Ezra and nehemiah, the books of

There is mucli gain in treating these two hooka to- gether. They present similar problems ; they deal with the same period ; they were originally one in the Jewish canon ; and they were put into their present form by the same hand. That Ezr-Neh constituted but one book in the early Jewish canon is indisputable. The Majisoretes have appended notes to the end of each book of OT, statinjj the number of verses, etc.

Tliere are no such notes at the end of Ezr, but those at the end of Neh include both books : the book of Ezr contJiins 085 verses, and the middle verse is .1:3.1 n'Sy rai ' (Neh 332). The Masso- retic sections show that our two books were regarded as one, one section being Kzr 8S-Neh 2*.t The twenty-two sacred hooks do not allow Neh to be reckoned as a separate book. The Talm.

, in giving the origin of the various Iwoks, says that ' Ezra wrote his book,' and does not mention Neh, manifestly includ- ing it with Ezr. In LXX the two are included under Esdros B in Swete's ed. ; under Esdras A in the ed. of Lagartle.g Ezr-Neh precedes Ch in the Heb. Bible, but follows it In the LXX. 'The illogical order of the Heb. has been attributed to the earlier acceptance of Ezr-Neh into the canon, it is by no means certain that the present Heb. onler is original.

Tlie OT was divided into three portions. At the end of each portion the Mas.'^oretes placed notes similar to those found after the separate books. The notes on the Kethubim or llagiographa are found at the end of Ezr-Neh, not at the end of Ch. Moreover, as Ezr-Neh is a continuation of Ch, and in its present form haa come from the same hand, it is altogether unlikely that th« original arrangement was so unmindful of chron. order. A. CONTENT.S.

— A review of the following out- line reveals the striking fact that Ezr-Neh is far from a complete history of the restoration. We find rather a short sketch of a few important events in that history. There are long periods, — one of more than a half-century (515 to 458), — about which our book is absolutely silent. The whole time covered by this book, from the return of the first exiles in 5:57 to the second visit of Neh. in 432 is more than a cent.

, but as a matter of fact the actual time covered by the narrative is scarcely more than one-tenth of this time. • See Wellhausen, Itr. u. JUd. Oach. p. 108 n. ; Kncneo, Cntimie d« L'A ncunx Test. p. 610. t There is an article in TSUA 11. pt. 1, In which the wrlt«f argues from the chronology that E. and Neh. came to Jenu. to- gether. The argument Is more Ingenious than convincing. I .See Baer, Litrri Danielit Szra <( Xeh, pp. 180, 133 ; Jo*. c. A p. I. 8. { See further OettU, " Die Gesch.

Haglogr. und d. Buch Paniel,' 1880, in .Strock and Z6ckler'a KuTi^e/. Kom. ; Oomlll, A'inVf.I' 4.' ; I'lib-^W. 832 fl.; Byle, Canonitf OT, 184 f. 822 EZRA AND NEHEMIAH EZRA AND NEHEMIAH I.— (1) Ezr l-4».— The return o( the first company of exiles; the register of the heads of houses ; the setting up of the altar ; the estahlishment of the sacrifices ; the efforts to rebuild the temple, and the opposition of the Samaritans, B.C. 537. (2) Ezr 6, 6.— Stimulatwl by the prophets Hag.

and Zee, the people bepn the rebuilding of the temple under the lead of Zerub- babel and Joshua ; their enemies try to stop the Jews, but Darius res^ecta the decree of Cyrus, and the temple is com- pleted in his sixth year, B.C. 615. (3) Ezr 7-10.— Tlie return of Ezra and his company with a firman from Artaxerxes ; the divorcing of the foreign wives, B.o. 458. (4) 4«-2'.

— Successful efforts of the enemies of Judah to prevent the rebuilding of the city walls, mainly in the reign of Artaxerxes Longimauus, B.O. 465-425.