Ezra
Israelite / Jew Jew, priest of the line of Aaron · Exile & Return · Old Testament
- Name means
- Help
- Role
- Priest and scribe of the law
- When
- c. 458 BC
What they did
A ready scribe in the law of Moses who led a group of exiles back to Jerusalem. He taught the law to the people and led them in confession and reform.
Why it matters: the purpose of their role
He prepared his heart to seek, do and teach God's law, restoring the people to the Word after the exile.
For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. Ezra 7:10 (KJV)
Bible references
This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. Ezra 7:6 (KJV)
For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. Ezra 7:10 (KJV)
And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. Nehemiah 8:2 (KJV)
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Nehemiah 8:5-6 (KJV)
Family
- Father
- Seraiah
His priestly descent from Aaron is given in Ezra 7:1-5.