Who Wrote the Book of Ezra and When Was It Written?

The work does not identify an author; however, Ezra was likely responsible for the so-called Ezra memoir, Ezr 7:28–9:15, written in the first person. A significant portion of canonical Ezra includes official documents and letters, which would indicate the work of a compiler; Ezra may well have been the editor of these documents (cf. Ezr 1:2-4; 4:11-16, 17-22; 5:7-17; 6:2b-5, 6-12; 7:12-16). All are written in Aramaic with the exception of Ezr 1:2-4. Some argue that the similarity of 2Ch 36:22-23 with Ezr 1:1-3 and the priestly perspective in both works point toward one person involved in the creation of both (cf. Joseph Blenkinsopp, Judaism, the First Phase: The Place of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Origins of Judaism [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009], 166; H. G. M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah, WBC, vol. 16 [Waco, TX: Word Books, 1985], xxi-xxiii). The opening of Neh 1:1 indicates the separate literary creation of that work; however, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were combined into one quite early on (cf. Josephus, Contra Apion 1.40; Baba Bathra 15a; Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 4.26.14). Second Maccabees 2:13 provides a plausible scenario in which Ezra would have had access to the type of documents evident in Ezra-Nehemiah (e.g., the Nehemiah memoir in Neh 1:1–7:5). If one accepts this framework, then one may date the composition of Ezra, and by extension Nehemiah, to some time between 440 BC and 430 BC (cf. Neh 1:1; 8:2; 12:2; 13:6; Ezr 7:8).

Ezra offers the canonical retelling of the return of the Judeans from the Babylonian captivity. It comes after 2 Chronicles in the English Bible, but the Hebrew Bible places it before Chronicles. This raises the question, why is Ezra-Nehemiah canonically before Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible? Chronicles was probably written after the events narrated in Ezra and Nehemiah. The conditions were such that they continued to reflect exile rather than restoration (Ezr 9:6-15; Neh 9:32-36). So the question of Israel’s place in God’s plan and the continuing relevance of the promises made to David were significant communal concerns. Thus Chronicles provides an interpretation of Israel’s history that addresses the specific concerns of postexilic Israel. In this way, Ezra-Nehemiah serve as excellent canonical introductions to 1 and 2 Chronicles. As just alluded to, in the Hebrew Bible, Ezra forms one book with Nehemiah (Ezra-Nehemiah), as it does in the Septuagint, where it is called “Esdras B.” This is distinct from 1 Esdras, which is an apocryphal book that served as a source for Josephus in the writing of his Jewish Antiquities. Esdras is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name “Ezra.”