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1 Esdras

Also called Esdras A, 3 Esdras, 1 Ezra

Three of Darius’s bodyguards debate what is strongest: wine, the king, or women—with truth above all.^{9 sources}9 sources1. Cook 2. 1 Esdras 1:1 3. 2 Chronicles 35:1 4. 1 Esdras 9:37 5. Nehemiah 8:1 6. 1 Esdras 3:4 7. 1 Esdras 3:10–12 8. 1 Esdras 4:13 9. 1 Esdras 4:43–47

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At a glance

Length: 9 chapters, 448 verses in the KJV.¹⁰
Language: Greek; Cook (1913) argues for a Hebrew and Aramaic original.¹¹
Written: First century BC (Cook, 1913); the older reference works give different dates.^{12 13 14}
Genre: Greek version of biblical history (Cook).^{7 sources}7 sources1. Cook 2. 1 Esdras 1:1 3. 2 Chronicles 35:1 4. 1 Esdras 9:37 5. Nehemiah 8:1 6. 1 Esdras 3:4 7. 1 Esdras 3:10–12

Summary

What deserves a king’s support: wine, royal power, women or truth? In 1 Esdras, three bodyguards debate what rules human life, and the winner asks the king to help rebuild Jerusalem. The contest sits within history familiar from Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah. S. A. Cook (1913) describes the book as a free Greek version of that history, running from Josiah’s Passover to Ezra’s public reading of the Law.^{9 sources}9 sources1. Cook 2. 1 Esdras 1:1 3. 2 Chronicles 35:1 4. 1 Esdras 9:37 5. Nehemiah 8:1 6. 1 Esdras 3:4 7. 1 Esdras 3:10–12 8. 1 Esdras 4:13 9. 1 Esdras 4:43–47

From Josiah’s Passover to the royal court
1 Esdras 1:1–3:1
Josiah’s Passover opens a retelling of history from Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah.^{7 sources}7 sources1. Cook 2. 1 Esdras 1:1 3. 2 Chronicles 35:1 4. 1 Esdras 9:37 5. Nehemiah 8:1 6. 1 Esdras 3:4 7. 1 Esdras 3:10–12
What is strongest?
1 Esdras 3:1–5:6
Three bodyguards defend wine, the king, and women, with the third placing truth above them all. The prize becomes royal support for rebuilding Jerusalem.^{4 sources}4 sources6. 1 Esdras 3:4 7. 1 Esdras 3:10–12 8. 1 Esdras 4:13 9. 1 Esdras 4:43–47
Return and the reading of the Law
1 Esdras 5:7–9:55
Lists of returning exiles form part of the restoration story. The book reaches Ezra’s reading of the Law, paralleling Nehemiah 8.^{6 sources}6 sources15. Gottheil 1. Cook 2. 1 Esdras 1:1 3. 2 Chronicles 35:1 4. 1 Esdras 9:37 5. Nehemiah 8:1

Stories

The three bodyguards
1 Esdras 3:4–4:41
Three bodyguards argue for wine, the king, and women, with the third praising truth above all. After his speech, the crowd acclaims truth’s power.^{4 sources}4 sources6. 1 Esdras 3:4 7. 1 Esdras 3:10–12 16. 1 Esdras 4:41 17. Cook
A prize for Jerusalem
1 Esdras 4:43–47
The text names the third youth Zerubbabel. Instead of asking for a private reward, he asks Darius to honour his promise to rebuild Jerusalem; the king supplies letters to help the return.^{8 9}

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

John 14:6 · 1 Esdras 4:41medium confidence
Augustine tentatively reads the praise of victorious truth in 1 Esdras as a prophecy of Christ, appealing to John 14:6.^{18 19}

Retellings

2 Chronicles 35:1 · 1 Esdras 1:1medium confidence
Cook identifies 1 Esdras as a Greek retelling of biblical history beginning with Josiah’s Passover in 2 Chronicles 35.^{5 sources}5 sources1. Cook 2. 1 Esdras 1:1 3. 2 Chronicles 35:1 4. 1 Esdras 9:37 5. Nehemiah 8:1
Ezra 2:1–4:5 · 1 Esdras 5:7–73medium confidence
Cook maps 1 Esdras 5:7–73 to Ezra 2:1–4:5 and 4:24.^{5 sources}5 sources1. Cook 2. 1 Esdras 1:1 3. 2 Chronicles 35:1 4. 1 Esdras 9:37 5. Nehemiah 8:1
Nehemiah 8:1 · 1 Esdras 9:37medium confidence
Cook traces 1 Esdras to its conclusion in Ezra’s reading of the Law in Nehemiah 8.^{5 sources}5 sources1. Cook 2. 1 Esdras 1:1 3. 2 Chronicles 35:1 4. 1 Esdras 9:37 5. Nehemiah 8:1

Where each church stands

1 Esdras Full table →

Protestant: Read, not for doctrine ('The III Book of Esdras')
Anglican Article VI; not verified for Luther's Bible.
^{20 21}
Catholic: Appendix (3 Esdras)
Clementine Vulgate appendix, 'outside the series of canonical books'.
^{22 23}
Greek Orthodox: Scripture (Esdras A' (Ἔσδρας Α΄))
Printed first of the Ezra books; Dositheus does not name it.
^{24 25 26}
Russian (Slavonic) Orthodox: Varies (2 Esdras (2-я книга Ездры))
Marked 'non-canonical' in the Synodal Bible.
^{27 28 26}
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo: Scripture
'1 Esdras' is in Cowley's narrower canon; the DB's name 'Ezra Kali' was not found in Cowley.
Confidence: medium²⁹

