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Home > History > BC > OT Apocrypha > 1 Esdras
The First Book of Esdras
1 Esdras (Gr. Esdras A; Protestant writers, I Esdras; Catholic writers, 3 Esdras) Although not belonging to the Canon of the Sacred Scriptures, this book is usually found, ne prorsus intereat, in an appendix to the editions of the Vulgate. It is made up almost entirely from materials existing in canonical books. The following scheme will show sufficiently the contents and point out the canonical parallels:
- 1 Esdras i and 2 Chronicles 35, 36 -- History of the Kingdom of Juda from the great Passover of Josias to the Captivity.
- 1 Esdras 2:1-15 (Greek text, 14) and Ezra 1 -- Cyrus's decree. Return of Sassabasar.
- 1 Esdras 2:16 (Gr. 15)-31 (Gr. 25) and Ezra 4:6-24 -- Opposition to the rebuilding of the Temple.
- 1 Esdras 3:1-v, 6 -- Original portion. Story of the three pages. Return of Zorobabel.
- 1 Esdras 5:7-46 (Gr. 45) and Ezra 2 -- List of those returning with Zorobabel.
- 1 Esdras 5:47 (Gr. 46)-73 (Gr. 70) and Ezra 3:1-iv, 5 -- Altar of holocausts. Foundation of the Temple laid. Opposition.
- 1 Esdras 6, 7 and Ezra 5, 6 -- Completion of the Temple.
- 1 Esdras 8:1-9, 36 and Ezra 8-10 -- Return of Esdras.
- 1 Esdras 9:37-56 (Gr. 55) and Nehemiah 7:73-8:12 -- Reading of the Law by Esdras.
The book is incomplete, and breaks off in the middle of a sentence. True, the Latin version completes the broken phrase of the Greek; but the book in its entirety probably contained also the narrative of the feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8). A very strange feature in the work is its absolute disregard of chronological order; the history, indeed, runs directly backwards, mentioning first Artaxerxes (2:16-31), then Darius (3-5:6), finally Cyrus (5:7-73). All this makes it difficult to detect the real object of the book and the purpose of the compiler. It has been suggested that we possess here a history of the Temple from the time of Josias down to Nehemias, and this view is well supported by the subscription of the old Latin version. Others suppose that, in the main, the book is rather an early translation of the chronicler's work, made at a time when Par., Esdras, and Neh. still formed one continuous volume. Be this as it may, there seems to have been, up to St. Jerome, some hesitation with regard to the reception of the book into the Canon; it was freely quoted by the early Fathers, and included in Origen's "Hexapla". This might be accounted for by the fact that 1 Esd. may be considered as another recension of canonical Scriptures. Unquestionably our book cannot claim to be Esdras's work. From certain particulars, such as the close resemblance of the Greek with that of the translation of Daniel, some details of vocabulary,etc., scholars are led to believe that 1 Esd. was compiled, probably in Lower Egypt, during the second century B.C. Of the author nothing can be said except, perhaps, that the above-noted resemblance of style to Dan. might incline one to conclude that both works are possibly from the same hand.
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