Езра пайғамбар және еврей тарихындағы рөлі

Figure in early Jewish history

Ezra or Esdras ('/ɛ//z//r//ə/; , ; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (עֶזְרָא הַסּוֹפֵר ) in Chazalic literature and Ezra the Priest, was an important Jewish scribe (sofer) and priest (kohen) in the early Second Temple period. In Greco Latin Ezra is called Esdras His name is probably a shortened Aramaic translation of the Hebrew name עזריהו , "Yah helps". In the Greek Septuagint the name is rendered , from which the Latin name Esdras comes. In the Hebrew Bible, or the Christian Old Testament, Ezra is an important figure in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, which he is said to have written and edited, respectively. According to tradition, Ezra was also the author of the Books of Chronicles and the Book of Malachi. Ezra was instrumental in restoring the Jewish scriptures and religion to the people after the return from the Babylonian Captivity, and is a highly respected figure in Judaism. He is regarded as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, which sets his feast day as July 13, the same as that of his contemporary, Nehemiah. He is also venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which sets his feast day as December 11.

The canonical Book of Ezra and Book of Nehemiah are the oldest sources for the activity of Ezra, In late medieval Christian bibles, the single book was divided in two, as First and Second Ezra; and this division became Jewish practice in the first printed Hebrew bibles. Modern Hebrew Bibles call the two books Ezra and Nehemiah, as do other modern Bible translations. A few parts of the Book of Ezra (4:8 to 6:18 and 7:12–26) were written in Aramaic, and the majority in Hebrew, Ezra himself being skilled in both languages. According to the Hebrew Bible he was a descendant of Seraiah, the last High Priest to serve in Solomon's Temple, and a close relative of Joshua, the first High Priest of the Second Temple. He returned from Babylonian captivity and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem. According to 1 Esdras, a Greek translation of the Book of Ezra still in use in Eastern Orthodox Church, he was also a High Priest. Rabbinic tradition holds that he was an ordinary member of the priesthood. where he is said to have enforced observance of the Torah. When Ezra discovered that Jewish men had been marrying foreign pagan women, he tore his garments in despair and confessed the sins of Israel before God, then braved the opposition of some of his countrymen to purify the community by enforcing the dissolution of the sinful marriages. He was described as exhorting the Israelite people to be sure to follow the Torah Law so as not to intermarry with people of particular different religions, a set of commandments described in the Torah. Some years later, Artaxerxes sent Nehemiah, a Jewish noble in his service, as governor in Jerusalem with the task of rebuilding the city walls. Once this task was completed, Nehemiah had Ezra read the Torah to the assembled Israelites and the people and priests entered into a covenant to keep the law and separate themselves from all other peoples.

Several traditions have developed over his place of burial. One tradition says that he is buried in Ezra's Tomb near Basra, Iraq while another tradition alleges that he is buried in Tadef near Aleppo in northern Syria. According to Josephus, Ezra died and was buried "in a magnificent manner in Jerusalem." If the tradition that Ezra wrote under the pen name Malachi is correct, then he was probably buried in the Tomb of the Prophets, the traditional resting place of Malachi, along with two other prophets from Ezra's lifetime, Haggai and Zechariah.

1 Esdras, probably from the late 2nd/early 1st centuries BCE, preserves a Greek text of Ezra and a part of Nehemiah distinctly different from that of Ezra–Nehemiah – in particular it eliminates Nehemiah from the story and gives some of his deeds to Ezra, as well as telling events in a different order. Scholars are divided on whether it is based on Ezra–Nehemiah, or reflects an earlier literary stage before the combination of Ezra and Nehemiah accounts.

The first century Jewish historian Josephus deals with Ezra in his Antiquities of the Jews. He uses the name Xerxes for Artaxerxes I reserving the name Artaxerxes for the later Artaxerxes II whom he identifies as the Ahasuerus of Esther, thus placing Ezra before the events of the book of Esther. Josephus' account of the deeds of Ezra derives entirely from 1 Esdras, which he cites as the 'Book of Ezra' in his numeration of the Hebrew bible. Contrariwise, Josephus does not appear to recognise Ezra Nehemiah as a biblical book, does not quote from it, and relies entirely on other traditions in his account of the deeds of Nehemiah.

In Christian tradition, Ezra is considered to be the author of the book of Ezra and 1 and 2 Chronicles. Due to the strong similarity between the books of Malachi and Ezra, some Christian traditions adopt the Jewish view that Ezra was Malachi; Jerome was one prominent Christian who held this view. Early Christian writers occasionally cited Ezra as author of the apocalyptic books attributed to him. Clement of Alexandria in his Stromata referred to Ezra as an example of prophetic inspiration, quoting a section from 2 Esdras. Where early Christian writers refer to the 'Book of Ezra' it is always the text of 1 Esdras that is being cited.

In Islam, he is known as Uzair (عزير). He was mentioned in the Qur'an. Although he was not mentioned as one of the Prophets of Islam, he is considered one of them by some Muslim scholars, based on Islamic traditions. His tomb at Al ʻUzer on the banks of the Tigris near Basra, Iraq, is a pilgrimage site for the local Marsh Arabs. Many Islamic scholars and modern Western academics do not view Uzer as "Ezra"; for example, Professor Gordon Darnell Newby associates Uzer with Enoch and Metatron.

Scholars are divided over the chronological sequence of the activities of Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra came to Jerusalem "in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the King". The text does not specify whether the king in the passage refers to Artaxerxes I (465–424 BCE) or to Artaxerxes II (404–359 BCE). Most scholars hold that Ezra lived during the rule of Artaxerxes I, though some have difficulties with this assumption: These difficulties have led many scholars to assume that Ezra arrived in the seventh year of the rule of Artaxerxes II, i. e. some 50 years after Nehemiah. This assumption would imply that the biblical account is not chronological. The last group of scholars regard "the seventh year" as a scribal error and hold that the two men were contemporaries.

Mary Joan Winn Leith in The Oxford History of the Biblical World believes that Ezra was a historical figure whose life was enhanced in the scripture and given a theological buildup. Gosta W. Ahlstrom argues the inconsistencies of the biblical tradition are insufficient to say that Ezra, with his central position as the 'father of Judaism' in the Jewish tradition, has been a later literary invention. Those who argue against the historicity of Ezra argue that the presentation style of Ezra as a leader and lawgiver resembles that of Moses. There are also similarities between Ezra the priest scribe (but not high priest) and Nehemiah the secular governor on the one hand and Joshua and Zerubbabel on the other hand. The early 2nd century BCE Jewish author Ben Sira praises Nehemiah, but makes no mention of Ezra. It has been argued that even if one does not accept the documentary hypothesis, Ezra was instrumental in the start of the process of bringing the Torah together. One particular aspect of Ezra's story considered dubious historically is the account in Ezra 7 of his commission. According to it, Ezra was given truly exalted status by the king: he was seemingly put in charge of the entire western half of the Persian Empire, a position apparently above even the level of the satraps (regional governors). Ezra was given vast hoards of treasure to take with him to Jerusalem as well as a letter where the king seemingly acknowledges the sovereignty of the God of Israel. Yet, his actions in the story do not appear to be that of someone with near unlimited government power, and the alleged letter from a Persian king is written with Hebraisms and Jewish idiom. Biblical scholar Tova Ganzel has recently argued that Ezra's status as both priest and scribe fits well in its fifth century BCE historical context in light of parallels with the Babylonian temple scribes of the Neo Babylonian and Persian Periods.