Esdras, Books Of A group of texts, including the books of 1 and 2 Esdras. First Esdras consists of historical reconstructions, court tales, and Wisdom literature. Second Esdras is considered a Jewish apocalypse.

The name Esdras (Ἔσδρας, Esdras) is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Ezra (עֶזְרָא, ezra'). Several books in the Old Testament and Old Testament Apocrypha are named after Ezra/Esdras, and different traditions give these books different names and numbers, which can cause confusion. The major naming traditions include the following:

Additionally, modern scholarship divides 2 Esdras (the one labeled as such in most English versions) into three portions, known as 4 Ezra (2 Esdras 3–14), 5 Ezra (2 Esdras 1–2), and 6 Ezra (2 Esdras 15–16).

For more information on each of the books of Esdras, see these articles: Esdras, First Book of; Esdras, Second Book of. For information on the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, which are sometimes called 1 Esdras and 2 Esdras, see these articles: Ezra, Book of; Nehemiah, Book of.

There are also several nonbiblical texts named after Ezra, but these are not grouped with the works usually known as the “books of Esdras.”

(For further information on the Old Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha, see these articles: Pseudepigrapha, Old Testament; Apocrypha, Old Testament. For information on the process of canonization, see this article: Canon, Old Testament.)

Abigail Stocker