Name of the book
Ancient Judaism produced a number of books that have been associated in some way with the biblical figure of Ezra. (“Esdras” is simply the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Ezra.”) The names given these books can be very confusing. The book with which we are concerned here is contained in the Apocrypha of Protestant Bibles, where it has been called 1 Esdras in English Bibles since 1560. It is not included in Catholic Bibles, but it is found in the Latin Vulgate, where it is known as 3 Esdras. Orthodox Christianity accepts the book as canonical Scripture, and calls it 1 Esdras. In editions of the Greek Old Testament known as the Septuagint, it is called 1 Esdras, and precedes what it calls “2 Esdras,” which consists of the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, considered as one book.
1 Esdras is sometimes referred to as Greek Ezra, in an effort to be clear.
This book has no connection whatever with the book called “2 Esdras” in the Apocrypha of Protestant Bibles.
Relationship to other books
1 Esdras is essentially a compilation of material from parts of the canonical books of 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. For convenience, the parallels are given here:
1.1-33 — 2 Chr 35.1-27
1.34-58 — 2 Chr 36.1-21
2.1-15 — Ezra 1.1-11
2.16-30 — Ezra 4.7-24
5.7-46 — Ezra 2.1-70; Neh 7.4-73
5.47-65 — Ezra 3.1-13
5.66-73 — Ezra 4.1-5
6.1-22 — Ezra 5.1-17
6.23-34 — Ezra 6.1-12
7.1-15 — Ezra 6.13-22
8.1-27 — Ezra 7.1-28
8.28-67 — Ezra 8.1-36
8.68-90 — Ezra 9.1-15
8.91-96 — Ezra 10.1-5
9.1-36 — Ezra 10.6-44
9.37-55 — Neh 7.73–8.12
This chart shows that most of 1 Esdras consists of parallels to canonical Ezra. The only original material in 1 Esdras runs from 3.1 to 5.6.
The exact relation between the history told in Ezra-Nehemiah and that told in 1 Esdras is much debated. Some have said that it is a compilation from Ezra-Nehemiah as found in the Septuagint. Some claim it is based on a Greek translation earlier than the Septuagint. Still others have argued that it is a separate translation from the Hebrew and Aramaic of Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah. If so, it is certainly a freer translation than the version of those books found in the Septuagint, and in better Greek. We assume 1 Esdras to be a separate translation from the original Hebrew and Aramaic text.
This leads to the question of whether the compiler of the book as we now know it was himself the translator. This cannot be known, partly because the purpose of the book is not really clear (see the comments below). In the commentary we will refer at times to the author or to the author/translator, but without pretending to know if the person responsible for the book as we know it did the actual translation. Fortunately, the translator does not have to be concerned with this.
It is clear that the Jewish historian Josephus of the first century A.D. used 1 Esdras as his source for that part of his Jewish Antiquities which deals with the time of Ezra. The relevant sections of Jewish Antiquities are 10.4.5–5.2 and 11.1.1–5.5.
Subject matter of the book
1 Esdras begins with an account of a Passover celebration held while Josiah was king of Judah (640–609 B.C.) and swiftly passes on to the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. Passing over the time the Jews spent in exile in Babylonia, the history jumps to the decree that Cyrus of Persia issued in 539 B.C., allowing the exiled Jews to return to their homeland. We are very briefly told of the return, after which we are told of interference with the Jews’ attempt to rebuild their Temple during the reign of Artaxerxes I of Persia (465–424 B.C.). At this point the story jumps backward to the reign of Darius (521–486 B.C.), where we are told of a contest held by three of the emperor’s bodyguards, one of whom is the Jew Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel wins the contest, and Darius grants his wish that the Jews be allowed to return to their homeland. We are told of the return, and again of opposition to the work of rebuilding the Temple. Darius verifies that his predecessor Cyrus had granted the Jews freedom to do this, and he allows the work to proceed.
