I & II Esdras (Anchor Yale Bible Commentary | AYBC)
Overview
Written about 10 BC, I Esdras is a history ranging from the pious reign of Josiah to the religious reforms of Ezra. For this period Josephus follows I Esdras in his antiquities of the Jews.
An apocalyptic work, written 250 years later, II Esdras seeks to offer strength, courage, and hope to those whose faith was severely shaken in the gloom and despondency that followed upon the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Its chief purpose was to inspire trust in God and the ultimate triumph of righteousness, if not in this world, then in the world to come. “Tracts for the times such as II Esdras,” writes Jacob M. Myers in his preface, “have a message for us who in a revolutionary age are obsessed with the impatience reflected by Ezra; it was not that he lacked faith in God but that he, like Job, questioned his ways and the delay, perhaps seeming inactivity, in the face of what appeared to the prophet to be terrible urgencies. The questions posed are still asked in the context of our age.”
Eight photographs of ancient Near Eastern sculpture and coins help the reader visualize both the events recounted in I Esdras and the apocalyptic imagery in II Esdras. Each book has its own introduction and bibliography.
Logos Bible Software gives you the tools you need to use this volume effectively and efficiently. With your digital library, you can search for verses, find Scripture references and citations instantly, and perform word studies. Along with your English translations, all Scripture passages are linked to Greek and Hebrew texts. What’s more, hovering over a Scripture reference will instantly display your verse! The advanced tools in your digital library free you to dig deeper into one of the most important contributions to biblical scholarship in the past century!
- Offers original translations, including alternative translations, annotations, and variants
- Provides verse-by-verse commentary on the text
- Presents the reader with historical background, including analysis of authorship and dating
- Features an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary literature
- I Esdras
- The Period of Josiah (1:1–31)
- The Last Kings of Judah (1:32–55)
- The Decree of Cyrus and the Response Thereto (2:1–14)
- Correspondence between the Samarian Officials and the Persian Court (2:15–25)
- The Story of the Bodyguards (3:1–4:63)
- Preparations for and Return from Captivity (5:1–70)
- Events Associated with the Reconstruction of the Temple (6:1–7:15)
- The Ezra Story (8:1–9:55)
- II Esdras
- Ezra’s Divine Commission (1:1–2:48)
- The Ezra Apocalypse (3:1–14:51)
- Sixth Ezra (15:1–16:78)
Top Highlights
“Roman Catholics do not accept all of them as Scripture, for I and II Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh are not included in the official Catholic canon drawn up at the Council of Trent.” (Page viii)
“2 Esdras 3–14 almost certainly comes from the last decade of the first century a.d. or soon thereafter” (Page 129)
“For a description of the nomenclature of the Ezra materials see the Introduction to I Esdras.” (Page 107)
“accept these books, wholly or partially, as canonical” (Page viii)
“It is almost universally acknowledged that II Esdras was composed in a Semitic language, that is, Hebrew or Aramaic” (Page 115)
- Title: I & II Esdras
- Author: Jacob M. Myers
- Series: Anchor Yale Bible (AYB)
- Publisher: Yale University Press
- Publication Date: 1995
- Pages: 416