2 Esdras

2 Esdras (also called 4 Esdras, Latin Esdras, or

Latin Ezra) is an apocalyptic book in some English
versions of the Bible.[a][b][2] Tradition ascribes it to
Ezra, a scribe and priest of the 5th century  BCE, but
scholarship places its composition between 70 and
218 CE.[3]: 3 7 

It is reckoned among the apocrypha by Roman

Catholics, Protestants, and most Eastern Orthodox
Christians.[4] 2 Esdras was excluded by Jerome from
his Vulgate version of the Old Testament, but from the
9th century onwards the Latin text is sporadically
found as an appendix to the Vulgate, inclusion Illustration of the triple-headed eagle from Ezra's
becoming more general after the 13th century. vision (head-piece from Bowyer Bible, Apocrypha,
1815)

Contents
Naming conventions
Contents
5 Ezra
4 Ezra
6 Ezra
Author and criticism
Usage
See also
References
Footnotes
Sources
External links

Naming conventions
As with 1 Esdras, there is some confusion about the numbering of this book. The Vulgate of Jerome
includes only a single book of Ezra, but in the Clementine Vulgate 1, 2, 3 and 4 Esdras are separate books.
Protestant writers, after the Geneva Bible, called 1 and 2 Esdras of the Vulgate, Ezra and Nehemiah; and
called 3 and 4 Esdras of the Vulgate, 1 Esdras and 2 Esdras respectively. These then became the common
names for these books in English Bibles.[5]

Medieval Latin manuscripts denoted it 4 Esdras, which to this day is the name used for chapters 3–14 in
modern critical editions,[6][7] which are typically in Latin, the language of its most complete exemplars.[8]
It appears in the Appendix to the Old Testament in the Slavonic Bible, where it is called 3 Esdras, and the
Georgian Orthodox Bible numbers it 3 Ezra. This text is sometimes also known as Apocalypse of Ezra
(chapters 3–14 known as the Jewish Apocalypse of Ezra or 4 Ezra. In modern critical editions, chapters 1–
2 are named as 5 Ezra, and chapters 15–16 as 6 Ezra). Bogaert speculates that the 'fourth book of Ezra'
referred to by Jerome most likely corresponds to modern 5 Ezra and 6 Ezra combined – and notes a number
of Latin manuscripts where these chapters are together in an appendix.[9]

Contents

5 Ezra

The first two chapters of 2 Esdras are found only in the Latin version of the book, and are called 5 Ezra by
scholars.[10] They are considered by most scholars to be Christian in origin; they assert God's rejection of
the Jews and describe a vision of the Son of God. These are generally considered to be late additions
(possibly third century) to the work.

4 Ezra

Chapters 3–14, or the great bulk of 2 Esdras, is a Jewish apocalypse, also sometimes known as 4 Ezra[10]
or the Jewish Apocalypse of Ezra.[11] The latter name should not be confused with a later work called the
Greek Apocalypse of Ezra.

The Ethiopian Church considers 4 Ezra to be canonical, written during the Babylonian captivity, and calls
it Izra Sutuel (ዕዝራ ሱቱኤል). It was also often cited by the Fathers of the Church. In the Eastern Armenian
tradition it is called 3 Ezra. It was written in the late 1st century CE following the destruction of the Second
Temple.[11]

Among Greek Fathers of the Church, 4 Ezra is generally cited as Προφήτης Ἔσδρας Prophetes Esdras
("The Prophet Ezra") or Ἀποκάλυψις Ἔσδρα Apokalupsis Esdra ("Apocalypse of Ezra"). Most scholars
agree that 4 Ezra was composed in Hebrew,[12] which was translated into Greek, and then to Latin,
Armenian, Ethiopian and Georgian, but the Hebrew and Greek editions have been lost.

Slightly differing Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Ethiopic, Georgian, and Armenian translations have survived; the
Greek version can be reconstructed, though without absolute certainty, from these different translations,
while the Hebrew text remains more elusive. The modern Slavonic version is translated from the Latin.

4 Ezra consists of seven visions of Ezra the scribe. The first vision takes place as Ezra is still in Babylon.
He asks God how Israel can be kept in misery if God is just. The archangel Uriel is sent to answer the
question, responding that God's ways cannot be understood by the human mind. Soon, however, the end
would come, and God's justice would be made manifest. Similarly, in the second vision, Ezra asks why
Israel was delivered up to the Babylonians, and is again told that man cannot understand this and that the
end is near. In the third vision Ezra asks why Israel does not possess the world. Uriel responds that the
current state is a period of transition. Here follows a description of the fate of evil-doers and the righteous.
Ezra asks whether the righteous may intercede for the unrighteous on Judgment Day, but is told that
"Judgment Day is final".[13]

The next three visions are more symbolic in nature. The fourth is of a woman mourning for her only son.
She is transformed into a city when she hears of the desolation of Zion. Uriel says that the woman is a
symbol of Zion. The fifth vision concerns an eagle with three heads and twenty wings (twelve large wings
and eight smaller wings "over against them"). The eagle is rebuked by a lion and then burned. The
 explanation of this vision is that the eagle refers to the fourth kingdom of
the vision of Daniel, with the wings and heads as rulers. The final scene is
the triumph of the Messiah over the empire. The sixth vision is of a man,
representing the Messiah, who breathes fire on a crowd that is attacking
him. This man then turns to another peaceful multitude, which accepts
him.

