Ezra (scribe)

Excerpt from the Lexham Bible Dictionary, the most advanced Bible dictionary.

A scribe, priest, and teacher of the Law. Led exiles back to Judaea from Babylon. Commissioned by Artaxerxes to appoint magistrates and judges (Ezra 7:25) and to teach and enforce the “Law of God” and the “Law of the King” in Judaea (Ezra 7:25–26). One of the earliest and most notable figures of Second Temple Judaism.

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The Lexham Bible Dictionary

Ezra, Son of Seraiah

Ezra, Leader of the Exiles, Son of Seraiah (עֶזְרָא‎, ezra'). A scribe, priest, and teacher of the Law. Led exiles back to Judaea from Babylon. Commissioned by Artaxerxes to appoint magistrates and judges (Ezra 7:25) and to teach and enforce the “Law of God” and the “Law of the King” in Judaea (Ezra 7:25–26).

Hashabiah, Descendant of Parosh

Hashabiah, Descendant of Parosh (חֲשַׁבְיָהוּ‎, chashavyahu). A member of the family of Parosh in the postexilic Jewish community. Hashabiah was listed among those who agreed to Ezra’s demand to divorce his foreign wife (Ezra 10:25). The Masoretic Text of Ezra 10:25 reads “Malchijah” twice. This second

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary

Ezra (Person)

EZRA (PERSON) [Heb ʿezrāʾ (עֶזְרָא)]. “Nehemiah and Ezra, the creators of the post-exilic Jewish community in Palestine, are two of the greatest figures in Jewish history”; so concludes a recent (far from conservative) volume (Widengren IJH, 538). Does this dictum, even apart from notably putting Ezra

Sherebiah (Person)

SHEREBIAH (PERSON) [Heb šērēbyâ (שֵׁרֵבְיָה)]. The name of several individuals, in which the theophoric element yāh is added to a form of šrb. Several explanations or derivations of the name have been proposed. Noth (IPN, 259) believes it to be a Piʿel perfect of a verb šrb whose meaning is unknown.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible

Ezra (Person)

Ezra (Person). 1. Religious reformer following Israel’s return from exile. Ezra’s genealogy (Ezr 7:1–5; cf. 1 Chr 6:3–15) places him in the high priestly Aaron-Zadok family line, which accounts for the importance of his scribal and priestly activities. He is called “priest” (Ezr 10:10, 16; Neh 8:2),

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised

Ezra (scribe)

3. The author of the memoirs attributed to him in the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezr. 7–10; Neh. 8–10). His credentials are inherent in his genealogy (Ezr. 7:1–6), which traces his descent from Aaron, the first high priest of Israel. The genealogy is shortened by comparison with the list in

Ezrah

Ezrah [Heb. ʿezrâ (1 Ch. 4:17)]. Probably abbreviated forms of ʿ^azaryâ—‘Yah (weh) helps.’

Hashabiah (son of Parosh)

Hashabiah hash-ə-bīʹ̈ə [Heb. ḥ^ašaḇyâ].1. Two Levites of the family of Merari (1 Ch. 6:45; 9:14).2. A Levite who dwelt in Jerusalem at the time of Nehemiah (Neh. 11:15).3. A son of Jeduthun (1 Ch. 25:3, 19).4. A Hebronite, chief of a clan of warriors who had charge of West Jordan in the interests

Phaltiel

1. [Lat Phalthihel, Salathiel]; AV SALATHIEL. A “chief of the people” who came to Ezra between his first and second visions (2 Esd. 5:16).

