Historians, interested in real people and actual events, are naturally limited to the amount of information that can realistically be put into writing. It has always been necessary, therefore, to be discerning and to restrict reporting to what is deemed most significant. The aim of the ancient historian was to depict historical accounts so that readers could learn political, moral, or religious principles.1 While completeness and accuracy were important, materials were commonly arranged thematically rather than chronologically. There was no preoccupation with linear thinking and little concern for chronological symmetry and precision of dating. Ancient historians were decidedly selective, ideological, and creative in narrating the facts available to them.
No biblical author claims to be exhaustive, nor is the Bible designed as a well-ordered, chronological arrangement of history. A wealth of historical data is provided but not a complete, continuous record. The focus is rather on specific and detached periods.2 Any chronological and historical allusions, including what might be perceived as ambiguous or puzzling, are merely secondary, supplementing and supporting the primary spiritual, instructional, and life-transforming message.
The Purpose of Ezra-Nehemiah
If we fail to understand the purpose of Ezra-Nehemiah, we will likely wonder why the chronological arrangement and timing of events are so perplexing. It was clearly not the Lord’s intention to describe this block of history according to a modern-day-westernized agenda in order to cater to our idiosyncratic expectations and curiosities. The seemingly disjointed temporal components of Ezra-Nehemiah are better understood as intentional strategies in forming the main theological themes.3
Ezra and Nehemiah were more than just chroniclers of history. They were theological historians. Viewed as “a space of collection rather than a linear story,”4 the combined narrative is a work of religious history and is patently theological. It recounts the rebuilding of a religious community, providing the historical background for the spiritual and procedural reforms that established the postexilic Jews as a unified theocratic nation. It serves as a spiritual foundation and model for the continuity of Jewish communities committed to God’s law and confirms their identity. It further verifies the fulfillment of God’s promises, with theological explanations of political policies favoring God’s people.5
Conclusion
Why is the timing of events in Ezra-Nehemiah so confusing? The bottom line is, the biblical writings are the result of God having chosen to communicate in real historical-sociocultural-literary environments that are fundamentally and unavoidably foreign to our own. Confusion and frustration are inevitable when modern-day, linear-thinking westerners approach the scriptures expecting a detailed historical account, unfolding in exact and precisely-dated sequences of events, catering to twenty-first-century-Anglo-European interests and curiosities.
Ongoing debates about the timing of events and chronological arrangement are comparatively recent, not particularly relevant to the original purpose of the Bible itself. Proposed chronologies of the distant past are almost always exercises in estimations, probabilities, and uncertainties. For those holding a high view of the sacred text, near approximations ought to be sufficient as long as the integrity of the biblical record is not compromised and the greater spiritual truths are not overshadowed.
--Kevin L. Moore
*Originally prepared for the 2023 FHU Lectures.
Endnotes:
1 Roberto Nocolai, “The Place of History in the Ancient World,” in A Companion to Greek and Roman Historiography. Ed. John Marincola (Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011): 13-26.
2 See John M’Clintock and James Strong, Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1982): 2:292-97.
3 See esp. A. Philip Brown II, “Chronological Anomalies in Ezra,” Bibliotheca Sacra 162 (Jan.-March 2005): 68-84.
4 Laura Carlson Hasler, “The Cited Documents of Ezra-Nehemiah: Does Their Authenticity Matter?” Biblical Interpretation 27.3 (Nov. 2019): 372-89.
5 While the motivation of the Persians was most likely to ensure stability and control of this strategic area in a remote region of their empire, God’s purpose was far greater. See Robert J. Littman, “Athens, Persia and the Book of Ezra,” TAPA 125 (1995): 251-59.
Related Posts: Timing of Events Ezra-Neh Part 1. Part 2, Part 3
Related articles: Neal Pollard, The Restorers
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