Dr. Myers' Ezra and Nehemiah,' Inspiration to Bible Students Newest Anchor Bible Volume,
Prof. Jacob M. Myers of the
Lutheran Theological Seminary,
Gettysburg, Pa., who already has
contributed two volumes to the
Anchor Bibles series published by
Doubelday—Chronicles I and II,
continues his biblical research
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work with his newest Anchor Bible,
"Ezra and Nehemiah."
His interesting new translation
of the two biblical books that deal
with the era of the return from the
Exile in Babylonia is accompanied
by valuable notes and by an im-
portant contention that the same
writer authored Chronicles and
Ezra and Nehemiah.
The Christian scholar offers
interesting views on the history
of the Jews in the Babylonian era
and the conquest by Cyrus
which enabled the return of Jews
from the captivity. Nehemiah is
the statesman, the administrator,
the politician, while Ezra, intro-
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duced as "the second Moses" in
the views of his contemporaries,
was the spiritual architect.
"While Nehemiah tended to the
body of Judaism, Ezra ministered
to its soul," Dr. Myers declares.
There is special significance in
Prof. Myers' study in his allusions
to Cyrus. Dr. Myers' tells about
the decree he issued "permitting
the reconstruction of the House
of God at Jerusalem and returning
the temple vessels taken by
Nebuchadnezzar." Dr. Myers'
description is according to II
Chronicles xxxvi 22-23; Ezra I 1-4,
vi 2-5. Cyrus' decisions are de-
scribed as being "in harmony with
the policy of the great king."
The editor's notes appended to
his commentary on Ezra adds valu-
able viewpoints to the available
historic data on Syrus and the Per-
sians, the 2,500th anniversary of
whose emergence as an autonomous
state (Presently Iran) is about to
be observed. There is this sum-
mary by Dr. Myers:
"To judge from the biblical
references, the Persians could
have had no more zealous sup-
porters than the Jews. The Sec-
ond Isaiah waxed eloquent over
Cyrus: 'He is my shepherd and
shall fulfill my purpose fully'
(xliv 28a); 'Thus says the Lord
to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose
right hand I have grasped . . . '
(xlv 1). For the religious enthu-
siasts he was the anointed (mes-
siah) of Yahweh sent as deliv-
erer for his people . . ."
The status of Jews in the era
under discussion is reviewed by
Dr. Myers. His work analyzes the
two books of Ezra and Nehemiah
and the order of their appearance
in the present Bibles.
After reviewing the contents of
Ezra as it deals with the problems
of mixed marriages; the covenant
subscribed by Nehemiah; the re-
ports of the reform measures upon
Nehemiah's visit in Jerusalem, Dr.
Myers contends that Ezra was in-
tended as part of Chronicles, that
the writer intended to portray the
cultic Jewish community from Da-
vid to Ezra,
The present order of Ezra-Nehe-
miah in our Bibles "was not a
downgrading of Nehemiah and his
work," Dr. Myers states; "it was
rather the exigencies of the situa-
tion that dictated the interests and
form reflected in the writer's com-
position. The memoirs of Nehemiah
thus were added as an appendix to
the larger corpus of the Chronicler,
though the coming of Nehemiah
may have antedated that of Ezra."
The significant periods dealt
with in Ezra and Nehemiah — in
postexilic Jewish history—receive
thorough scrutiny in Dr. Myers'
study and the notes that appear
voluminously after his translation
serve the scholars who search for
biblical knowledge immensely.
Dr. Myers picks up the sugges-
tion that Ezra was the secretary
for religious affairs at the Per-
sian court, and as such "must
have been invested with legal
authority on two levels—that of
the court and that of Jewish law
Torah. And if the surmise Is
correct that he came after Nehe-
miah, it follows that he acted
with dispatch. Nehemiah had al-
ready established a modus viven-
di; Ezra gave it legal sanction
by applying to the reforms the
principles of the law of Moses
which he brought along from
Babylon and promulgated in
Jerusalem and Judah. This is
what the Persian King had sent
him to do (Ezra vii 25-26). Ezra
seems to have gone further in
resolving the matter of mixed
marriages than Nehemiah; he
demanded divorce of the guilty
parties. Nehemiah forbade only
the intermarriage of the youth."
Before turning to the actual
study of the books of Ezra and
Nehemiah, Dr. Myers makes this
significant statement, one that may
apply to modern times and to con-
ditions resulting from the forma-
tion of Israel:
"Difficulties in the post-exilic
community were due, very largely,
to the failure to support the cultus
and to keep it pure. The rehabilita-
tion and survival of Israel was ut-
terly and unquestionably depend-
ent upon the maintenance of a vig-
orous and healthy religious institu-
tion. That was the unmistakable
lesson of its history. And Ezra and
Nehemiah devoted all their energy
and means to the revitalization of
the cult so that Israel might live.
The Chronicler's intentions may ac-
count for the present order of Ezra-
Nehemiah."
Dr. Myers' study, his commen-
tories, his historic research, thus
encourages further study, addi-
tional research, and consideration
of the issues inspired by the latter
comment. His work is scholarly,
thought-provoking, an inspiration
to Bible students and historians.
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