Ezra appears in the narrative for the first time in 1 Esd 8.1, where his return to Judah along with another group of exiles is dated to the reign of Artaxerxes. At 8.25 the narrative shifts into the first person, as Ezra himself tells of his return from Babylonia and how he learned that many Jewish men had married non-Jewish women. At 8.91 the third person narrative resumes, telling of measures that were taken for these women, along with their children, to be separated from the Jewish community. The last scene in the book is that in which Ezra reads the Law of Moses publicly to a large assembly.
While the reading of the Law is the last scene, it does not appear that the book ended there originally. The last sentence in the book is only a fragment, and all scholars assume that additional material existed at one time. Some scholars also believe that the book is missing its original beginning as well. The beginning is not ungrammatical, but it is a bit abrupt.
Date and purpose of the book
The date when 1 Esdras was written is uncertain. It was clearly after the writing of the biblical books of Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah, and scholars have noted similarities in style to the rather late books of Esther and Daniel. (It has been suggested that all three of these books were translated by the same person.) If this is valid, we may be justified in saying it could have been written no earlier than around 150 B.C. Since Josephus used it as a source, it clearly had to have been written before his Jewish Antiquities, sometime before 100 A.D. Most scholars are comfortable with saying it dates from the first century B.C.
The purpose of the book is obscure as well. Obviously the author/translator is devoted to the Law and the observance of the sacrificial calendar, the Temple ritual, and the religious calendar, but no convincing argument has been put forward to account for any particular reason the author had for producing the book. While Ezra is obviously the important figure in the book, Nehemiah is mentioned only at 1 Esd 5.8 and 5.40. Clines suggests that the book could be from a Jewish group that honored Ezra over Nehemiah, pointing out that in 2 Macc 1.18–2.13 and Sir 49.13 Ezra is conspicuously absent, while Nehemiah gets the credit. However, this could be due to the strong possibility that we do not possess the entire book, and this in turn, is another reason for our being unable to identify the author’s purpose.
Some discussions of purpose, as well as of composition, center around the story of the three bodyguards in 3.1–5.6, which is the only part of 1 Esdras without parallel in Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah. More has been written about this than any other section, and this scholarship identifies the story as arising from a non-Jewish folk tradition and worked into the Israelite Wisdom tradition. Sometimes the existence of this story is assumed to be the only reason for the preservation of 1 Esdras. It is usually taken to be an intrusion into the context with no relation to what goes before or after it. We agree with this scholarship as to the origin of the story, but it is our position that it is definitely an integral part of the narrative that our author/translator wishes to tell.
Clines expresses the situation clearly: “It is hard for even a careful reader to resist the impression that the book has no clear theme. The very reason for its existence is not apparent, and the selection of material from the other biblical books has been carried out on principles no longer evident to us.”
Problems in translating 1 Esdras
History: The narrative does not follow historical reality. This is clear from the fact that it goes from the time of Cyrus (2.1; 549–529 B.C.) to Artaxerxes I (2.16; 465–424 B.C.), backward to Darius (3.1; 521–486 B.C.), and then on again to Artaxerxes (8.1). Translators will find that the material does not follow the sequence of events in the biblical books it parallels. Translators, however, must avoid any temptation to make the narrative in 1 Esdras harmonize with that in Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah. 1 Esdras, like any book, must be translated as an entity in its own right.
Relationship to the Hebrew text: We will make no attempt to point out every difference between the narrative of 1 Esdras and that within Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah. There are many, and as is said in the paragraph above, the two narratives should not be harmonized. On a few occasions, however, the Greek is ambiguous or vague, and we think it fair enough in these circumstances to take a clue from the original Hebrew to assist in translating the Greek (see, for example, the comments on \jmp 1 Esd 9.6). These are circumstances when we may fairly assume that the author/translator had the Hebrew (or Aramaic) text in front of him and so translated it, rather than circumstances in which our author/translator may have deliberately altered the meaning of the original text, or may have had a somewhat different Hebrew or Aramaic text before him.
Proper names: 1 Esdras contains a huge number of Hebrew personal names, most of which are unknown outside the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and some are unknown even there. Sometimes in 1 Esdras there are Greek forms of Hebrew names. Whenever names can be clearly identified with names in Ezra or Nehemiah, we suggest that translators use whatever forms of those names were used in their translation of those books. They may simply want to use whatever forms the reader will find easiest to handle. Our practice in this Handbook is to follow the Good News Translation (GNT) for names. The only exception we make to this practice is in chapter 5.
