Moore Perspective: Why is the Timing of Events in Ezra-Nehemiah So Confusing? (Part 1 of 4): Introduction

It is beyond the scope of this study to address the complex and multifaceted questions concerning the composition and authorship of the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Nevertheless, some preliminary matters warrant our attention.

According to early and long-held Jewish tradition, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were at one time combined as a single volume under the name of Ezra.¹ However, seeing that Ezra and Nehemiah were contemporaries (Neh. 8:9; 12:26-40), and the work includes first-person accounts from each (Ezra 7:27–9:15; Neh. 1:1–7:5; 12:27-43; 13:4-31), the final composition is conceivably the collaborative effort of both men. Linguistic, thematic, and literary differences,² along with uniformity of narration and style,³ support this proposal. The presumption of anonymous compiler(s), editor(s), or chronicler(s) is more speculative. For the purpose of this study we will simply reference the traditional attributions as per the main characters.

Irrespective of human authorship and whether these writings are viewed as a literary unit or two separate entities, the entire work is clearly a compilation of data from various sources, including extensive lists of names and genealogies,⁴ other itemized catalogues of people, leaders, cities, temple articles, animals, and donations,⁵ official correspondence, including original Aramaic transcripts,⁶ first-person testimonies (memoirs?) of Ezra and Nehemiah,⁷and even biblical texts.⁸

Long before the present-day copyright mentality, the meticulous documenting of sources was not necessary. In ancient oral cultures an author could reasonably assume his readers or listeners were familiar with and could easily recognize quoted materials and allusions. The Jews of antiquity were also meticulous record keepers,⁹ too much information to compile into a single manuscript, most of which has been lost or destroyed through the ages. Incorporating selected facts and figures into biblical documents has ensured their preservation.¹⁰

Presumptive Accuracy

The prolific use of historical time markers in Ezra-Nehemiah reflects an intentional concern for the historicity of the recorded materials. Moreover, the place of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew canon is undisputed and therefore implicitly included among “all God-breathed scripture” (2 Timothy 3:15-16).¹¹ If all scripture is divinely inspired, then all scripture, including Ezra-Nehemiah, is necessarily inerrant. How, then, do we account for the confusing ambiguities and apparent discrepancies?

These issues will be addressed in the next few articles.

--Kevin L. Moore

*Originally prepared for the 2023 FHU Lectures.

Endnotes:

¹ A single scroll would have been more practical but not necessarily indicative of single authorship. Origin of Alexandria (ca. AD 185-253) reportedly divided the work into two volumes, both bearing Ezra’s name, with the second renamed Nehemiah in the Latin Vulgate. The apocryphal I Esdras is generally regarded as derivative of the canonical books of Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah.

² Nissim Amzallag, “The Authorship of Ezra and Nehemiah in Light of Differences in Their Ideological Background,” JBL 137:2 (2018): 271-97. Substantial usage of sources, however, significantly challenges arguments based on linguistic and stylistic differences.

³ Joseph Blenkinsopp, Ezra-Nehemiah, OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1988): 47-54; Tamara C. Eskenazi, “The Chronicler and the composition of 1 Esdras,” CBQ 48.1 (Jan. 1986): 42-43. Barry L. Bandstra calls Ezra-Nehemiah “two parts of one book” (Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. 3rd ed. [Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth, 2004]: 494).

⁴ Ezra 2:2-69; 10:18-43; Neh. 3:1-32; 7:5-63; 10:1-27; 11:1-36; 12:1-26.

⁵ Ezra 1:9-11; 2:62-70; 8:2-14; Neh. 7:61-72; 11:25-36; 12:28-29.

⁶ Ezra 1:2-4; 4:11-22; 5:7-17; 6:2-12; 7:12-26.

⁷ Ezra 7:27–9:15; Neh. 1:1–7:5; 12:27-43; 13:4-31. Other sections betray probable first-hand accounts, viz. Ezra 7:1-10; 10:1-44; Neh. 8:10; 12:44-47; 13:1-3. Switching to third person narration could simply be stylistic (Hannah K. Harrington, The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022]: 4-5). Ancient Jewish tradition affirms the preservation of sources “in the records and in Nehemiah’s memoirs, as well as how he founded a library and collected the books about the kings and the prophets, the books of David, and the royal letters about votive offerings” (2 Macc. 2:13).

⁸ Ezra 1:1; 3:2, 4, 10-11; 5:1; 6:14; 7:6, 10-12, 14, 21, 25-26; 9:10; Neh. 1:7-9; 8:1-18; 9:3-35; 10:29, 34, 36; 12:45; 13:1; cf. 2 Chron. 26:22; 32:32.

⁹ Cf. Gen. 5:1; 1 Chon. 9:1; 27:24; Ezra 8:34; Neh. 7:5. Records would have included “annalistic national histories composed by prophets, partly from the archives of the kingdom and other public documents, partly from prophetic monographs containing prophecy and history, either composed and continued by various prophets in succession during the existence of both kingdoms, or brought together in a connected form shortly before the ruin of the kingdom out of the then existing contemporary historical documents and prophetic records” (C. F. Keil, “The Books of the Chronicles,” in Keil and Delitzch’s Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968]: 32-33).

¹⁰ Considering the historical continuity and common literary environment that includes 1-2 Chronicles, no fewer than thirty-two sources have been noted, not counting intertextual appropriation from the books of Samuel, Kings, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentations. See David M. Howard, Jr., “Sources in 1 & 2 Chronicles,” in An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books (Chicago: Moody, 1993): 271-75; also Keil, “Chronicles” 32, 38. According to rabbinic tradition, Ezra authored the genealogies in the books of Chronicles (Baba Bartha 15a) and a portion of the Psalms (Song of Songs Rabbah 4.19). Approximately 70% of Ezra-Nehemiah is comprised of source material (Joseph Blenkinsopp, Ezra-Nehemiah, OTL [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1988]: 49; Harrington 3).

¹¹ Unless noted otherwise, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation. Rather than regarding only some scriptures inspired (ASV, NEB, REB), Paul’s affirmation is applicable to all the sacred writings (CSB, ESV, NASB, NIV, N/KJV).