Sherebiah

2. [Gk. Apoc. Sarabias]; AV Apoc., NEB Apoc., SARABIAS. A Levite who assisted in the exposition of the law (the MT of Neh. 8:7 reads “and the Levites”; the RSV and NEB follow the Vulg and 1 Esd. 9:48, which identify the Levites with the preceding names), participated in the public confession of sins

Sherebiah

3. A Levitical family that according to Neh. 12:8 returned from the Exile with Zerubbabel (but the names appear to be from a later period, contemporaneous with Ezra and Nehemiah; see comms). An individual by this name became a Levitical chief in the time of Joiakim (v 24).N. J. Opperwall

Tyndale Bible Dictionary

Ezra (Person)

EZRA (Person)1. Religious reformer following Israel’s return from exile. Ezra’s genealogy (Ezr 7:1–5; cf. 1 Chr 6:3–15) places him in the high priestly Aaron-Zadok family line, which accounts for the importance of his scribal and priestly activities. He is called “priest” (Ezr 10:10, 16; Neh 8:2), “scribe” (Ezr

The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated)

Ezra

Ezra (ez´ruh; Heb., “help”), the priest and scribe whose story appears in Ezra 7–10 and Neh. 8–9. In the biblical tradition, Ezra is commissioned by Artaxerxes to lead the exiles in Babylon back to Judah, and he is vested with authority to impose the Mosaic law there, within the Persian province “Beyond

Sherebiah

Sherebiah (sher´uh-bi´uh; Heb., perhaps “the Lord has sent severe heat”).1 A Levite among the postexilic Judeans working with Ezra (Ezra 8:24). He is called a “man of discretion” (8:18); he was sent to Jerusalem from Casiphia to serve as a minister for the house of God (8:17).2 A Levite who explained

The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia

Ezra

EZRA1. A priest who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel (Neh 12:1, 13).2. A priest in Nehemiah’s time (Neh 12:33).3. A priest-scribe, son of Seraiah (Ezr 7:1), who led a group of exiles back to Jerusalem. Best known from the book which bears his name, Ezra was designated in several ways: as priest

The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition

Ezra

EZRA. According to the record in Ezr. 7, Ezra was sent to Jerusalem by Artaxerxes I in 458 bc. It would seem probable that he held a position in Persia comparable to Secretary of State for Jewish affairs. His task was to enforce the uniform observance of the Jewish law, and to this end he had authority

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible

Ezra

Ezra (Heb. ʿezrāʾ)1. A scribe and priest sent with religious and political powers by the Persian king Artaxerxes to lead a group of Jewish exiles from Babylonia to Jerusalem (Ezra 7–8). Ezra condemned mixed marriages (Ezra 9), encouraging Jews to divorce and banish their foreign wives (ch. 10). He

Ezrah

Ezrah (Heb. ʿezrâ)A Judahite (1 Chr. 4:17), listed among the descendants of Caleb.

Hashabiah

Hashabiah (Heb. ḥăšaḇyâ, ḥăšaḇyāhû)1. A Merarite Levite, the father of Malluch and son of Amaziah (1 Chr. 6:45 [MT 30]). He was an ancestor of Ethan, a temple musician during David’s reign.2. A Merarite Levite, the father of Azrikam (1 Chr. 9:14) and son of Bunni (Neh. 11:15). He was an

Sherebiah

Sherebiah (Heb. šērēḇyâ)1. A “man of discretion” sent from Casiphia with his sons and kinsmen to “minister for the house of God” (Ezra 8:18, 24).2. A Levite (so 1 Esdr. 9:48; the MT distinguishes him from the Levites) among those who interpreted the Book of the Law for the people as Ezra read

Eerdmans Bible Dictionary

Ezrah

Ezrah [ĕzˊrə] (Heb. ˓ezrâ “help”). A man of the tribe of Judah (1 Chr. 4:17), listed among the descendants of Caleb.

Catholic Bible Dictionary

Ezra

EZRA A Zadokite priest and scribe, an expert in the Mosaic Law, and a member of the Jewish community in Babylon (Ezra 7) who was sent on a mission to Jerusalem. Ezra probably held a position in the Persian court, and in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes he was dispatched to Jerusalem with the

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church

Ezra

Ezra. The Jewish priest and scribe, who played a central part in the reform of *Judaism in the 5th or 4th cent. bc. His activities are recorded in the Books of *Ezra and Nehemiah, and of 1 *Esdras. On his arrival in *Jerusalem from Persia ‘in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king’ (Ez. 7:7), he

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