Manes
The Reference in 1 Esdras
Manes appears in 1 Esdras 9:21, within a list of priests who had married foreign women and agreed to divorce them as part of the religious reforms led by Ezra after the return from Babylonian exile. The Greek form "Manes" represents a compressed version of two names found in the canonical parallel in Ezra 10:21: Maaseiah and Elijah. Scholars believe that Manes most likely corresponds to Maaseiah, with Elijah's name having been dropped during the textual transmission of 1 Esdras.
The Crisis of Foreign Marriages
The context of Manes's mention is one of the most dramatic episodes in post-exilic history. When Ezra arrived in Jerusalem, he discovered that many of the returned exiles — including priests, Levites, and ordinary Israelites — had married women from the surrounding nations (Ezra 9:1-2). This was seen as a grave violation of the covenant, since intermarriage with peoples who worshipped other gods threatened the religious identity and faithfulness of the community. Ezra was so distressed that he tore his garments, pulled hair from his head and beard, and sat appalled until the evening sacrifice (Ezra 9:3-4).
The Resolution
After Ezra's public prayer of confession (Ezra 9:5-15), the people agreed to put away their foreign wives and the children born to them (Ezra 10:3). A commission was established to investigate each case, and the process took about three months to complete (Ezra 10:16-17). The lists of names in Ezra 10:18-44 and the parallel in 1 Esdras 9:18-36 record those who complied. Manes was among the priests from the family of Pashhur who participated in this painful process of communal repentance.
Textual Difficulties
The relationship between 1 Esdras and the canonical Ezra-Nehemiah presents numerous textual challenges, and the entry for Manes is a good example. The names in the two texts do not always correspond exactly, reflecting the complexities of transliterating Hebrew names into Greek and the natural variations that occurred during centuries of manuscript copying. The KJV further confused matters by printing "Eanes" based on a misprint in the Aldine edition of the Greek text.
The Larger Significance
While Manes himself is a minor figure, his inclusion in the list of those who put away foreign wives testifies to the seriousness with which the post-exilic community regarded covenant faithfulness. Even priests — those who should have been exemplary in their obedience — had compromised, and the reform required them to make painful personal sacrifices for the sake of communal holiness.
Biblical Context
Manes appears in 1 Esdras 9:21, corresponding to the names Maaseiah and Elijah in Ezra 10:21. The broader context is Ezra's reform of foreign marriages described in Ezra 9-10 and 1 Esdras 8-9. The reform was prompted by the danger that intermarriage posed to Israel's covenant faithfulness.
Theological Significance
The story of Manes and those who put away foreign wives highlights the post-exilic community's radical commitment to covenant purity. While modern readers may find the policy troubling, the ancient context involved protecting the community's identity and faithfulness to God during a fragile period of restoration. The willingness of priests like Manes to comply demonstrated that no one was exempt from the demands of covenant obedience.
Historical Background
The reform of foreign marriages took place around 457 BC, during the reign of the Persian king Artaxerxes I. The post-exilic community was small and vulnerable, surrounded by peoples whose religious practices threatened to dilute Jewish faith. Similar concerns about maintaining communal identity through marriage practices are attested in other Second Temple period texts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls. The parallel between 1 Esdras and canonical Ezra provides scholars with important data for understanding the textual history of these biblical books.