One geographical name calls for attention. We use the country name “Judah” rather than “Judea” (the Greek form), since this name is part of Old Testament history, and we are giving it the same form as in other Old Testament books.
Jews or Israelites: To be perfectly correct, we should refer to “Israelites” or “Judeans” before the Babylonian Exile. Since the religion we today call Judaism took definitive form during and just after the Exile, we are historically justified in using the word “Jews” after that time. However, 1 Esdras uses both “Jews” and “Israelites,” and translators should feel free to use both also, if it will not be confusing to the reader. If consistency on this matter is important, we suggest “Jews” or “Jewish people,” since the book pertains to matters that point forward to rabbinic Judaism more than backward toward Israelite religion as practiced in Old Testament history.
Verse numbers: Translators may be confused at times by variations in verse numbers among translations and editions of the Greek text. This is common in all the apocryphal/deuterocanonical books. If translators have previous versions of 1 Esdras in their language, they should use that system of numbering verses. If not, we suggest they join us in following the verse numbering of the Revised Standard Version (RSV).
Outline of 1 Esdras, giving parallels to Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah
1.1-22 Josiah celebrates the Passover (2 Chr 35.1-19)
1.23-33 The end of King Josiah’s reign (2 Chr 35.20-27)
1.34-36 King Jeconiah of Judah (2 Chr 36.1-4)
1.37-42 King Jehoiakim of Judah (2 Chr 36.5-8)
1.43-46a The kingdom of Judah grows weak (2 Chr 36.9-10)
1.46b-58 King Zedekiah and the fall of Jerusalem (2 Chr 36.11-21)
2.1-15 King Cyrus of Persia allows the Jews to return (Ezra 1.1-11)
2.16-30 Opposition to rebuilding Jerusalem (Ezra 4.7-24)
3.1–4.63 A debate on the question: What is the most powerful of all forces?
3.1-17a The king’s bodyguards decide to hold a debate
3.17b-24 The speech about wine
4.1-12 The speech about the king
4.13-32 Zerubbabel speaks about women
4.33-41 Zerubbabel speaks about the power of being reliable
4.42-63 The result of the contest
5.1-46 A list of those who returned from exile (Ezra 2.1-70; Neh 7.4-73)
5.47-53 Worship begins again (Ezra 3.1-6)
5.54-65 The people begin rebuilding the Temple (Ezra 3.7-13)
5.66-73 The people of the land interfere with work on the Temple (Ezra 4.1-5)
6.1-22 The Persian governor interferes with work on the Temple (Ezra 5.1-17)
6.23-26 King Cyrus’ order is found (Ezra 6.1-5)
6.27-34 King Darius orders the work to continue (Ezra 6.6-12)
7.1-9 The Jews dedicate their new Temple (Ezra 6.13-18)
7.10-15 The Passover (Ezra 6.19-22)
8.1-7 Ezra arrives in Jerusalem (Ezra 7.1-10)
8.8-24 Ezra’s letter from the king (Ezra 7.11-26)
8.25-90 The words of Ezra (Ezra 7.27–9.15)
8.25-27 Ezra praises God (Ezra 7.27-28)
8.28-40 A list of people who returned from exile with Ezra (Ezra 8.1-14)
8.41-49 Ezra finds priests and Levites for the Temple (Ezra 8.15-20)
8.50-53 Ezra leads his companions in fasting and prayer (Ezra 8.21-23)
8.54-60 Gifts for the Temple (Ezra 8.24-30)
8.61-67 Ezra’s return to Jerusalem (Ezra 8.31-36)
8.68-90 Ezra learns that Jews have married non-Jews (Ezra 9.1-15)
8.91–9.17 The plan for ending mixed marriages (Ezra 10.1-17)
9.18-37a The men who had foreign wives (Ezra 10.18-44; Neh 7.73a)
9.37b-55 Ezra reads the Law to the people (Neh 7.73b–8.12)
Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.