JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

in the Eastern Church, however, and except for a few patristic
quotations (e.g., Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, 3:16,
10) and the reuse of the text in the late “Esdras Apocalypse,”
the Greek text is no longer extant. There is much debate as
to whether the original was Hebrew or Aramaic, the former
seeming the more likely possibility. In the Latin, two additional
chapters (sometimes called III Ezra and V Ezra respectively;
see Greek Book of *Ezra) occur at the beginning and
at the end of the book. The book is included in many Ethiopic
and Armenian biblical manuscripts, but has survived in
only one Syriac manuscript (Cod. Ambrosianus) and in two
incomplete Georgian copies.
A large portion of ch. 7 does not appear in the Vulgate
Latin manuscripts, the publication of which in 1875 from
Codex Ambianensis by R. Bensly was followed by the discovery
of a series of Latin codices containing this section. Kabisch,
with the subsequent support of de Faye and Box, maintained
the book to be composed of a series of five separate source
documents: a Salathiel apocalypse (cf. IV Ezra 3:2) covering
substantially the first four visions; the Eagle vision (A); the Son
of Man vision (M); the final Ezra vision (E1); and a second Ezra
source which included the apocalyptic sections of Visions 1–4.
This hypothesis was strongly attacked by Clemen and Gunkel,
who were followed by Violet and, later, Keulers. These emphasize
the basic structural unity of the work, pointing to its division
into seven visions separated by prayer and fast, the appearance
of the same technical terminology throughout, and
the questionable nature of many of the so-called “inconsistencies”
or “contradictions” between the sources. They thus accept
the basic unity of the work, at the same time not denying the
possibility that the author employed existing written or oral
sources. The book contains no traces of sectarian or Essene
ideas and sometimes follows the line of traditional rabbinic
exegesis (cf. IV Ezra 6:7–10 and Gen. R. 63:9, Mid. Hag. to Gen.
25:26 et al.). It also includes a fragment of a Midrash on the 13
Attributes (IV Ezra 123ff.) and similar material. The date is established
primarily by the identification of the three heads of
the eagle in chapters 11–12 with the Flavian emperors.
Bibliography: H. Gunkel, in: E. Kautzsch (ed.), Apokryphen
und Pseudepigraphen des Alten Testaments, 2 (1900), 331–401; L. Vaganay,
Le problème eschatologique dans le IVe livre d’Esdras (1906);
Schuerer, Gesch, 3 (19094), 315–35; B. Violet, Die Esra-Apokalypse
(1910–24); G.H. Box, The Ezra-Apocalypse (1912); J. Keulers, Die eschatologische
Lehre des vierten Esrabuches (1922); R.P. Blake, in: HTR,
19 (1926), 299–320; 22 (1929), 57–105; L. Gry, Les dires prophetiques
d’Esdras (1938); M. Stone, in: HTR, 60 (1967), 107–15; idem, in: Le
Muséon, 79 (1966), 387–400.
[Michael E. Stone]
EZRA, DEREK, BARON (1919– ), British industrial administrator.
Ezra was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge,
and served in the British army during World War II,
being appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire
and awarded the United States Bronze Star. In 1947 he joined
the newly nationalized coal industry. After holding posts in
sales and marketing on the National Coal Board, he became a
Ezra, greek Book of
member of the board in 1965 and deputy chairman in 1967, and
was chairman, the highest position in the industry, from 1971
to 1982. His period of office included the 1974 miners’ strike,
but he was generally characterized by a conciliatory attitude
in industrial relations. Ezra was knighted in 1974 and created
a life peer in 1983. After retirement from the coal board,
he joined the Social Democratic Party in the House of Lords
and held numerous British and European directorships and
advisory posts in industry and commerce. He was appointed
a Grand Officer of the Italian Order of Merit and held French
and Luxembourg decorations.
[Vivian David Lipman]
EZRA, GREEK BOOK OF (also called the Apocryphal Ezra,
First Esdras, or Third Esdras), a Greek translation of the last
two chapters of II Chronicles, the entire Book of Ezra (except
for 1:6), and Nehemiah 7:73–8:13. It differs from the canonical
version in that a section of Ezra is transposed, Nehemiah 1
does not follow Ezra, and a noncanonical story is introduced.
The following summary illustrates these changes.
The first chapter corresponds to II Chronicles 35 and 36
(omitting the last two verses since they appear in Ezra 1:1 and
2, which corresponds to Greek Ezra 2:1 and 2); Josiah celebrates
Passover, battles with the Egyptians, and dies of his
wounds; his successors; the sack of Jerusalem; the destruction
of the Temple; the Babylonian exile. Chapter 2 corresponds to
Ezra 1; 4:7 to end of 4 (2–4:6 being transposed to chapter 5);
Cyrus permits the Jews to return and rebuild the Temple; the
Temple vessels are returned; the correspondence between a
certain Artaxerxes and the Jews’ antagonists (Jos., Ant., 11:26,
changes this to, or understands it as, Cambyses); interruption
of the construction of the Temple until the reign of Darius.
Chapters 3 and 4: each of three guardsmen of Darius suggests
what is most powerful – wine, royal power, or womankind –
and the third, Zerubbabel, answers “womankind” but adds
“truth,” thereby winning the contest; as a reward he requests
permission to rebuild the Temple; Darius complies. Chapters
5:1–6: preparations for Zerubbabel’s expedition. Chapters
5:6–9:36 correspond to Ezra 2:1–4:5 and to Ezra 6 to the end:
catalog of those who returned; erection of the Altar; reference
to the earlier troubles from Cyrus’ reign to Darius’ second
year; the Temple rebuilt; Ezra’s expedition. Chapter 9:37
to end, corresponding to Nehemiah 7:73–8:13: Ezra reads the
Torah at a public gathering.
The canonical version tells of Zerubbabel’s return, breaks
off the narrative at the halt of the Temple construction, records
letters between the Jews’ enemies and the king, and returns to
the narrative. By noting that the interruption lasted until the
time of Darius before the correspondence (4:5) and at its close,
the author indicates that, for him, the documents are earlier
than Darius’ reign. The Greek Ezra, placing these documents
after Cyrus’ proclamation, before Zerubbabel’s return, conveys
this same picture of a poison-pen correspondence prior
to Darius (Kaufmann Y., Toledot, 4 (1956), 522–7 upholds this
view, as do Josephus and traditional commentators). It differs
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6 655