to be a disappointment—Cain, Esau, Reuben, etc. Unlike the corrupt priests, Ezra set his heart to follow God's law.
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Artaxerxes I

Photocredit: Wikipedia/ Guillaume Rouille

Ezra returns to Jerusalem during the 5th month and during Artaxerxes' 7th year. Following the Israelite calendar, this would have been around August. More importantly, based on the historical record of Artaxerxes' reign, the year this occurred would have been 457 bc. The date is important because Ezra's return to Jerusalem with a letter from Artaxerxes marks one four decrees given in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuild the Jerusalem. Daniel 9:25 tells us that the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem marks the beginning of the 70 weeks prophecy. I'll go into more detail about the prophecy in the post on Daniel 9, but it's important to notice these decrees and establish their dates as we read. This is one of the reasons it takes several readings (and not necessarily in the same order) to understand Bible as a whole.

The letter Ezra is given from Artaxerxes proclaimed that the Israelites were free to return to Jerusalem. Ezra is sent to "inquire of Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of God," which means he was to make sure the Israelites were upholding the law of God. Artaxerxes specifies that the law of God was in Ezra's hand, proving that he was proclaiming Israel free to worship the God of Abraham, not a Persian god. This decree allows Judah to establish the law of God in their land, which is a step toward autonomy. Cyrus and Darius had allowed them to rebuild the city, but now Artaxerxes was giving them the command to restore the law of God. Near the end of his letter, Artaxerxes even establishes a possible death sentence on those within Judah who do not uphold the law of God. Ezra 7:26 shows Artaxerxes validating the law of God, and thus giving Judah some level of independence to carry out God's law.

Artaxerxes even proclaims that money for the Jews to purchase what they need for sacrifices was to be given to Ezra. Artaxerxes tells the treasures to do whatever Ezra asks so that the Israelites can do whatever they need for the Temple. Ezra tells the Israelites that they are blessed the Lord has moved the king's heart in such a manner.
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Points of Interest

Ezra gives us a record of the exact weight of precious metals brought to the Temple. If you wanted, you could convert these weights to modern units and establish the modern value of the metals based upon their current prices. This could then be compared to the cost of the original Temple. I am not providing that here, because I don't think that was the point of the telling us this information. Solomon's Temple was grandiose and magnificent; the reaction of those who had witnessed it's splendor to the new Temple confirms that the second Temple was not as magnificent. The point of informing us that the king handed over treasures for building the Temple is to show God's hand in the matter. It is evident that God had appointed this time for the Israelites to be freed from captivity. God wanted His nation reestablished, so He moved this king of Persia to do so. This also parallels the wealth Israel is given by Egypt when they leave.

An interesting point that comes from the presentation of these treasures is the completeness of the Temple. Most scholars claim that the Darius of the Bible is Darius I, thus by the beginning of Artaxerxes' reign, the Temple should have been complete. It is possible that despite having a completed Temple there was much room for improvement, and this why Artaxerxes supplied them with riches for the Temple. Others will argue that this works in favor of counting Darius II as the Darius of the Bible. However the dates to not line up to support Darius II as the Darius of the Bible.^[1] Therefore, we must assume Artaxerxes was merely improving a finished Temple.

One thing that stands out to me, is that the author refers to himself as "me" or "I" in the book. It's not often that we see a first person account of anything in the Bible. We can learn a lot from this, specifically that the author was at one point captive and returned with the other Israelites. The person returns with the chief men of the cities, but when they gather together, none of the men are non-priests from the tribe of Levi, so he sends for them. Thus we know the author had a desire for fairness. Once representatives from the non-priest families of the tribe of Levi are present, the author declares a fast. This fast is because he was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers to protect them on the journey; instead they look to God to defeat their enemies. This is a major hint that despite speaking of Ezra in the third person elsewhere in the book, this "I" should be associated to him. It was Ezra who received the decree and given permission to get what he needed. It stands to reason that it would have been Ezra that was in the position to ask for a band of soldiers from the king as well.
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References

1. John Oakes. "Is the Darius who built the temple after Artaxerxes in Ezra 4 Darius I or Darius II?". Evidence for Christianity. November 29, 2015
2. Brad Beaman. "Bible Timeline, Persian Kings Period". Brad Beaman: My Free Space. November 1, 2007

Ezra 3&4: Reconstruction of the Temple

The Israelites start rebuilding the Temple, are blocked by enemies but resume the task.

