Bible Study Course: Lesson 2 The Word of God: The Foundation of Knowledge
Another Important Author
Which skilled author did God use to complete the Old Testament Scriptures?
"This Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe
in the Law of Moses . . ." (Ezra 7:6).
"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and
to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel" (verse 10).
Jewish tradition says that Ezra compiled and inscribed both 1 and 2 Chronicles—the
concluding books in the Hebrew arrangement of the Old Testament scriptures.
Most conservative scholars agree that the internal biblical evidence supports
this conclusion. Note the marked similarity between the end of 2 Chronicles
(36:22-23) and the beginning of Ezra (1:1-3). Shimshai and Zadok were also scribes
at that critical point in Hebrew history (Ezra 4:8; Nehemiah 13:13) and may
have assisted Ezra.
By compiling an essential history drawn from national records, Ezra most probably
produced an inspired contemporary analysis of the fortunes of the kingdoms of
Judah and Israel right up to the time of Cyrus's edict authorizing the Jews
to rebuild and restore God's temple in Jerusalem. Recall that Ezra was a man
with a right attitude toward the law of God.
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