Ezra, Book of, is a book of the Bible. Jewish editions of the Bible combine Ezra with the Book of Nehemiah in a collection of books called the Writings. Ezra is a separate book in Christian Bibles, where it appears as one of the Historical Books of the Old Testament.
The Book of Ezra was written about 400 B.C. It recounts the story of the Jews’ return from exile in Babylonia, which had begun with the Babylonian conquest of the Jews in 587 or 586 B.C. The book also describes the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Babylonians had destroyed the original Temple.
Ezra was a priest and scribe who led a group of exiles back to Jerusalem, probably in 458 B.C., but no later than 397 B.C. He was responsible for a number of religious and social reforms. These reforms included the cancellation of marriages between Jews and non-Jews. In the Christian Bible, Ezra 7:27 to 9:15 is known as Ezra’s memoirs, because the passage is written in a form similar to a diary. Ezra 7-10 summarizes his achievements.
See also Bible (The Hebrew Bible).