Introduction

As one could expect, there were bumps along the way with rebuilding the Temple. Cyrus gave the order for the Israelites to rebuild, but there were many people ready to stand in their way. We may experience similar ups and downs in our own lives. The devil is persistent, but if we keep following God's way, we will come out triumphant, just as the Israelites did.
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Priorities

The first thing the Israelites do is rebuild the altar; it takes them 7 months to get the altar back up and operational. Once the altar was in place, they all gathered in Jerusalem to bring offerings to God. This took priority because the act of giving to God and communing with God was more important that a building. People today are often obsessed with the building itself, ascribing folklore and superstitions about what can and can't happen in the building. We should remember that tending to His business and His Will should always take precedence over a building.
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Celebrating

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Nathan McBride

The Feast of Tabernacles was also celebrated, while everyone was gathered. The returning Israelites dutifully followed the law of Moses regarding sacrifices, even though they had not rebuilt the Temple. Considering the fact that mankind and the Israelites had worshipped God without a Temple for thousands of years before Solomon, it was a safe assumption that the altar should be rebuilt first.
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The Temple

Like before, they bring wood for the Temple from Tyre. The construction began in the 2nd year of their return, much sooner in comparison to the Exodus. This eagerness, however, was quickly silenced by their enemies. Judah's enemies first offered to help build the Temple; this was an effort to take ownership of the Temple and be able to control Judah.^[1] Thus, when the Israelites refused their help, these enemies took to petitioning the king. Although these enemies had claimed to be seeking God, their reaction seems a bit extreme. Nonetheless, we should also take note that this is likely the response we will receive if we act as though the Body of Christ is too exclusive for certain people. While we must be cautious of those trying to undermine God's Glory, we also have to be mindful of how we treat people. Turning away someone who is truly seeking God could not only ruin their relationship with God, but cause problems for us too. Because of the Israelites' snub, the enemies tried to make it more difficult for Judah.

After Artaxerxes takes the throne, an exchange occurs between Artaxerxes and the enemies, in which the enemies described the rebelliousness of the city of Jerusalem. They warned the king that warning that if it were completely rebuilt, it would disrupt the Israelites from paying tribute. Upon hearing this, Artaxerxes commanded that the city not be rebuilt. After Artaxerxes put a halt to the reconstruction process, work on the Temple didn't resume until the 2nd year of Darius. Matthew Henry suggests that the king referred to as Artaxerxes is the same as Ahasuerus (mentioned in verse 6) and Cambyses, the ruler who followed Cyrus.^[2] Others suggest that Ahaserus referred to Cambyses while Artaxerxes refers to Smerdis, a king who reigned briefly between Cambyses and Darius I.^[3] Others believe that the text from Ezra 4:6-23 is parenthetical, to show that throughout the Persian reign, there kings of Persia received letters from people complaining about the Jews.^[1] All three solutions explain the timeline given in Ezra 4. I would lean toward the Ahasuerus being Cambyses and Artaxerxes referring to Smerdis. The Persian kings often had dual names, so it stands to reason that these could have been their other names. However, Ahasuerus is thought to be Xerxes I and is the king Esther marries. The question, however, is whether Ahasuerus in Esther is the same Ahasuerus. There were 2 Darius' and 4 Artaxerxes in the Persian empire, so the possibility exists.

