The man we know as Ezra is the first to be identified as both a scribe and a priest. Ezra was a descendant of Aaron, and he can be considered the High Priest. The term scribe appears to imply that Ezra had royal administrative duties in addition to his priestly duties. Ezra knew the Torah of Moses extremely well, and he was sent to impose the Law of Moses once again in Jerusalem. Artaxerxes vested him with the authority to return to Jerusalem likely around 458 BC. I am working under the assumption that Ezra and Nehemiah were somewhat contemporaneous, as the two books suggest. Some other scholars want to see Ezra return later under the reign of Artaxerxes II (398 BC).
The book that Ezra wrote offers a bit of history of the rebuilding of the temple, which took place before Ezra arrived in Jerusalem. The first chapters deal with the people who were part of the first wave of returning exiles. Ezra highlights the work of Zerubbabel, Joshua the High Priest, and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who spur the people on in rebuilding the Temple of the Lord.
The interesting thing about this temple, however, was that unlike the Temple of Solomon or the Tabernacle in the days of Moses, Ezra never writes about the glory cloud coming and settling upon this new temple. This, in my opinion, tells the people and others that the true temple of God was yet to come, and we see the fulfillment of the temple in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Father.
It is not until the seventh chapter of the book that we see Ezra come onto the scene in Jerusalem. As I said above, Ezra is known to King Artaxerxes as the priest and “scribe of the Law of the God of heaven.” Artaxerxes desires Ezra to go and continue in the work of serving the Lord in Jerusalem in the temple that Cyrus decreed could be built at the end of 2nd Chronicles, and relayed again in the book of Ezra through one of the many copied letters which certify YHWH’s promise of a remnant to return and worship in Judah (Jerusalem). This promised remnant plays a tremendous role in the promised Messiah being born in Bethlehem. As the exiles return and have the altar and foundation of the temple constructed, they celebrate the pilgrimage feasts of Passover and the Feast of Booths, which are held with great joy before and after Ezra comes. We should also assume that other High Days of the Israelite worship calendar are also celebrated, such as the solemn day of Yom Kippur, though it is not mentioned by name.
The book speaks a lot about bringing more items back to the temple for use, but the ninth chapter turns to a problem that Ezra encounters with the people settled in Jerusalem. The Jews had intermarried with the surrounding nations. The book highlights nations and peoples who should have been destroyed in the days of Joshua’s conquest. The remedy that Ezra orders is for the men to leave their wives and families. He orders this because the history of Israel was full of situations where Israel was led away from following the LORD by the daughters of foreign nations.
While this may sound extremely harsh, and it is, we must consider this from the theological perspective for a moment. The people of Israel were called to be pure, set apart for the Lord. Their earthly marriages were to reflect this greater reality and their relationship with the Lord. Paul in the New Testament also speaks about the great difficulties that come from being married to an unbeliever. We should heed the warnings that are presented both in Ezra and again in the New Testament about the estate of marriage and not enter into it lightly.
Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog
The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack
Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, IN
©2026 Jacob Hercamp. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share, and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com
