Ezra 9

Ezra 9
"Ezra Reads the Law to the People", one of Gustave Doré's illustrations for La Grande Bible de Tours
BookBook of Ezra
CategoryKetuvim
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part15

Ezra 9 is the ninth chapter of the Book of Ezra in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible,[1] or the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and book of Nehemiah as one book.[2] Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles,[3] but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE (the so-called "Chronicler") is the final author of these books.[4] The section comprising chapters 7 to 10 mainly describes the activities of Ezra the scribe and the priest.[5] This chapter and the next deal with the problem of intermarriage, starting with the introduction of the crisis, then Ezra's public mourning and prayer of shame.[5] J. Gordon McConville suggests that this chapter is central to the Book of Ezra because it draws a sharp contrast between what the people of God ought to be and what they actually are.[6]

  1. ^ Halley 1965, p. 233.
  2. ^ Grabbe 2003, p. 313.
  3. ^ Babylonian Talmud Baba Bathra 15a, apud Fensham 1982, p. 2
  4. ^ Fensham 1982, pp. 2–4.
  5. ^ a b Grabbe 2003, p. 317.
  6. ^ McConville 1985, p. 60.