We are told that upon completion, the returnees who had seen the original temple wept, but those who had not shouted for joy. Together, they made a great noise that could be heard, by could not be distinguished as joyous or sorrowful from a distance. Solomon's Temple had been grand and central to their identity. This new Temple, while nice, was no where near as ornate and magnificent as the original. This probably felt very personal to those who had seen the first Temple; they may have thought their culture had been devalued.

References

1. Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Bible Study, pg 799-803. 2014
2. Matthew Henry. "Ezra 4 Commentary". via Bible Study Tools; visited March 2017
3. Eric Lyons. "Kingly Chronology in the Book of Ezra". Apologetics Press. 2005

Ezra 2: Those Who Returned

Ezra 2 (and Nehemiah 7) list the families that returned to Jerusalem after Cyrus' decree.

Introduction

Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 are almost identical. Both chapters contain a list of families that returned from the exile. The purpose of this list is show that those who returned we still connected to their Jewish roots (i.e. they could still trace their lineage and had not been lost), as well as, illustrate the reduction of of the Jewish population. Only a small portion of the Jews that had been taken returned.
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The List of Returnees

People listed in this chapter are listed either by family name or by hometown (in Judah). There is also a group of people that returned who could not verify their Israelite heritage. This parallels the exodus, in which a mixed-multitude also travelled with Israel. Both cases also include the Israelites receiving treasures from their captors.

Photocredit: Unsplahs.com/Laura Gariglio

The total number of people returning is given as 49,697. Of these people 7,337 were servants and 200 were singers for worship in God. In addition to these people, the Jews brought 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.
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Conflict with Nehemiah

Nehemiah 7 also lists the number of Jews returning. There are minor differences in the numbers given for each family or hometown, but the final total matches. Nehemiah 7:66-69 states that there were 42,360 returnees who brought with them 7,337 servants; this adds to 49,697 people. However, Nehemiah says 245 of these returnees were singers. Differences in numbers by family and city can be explained by how each person was categorized. In one list a person may be counted under his family, but in the other he may be counted for his hometown instead. The difference between singers is harder to explain. One possibility is that 200 people were singers at the time they returned but 45 of those returnees became singers later (certainly there were children in the group of returnees). Another possibility is that Ezra may have only included singers by the lineage appointed by David to sing, while Nehemiah may have included other singers as well. The people of CARM remind us that between the time Ezra penned his list and the time Nehemiah penned his, people could have died and been born into those families, thus accounting for changes in values. Copyist errors are also a possibility.^[1] Once we understand that there are many rational explanations for the difference in values, we can conclude that just under 50,000 people returned to Judah.
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References

1. Matt Slick. "Why are the statistics in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 different?". Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry; visited March 2017

Ezra 1: Cyrus' Decree

Cyrus gives a decree for the Jews return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.

Introduction

Ezra starts out with the decree from Cyrus II, king of Persia, that called for the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild their Temple. The beginning of Ezra is identical to the end of 2 Chronicles.
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The Decree

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/David Marcu

Jeremiah 29 foretold that the Jews would be in captivity for 70 years and 2 Chronicles 36 repeats this number. Cyrus' proclamation gives us insight on this prophecy. Nebuchadnezzar started taking people from Judah in 605bc and the foundation of the second Temple was laid in 535, which is how some people count those 70 years. Others count from the fall of Jerusalem in 586bc until the completion of the Temple in 516bc. Either way, the total of 70 years still holds.^[1]

Not only does Cyrus authorize the Jews to return and rebuild the Temple of God, he gives back items fro the Temple that were stolen by Nebuchadnezzar. The returned items include 1030 charges (30 of the which were gold, 1000 were silver), 29 knives, and 440 basins (30 of gold). In total, Cyrus returned 5400 items to Sheshbazzar, a prince of Judah.

References

1. William MacDonald. Believer's Bible Commentary, pg. 473-474. 1995

Ezra

This history, origins, and contents of Ezra are examined.