Why some kept it, why others left it out

Its place depends partly on which Esdras a reader means. English 1 Esdras is Greek Esdras A and Latin 3 Esdras. Cook reports early Greek manuscript placement beside Ezra-Nehemiah and use by Greek and Latin church fathers. Jerome, a Latin church father, rejected books outside the Hebrew collection, including this Esdras. Trent’s list names Ezra and Nehemiah; the Clementine Vulgate preserved 1 Esdras in an appendix.^{9 sources}9 sources30. Souvay 31. Souvay 32. Cook 33. Cook 34. Souvay 35. Jerome 36. Pope 37. Trent 38. Waterworth 1848

Kept

Early church: Latin

Augustine tentatively found a prophecy of Christ in the passage where the third youth praises truth above all.^{18 19}

Left out

Early church: Latin

Jerome’s preface to Ezra rejects the third and fourth Esdras books and sets the Hebrew collection as his Old Testament boundary.³⁵

Protestant: Anglican

Article VI includes it among books worth reading for moral instruction, while withholding authority to establish doctrine. The article explicitly appeals to Jerome’s distinction.^{39 40}

Sources

42 sources from 35 works

1
S. A. Cook, I Esdras, Introduction, in R. H. Charles (ed.), The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, vol. 1 (Oxford, 1913), §1, p. 1↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
2
1 Esdras 1:1↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
3
2 Chronicles 35:1↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
4
1 Esdras 9:37↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
5
Nehemiah 8:1↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
6
1 Esdras 3:4↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
7
1 Esdras 3:10–12↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
8
1 Esdras 4:13↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
9
1 Esdras 4:43–47↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
10
Checked in this site's verse database: 1 Esdras chapters and verses (KJV)↩
How this was derived
SELECT count(DISTINCT chapter) AS chapters, count(*) AS verses FROM verses WHERE work_id='kjv' AND book='1Esd'
S. A. Cook, I Esdras, Introduction, APOT vol. 1 (1913)
- 11
  §2-3, p. 3↩
- 12
  §1, p. 2↩
- 17
  §1, p. 1↩
- 32
  §2, p. 2↩
- 33
  §2, p. 3↩^a ↩^b
13
Richard Gottheil, Enno Littmann, “Esdras, Books of”, Jewish Encyclopedia (1903), I Esdras: Date and Value↩
Charles L. Souvay, “Esdras”
- 14
  Catholic Encyclopedia vol. 5 (1909), III Esdras↩
- 30
  Catholic Encyclopedia vol. 5 (1909), The Books of Esdras↩
- 31
  Catholic Encyclopedia vol. 5 (1909)↩
- 34
  Catholic Encyclopedia (1909), III Esdras↩^a ↩^b
15
Richard Gottheil, Enno Littmann, Kaufmann Kohler, “Esdras, Books of”, Jewish Encyclopedia vol. 5 (1903), I Esdras: Contents↩
16
1 Esdras 4:41↩
18
Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, Book XVIII (NPNF1 vol. 2, tr. M. Dods), 18.36↩^a ↩^b
19
John 14:6↩^a ↩^b
20
Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (1571), Article VI, as printed in E. J. Bicknell, A Theological Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles (1919)↩
21
Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), chapter I.2–3↩
22
Sixto-Clementine Vulgate (1592), preface to the Appendix (Prayer of Manasseh, 3–4 Esdras)↩
23
Council of Trent, Session IV (8 April 1546), Decree concerning the canonical Scriptures↩
24
Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece, online Old Testament (Septuagint text)↩
25
The Orthodox Study Bible (Thomas Nelson, 2008), front matter (contents, introduction, canon table)↩
26
NRSV with Apocrypha, 'The Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books of the Old Testament' (To the Reader)↩^a ↩^b
27
Russian Synodal Bible, as published by Azbuka Very (azbyka.ru): contents and chapter notes↩
28
The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church (St Philaret of Moscow), 'Examined and Approved by the Most Holy Governing Synod'; English as in Schaff, Creeds of Christendom vol. 2↩
29
R. W. Cowley, 'The Biblical Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Today', Ostkirchliche Studien 23 (1974) 318–323↩
35
Jerome, Prologue on the Book of Ezra, tr. Mark DelCogliano (tertullian.org)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
36
Hugh Pope, “The Third Book of Esdras and the Tridentine Canon”, JTS 8 (1907), p. 232↩^a ↩^b
37
Council of Trent, Session IV, Decree concerning the canonical Scriptures, tr. J. Waterworth (1848)↩^a ↩^b
38
Council of Trent (tr. J. Waterworth, 1848), Session IV, Decree concerning the canonical Scriptures, Hanover Historical Texts Project (1848)↩
39
“Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, Article VI, in E. J. Bicknell, A Theological Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles (1919)”↩
40
Church of England, Articles of Religion (1571), as printed in E. J. Bicknell, A Theological Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles (1919), newscriptorium.com (1919), Article VI↩^a ↩^b
41
The Orthodox Study Bible (Thomas Nelson, 2008), front matter canon table, p. xiii↩
42
R. W. Cowley, “The Biblical Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Today”, Ostkirchliche Studien 23 (1974)↩

At a glance

Summary

Contents

From Josiah’s Passover to the royal court

What is strongest?

Return and the reading of the Law

Stories

The three bodyguards

A prize for Jerusalem

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

Retellings

Where each church stands

1 Esdras Full table →

Why some kept it, why others left it out

Kept

Early church: Latin

Left out

Early church: Latin

Protestant: Anglican

Related books

Sources

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