of God’s providence over the generations preparing for Ezra and planning for the right moment when he would be most effective.4 The most significant feature of the genealogy is the establishing of Ezra’s priestly status deriving from his descent from Aaron. Yet the priests before the exile had often not been greatly helpful in maintaining Israel’s spiritual life. When we think of figures such as Eli and his sons we see how low the institution could sink. Yet there are glimpses of better things. Jehoshaphat