THE BOOK OF EZRA.

"This book is a continuation of the Jewish history, from the time at which the Chronicles conclude. It begins with a repetition of the two verses which terminate those books. The first six chapters relate the return of the Jews under Zerubbabel, after their appointed period of captivity; their re-establishment in Judea; and the rebuilding and dedication of the temple. The last four chapters give an account of the appointment of Ezra to the government of Judea, by Artaxerxes Longimanus; his return to Jerusalem; the disobedience of the Jews; and the reformation he effected among them. The period of time embraced in this history, is, as some chronologers compute, about 80 years; according to others, 100 years.

"This book harmonizes most strictly with the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, which it materially elucidates, (comp. chap. v. with Hag. i. 12; and Zech. iii. 1—4,) which should be read with it, to complete the thread of history. It contains the edict of Cyrus granting the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple-an account of the people who returned-the laying the foundation of the temple-the opposition of the Samaritans-the subsequent decree of Darius-the return of Ezra from Babylon, with a commission from Artaxerxes Longimanus-his arrival at Jerusalem-his prayer -and the reformation by him effected.”—(C. B. Vol. III. p. 282.

The following extract from the works of the

learned Prideaux, will show the work in which Ezra was engaged-the high esteem in which he was held by the Jews, and the part he took in arranging the Hebrew scriptures :

"By virtue of the commission he had from the king, and the powers granted him thereby, Ezra reformed the whole of the Jewish church, according to the law of Moses, in which he was so excellently learned, and settled it upon that foundation upon which it afterward stood, to the time of our Saviour. The two chief things which he had to do were, to restore the observance of the Jewish law, according to the ancient approved usages which had been in practice before the captivity, under the directions of the prophets, and to collect together and set forth a correct edition of the Holy Scriptures; in the performance of both which, the Jews tell us, he had the assistance of the Great Synagogue, a convention consisting of one hundred and twenty But the whole conduct of this work, and the glory of accomplishing it is, by the Jews, chiefly attributed to him, under whose presidency, they tell us, it was done. And therefore, they look on him as another Moses. For the law, they say, was given by Moses, but it was revived and restored by Ezra, after it had been, in a manner, extinguished and lost in the Babylonish captivity. And therefore they reckon him as the second founder of it, and it is a common opinion among them that he was Malachi, the Prophet; that he was called Ezra, as his proper name, and Malachi, (which signifies an angel or messenger) from his office, because he was sent as the angel and messenger of God to

men.

restore again the Jewish religion, and establish it in the same manner as it was before the captivity, on the foundation of the law and the prophets. And, indeed, by virtue of that ample commission which he had from king Artaxerxes, he had an opportunity of doing more herein than any other of his nation, and he executed all the powers thereof to the utmost he was able, for the re-settling both of the ecclesiastical and political state of the Jews, in the best posture they were capable of; and from hence his name is in so high esteem and veneration among the Jews, that it is a common saying among them, that if the law had not been given by Moses, Ezra was worthy to have given it.

"But the great work of Ezra was his collecting together and setting forth a correct edition of the Holy Scriptures, in which he labored much, and in the perfection of which, he went a great way. In the time of Josiah, the Book of the Law was so destroyed and lost, that besides that copy of it which Hilkiah found in the temple, there was then no other to be had. For if the king and the high priest, who were both men of eminent piety, were without this part of Holy Scripture, it can scarce be thought that any one else had it. But so religious a prince as king Josiah could not have this long unremedied. By his order, copies were forthwith written out from this original, and search being made for all the other parts of Holy Scripture, both in the colleges of the sons of the prophets, and all other places where they could be found, care was taken for manuscripts to be made out of these also, and thenceforth copies of the whole became multiplied among the people; all those who were desirous of knowing the laws of

their God, either writing them out themselves, or procuring others to do it for them. So that though within a few years after, the holy city and temple were destroyed, and the authentic copy of the law which was laid up before the Lord, was burnt and consumed with them, yet by this time, many copies, both of the Law and the Prophets, and all the other sacred writings, were got into private hands, who carried them with them into captivity.

"That Daniel had a copy of the Holy Scriptures with him, in Babylon, is certain; for he quotes the Law and the Prophets, (chap. ix. 2—13,) which he could not do, had he never seen them. And in the sixth chapter of Ezra it is said, that on the finishing of the temple, in the sixth year of Darius, the Priests and the Levites were settled in their respective functions, according to the law of Moses. But how could they do this according to the written law, if they had not copies of that law then among them? And further, in the eighth chapter of Nehemiah, when the people called for the law of Moses, to have it read to them; they did not pray Ezra to get it dictated to him anew; but that he should bring forth the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded to Israel; which plainly shows that the book was then well known. All, therefore, that Ezra did in this matter was, to get together as many copies of the sacred writings as he could, and out of them all to set forth a correct edition, in the performance of which, he took care of the following particulars :

"1. He corrected all the errors that had crept into these copies, through the negligence or mistakes

of transcribers; for by comparing them one with the other, he found out the true reading.

"2. He collected together all the books of which the Holy Scriptures did then consist, and disposed them in their proper order, and settled the canon of scripture for his time. These books he divided into three parts; i. e. the Law, the Prophets, and the holy writings; which division our Saviour himself takes notice of (Luke xxiv. 44,) where he saith, all things must be fulfilled which are written in the Law and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me.' For there, by the Psalms, he means the whole third part, called the Hagiographa, or holy writings. For that part beginning with the Psalms, the whole was, for that reason, commonly called by that name; as, usually with the Jews, the particular books are named from the words with which they begin. Thus, with them, Genesis is called Bereshith-in the beginning,' because that book commences with that word, and so on of the books following.

"3. The third thing which Ezra did about the Holy Scriptures, was, he added in several places throughout the books, that which appeared necessary for the illustrating, connecting, or completing them, wherein he was assisted by the same Spirit by which they were at first written. But these additions do not in the least detract any thing from the divine authority of the whole, because they were all inserted by the direction of the same Holy Spirit which dictated all the rest. This, as to Ezra, is without dispute, he being himself one of the divine penmen of the Holy Scriptures; for he was most certainly the writer of that book in the Old