Introduction

Yet another reason to take care that the divisions in the Bible do not effect our reading and understanding is seen in the arbitrary split of Ezra and Nehemiah. After completing Ezra, you will see that it ends abruptly. This is because up until the third century (ad), Ezra and Nehemiah were one book. The books were initially split by Origen, a Biblical scholar from Alexandria.^[1][3] When Jerome constructed the Latin Vulgate, which had a major influence on our modern translations, he followed Origen's example.^[3]
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Authorship

Ezra is a mixture of narratives, letters, and prayers. It almost reads like a scrapbook, where someone inserted news clippings and letters amongst personal reflections. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 all contain references to the first person, which is rare in the Bible. The original text also mixes languages, preferring Aramaic for the official documents. Aramaic was the official language of Persia, which means decrees and proclamations would have been issued in Aramaic as shown by the author.^[4] Most scholars assume Ezra to be the author, though it is impossible to tell for certain.^[1][4]

The Aramaic present in the book is very similar to that of a Jewish community dated to 5th century bc, which is used to support the theory that the book was written during that time period. Presumably, Ezra authored the book before Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem in 444bc.^[4]
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Purpose

Each book of the Bible has a specific purpose. Even great secular writers will tell you, everything in a your writing should be necessary. If it doesn't serve a purpose, leave it out. God's Word was given to us for a purpose, and it is up to us to decipher that purpose for each book.

Ezra covers three main events: the return/restoration of the Jews, opposition to the construction of the Temple, and the sending away of foreign wives among Israelite men. Within these events, we are introduced to Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra. The events in the book of Esther take place in between chapters 6 and 7 (chronologically). The return to Jerusalem fulfills a prophecy given by Jeremiah 29. Further, the proclamation to rebuild the city fulfills the prophecy of Daniel 9. The prophecy in Daniel 9 helps us identify Jesus as the Messiah!
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Kings of Persia

The kings of Persia are heavily referenced in the book of Ezra, as it is by their decrees that the Israelites are able to to rebuild the Temple or told to cease reconstruction. As such it is important to look at the timeline of Persian kings before reading Ezra or Nehemiah.^[1][2]

Kings of Persia
King	Reign (bc)	Bible Reference
Cyrus II	559-530	Cyrus is mentioned in 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Daniel, and Isaiah. He is the one who issues the proclamation that Israel can return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple.
Cambyses II	530-522	Not mentioned
Darius I	522-486	Darius is mentioned in Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Haggai, and Zechariah. It is during his reign that construction of the Temple continues
Xerxes I	486-465	Xerxes I is considered a possibility for the identity of Ahasuerus in Ezra 4:6 and Esther.
Artaxerxes I	465-425	Artaxerxes is discussed in Ezra and Nehemiah; Ezra's mission is usually interpreted as occurring during his reign.
Xerxes II	423	Not mentioned
Darius II	423-404	Possibiliy referenced in Nehemiah 12:22
Artaxerxes II	404-359	Those who do not believe Ezra's mission occurred during Artaxerxes I's reign, place it in Araxerxes II' reign.

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Cyrus' Cylinder

When Israel was in Egypt, God had to force pharaoh's hand to let the people go, yet Cyrus decreed they could go home and rebuild the Temple without a big production from God. Many people find this hard to believe, but an ancient artifact known as Cyrus' Cylinder, fully supports this chain of events. Cyrus' Cylinder is currently in the British Museum. This cylinder contains an account of Cyrus' rule, including his restoration of various temples that had been previously destroyed by Babylon.^[5]
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References

1. Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible, pg. 789-794. 2014
2. "List of monarchs of Persia". Wikipedia; visited March 2017
3. "Origen". Christianity Today; visited March 2017
4. William MacDonald. Believer's Bible Commentary, pg. 471-472. 1995
5. "The Cyrus Cylinder". The British Museum; visited March 2017