Finally, there is a vision of the

A medieval stained-glass
panel depicting the Archangel
Uriel with Ezra.
restoration of scripture. God
appears to Ezra in a bush and
commands him to restore the
Law. Ezra gathers five scribes
and begins to dictate. After forty
days, he has produced ninety-four
books: the twenty-four books of
the Tanakh and seventy secret
works:

Make public the

twenty-four books
that you wrote first,
and let the worthy
and the unworthy
read them; but keep
the seventy that were Ezra produces the ninety-four books
written last, in order
(Codex Amiatinus, 8th century)
to give them to the
wise among your
people." (2 Esdras
14:45–46 RSV; 4
Ezra 12:45–46)

The "seventy" might refer to the Septuagint, most of the apocrypha, or the lost books that are described in
the Bible.

Almost all Latin editions of the text have a large lacuna[14] of seventy verses between 7:35 and 7:36 that is
missing due to the fact that they trace their common origin to one early manuscript, Codex Sangermanensis
I, from which an entire page had been cut out very early in its history. In 1875 Robert Lubbock Bensly
published the lost verses[15] and in 1895 M.R. James oversaw a critical edition from Bensly's notes[16]
restoring the lost verses from the complete text found in the Codex Colbertinus; it is this edition that is used
in the Stuttgart edition of the Vulgate. The restored verses are numbered 7:35 to 7:105, with the former
verses 7:36–7:70 renumbered to 7:106–7:140.[17] For more information, see the article Codex
Sangermanensis I.

Second Esdras turns around a radical spiritual conversion of Ezra in a vision, where he stops to comfort a
sobbing woman who turns instantly into a great city (2 Esd. 10:25–27). On this pivotal event, one scholar
writes that Ezra
 is badly frightened, he loses consciousness and calls for his angelic guide. The experience
described is unique not just in 4 Ezra but in the whole Jewish apocalyptic literature. Its
intensity complements the pressure of unrelieved stress evident in the first part of the vision,
and it resembles the major orientation of personality usually connected with religious
conversion.[3]: 3 1 

The following verses (10:28–59) reveal that Ezra had a vision of the heavenly Jerusalem, the true city of
Zion, which the angel of the Lord invites him to explore. As the angel tells Ezra at the end of Chapter 10 in
the Authorised Version:

And therefore fear not,

   let not thine heart be affrighted,
but go thy way in,
   and see the beauty and greatness of the building,
as much as thine eyes be able to see;
   and then shalt thou hear as much as thine ears may comprehend.
For thou art blessed above many other
   and art called with the Highest and so are but few.

But tomorrow at night thou shalt remain here and so shall the Highest show thee visions of the
high things which the Most High will do unto them that dwell upon earth in the last days.
So I
slept that night and another like as he commanded me (2 Esd. 10:55–59).

6 Ezra

The last two chapters, also called 6 Ezra by scholars,[10] and found in the Latin, but not in the Eastern texts,
predict wars and rebuke sinners. Many assume that they probably date from a much later period (perhaps
late third century) and may be Christian in origin; it is possible, though not certain, that they were added at
the same time as the first two chapters of the Latin version. It is possible that they are Jewish in origin,
however; 15:57–59 have been found in Greek, which most scholars agree was translated from a Hebrew
original.

Author and criticism

The main body of the book appears to be written for consolation in a period of great distress (one scholarly
hypothesis is that it dates to Titus' destruction of the Second Temple in 70  CE).[18] The author seeks
answers, similar to Job's quest for understanding the meaning of suffering, but the author doesn't like or
desire only the answer that was given to Job.

Critics question whether even the main body of the book, not counting the chapters that exist only in the
Latin version and in Greek fragments, has a single author. Kalisch, De Faye, and Charles hold that no
fewer than five people worked on the text. However, Gunkel points to the unity in character and holds that
the book is written by a single author; it has also been suggested that the author of 2 Esdras wrote the
Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch.[18] In any case, the two texts may date from about the same time, and one
almost certainly depends on the other.[18]
Critics have widely debated the origin of the book. Hidden under two layers of translation it is impossible
to determine if the author was Roman, Alexandrian, or Palestinian.

The scholarly interpretation of the eagle being the Roman Empire (the eagle in the fifth vision, whose heads
might be Vespasian, Titus and Domitian if such is the case) and the destruction of the temple would indicate
that the probable date of composition lies toward the end of the first century, perhaps 90–96, though some
suggest a date as late as 218.[18]

Usage
The book is found in the Orthodox Slavonic Bible (Ostrog Bible, Elizabeth Bible, and later consequently
Russian Synodal Bible). 2 Esdras is in the Apocrypha of the King James Version, and Pope Clement VIII
placed it in an appendix to the Vulgate along with 3 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh "lest they perish
entirely".[19] The chapters corresponding to 4 Ezra, i.e. 2 Esdras 3–14, make up the Book of II Izra, aka
Izra Sutuel, canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church; it was also widely cited by early Fathers of the
Church, particularly Ambrose of Milan, as the 'third book of Esdras'. Jerome states that it is apocryphal.[20]
It may also be found in many larger English Bibles included as part of the Biblical apocrypha, as they exist
in the King James Version, the Revised Version, the Revised Standard Version, and the earliest editions of
the Catholic Douay–Rheims Bible, among others.[a]

The introitus of the traditional Requiem Mass of the Extraordinary Form of the 1962 Missal in the Catholic
Church is loosely based on 2:34–35: "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine
upon them." Several other liturgical prayers are taken from the book. The same chapter, verses 36 and 37,
is cited in the Introit of Pentecost Tuesday, “Accipite jucunditatem gloriae vestrae, alleluia: gratias agentes
Deo, alleluia: qui vos ad caelestia regna vocavit, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Ps. 77 Attendite, popule meus,
legem meam: inclinate aurem vestram in verba oris mei. Gloria Patri. Accipite. – Receive the delight of
your glory, alleluia, giving thanks to God, alleluia, Who hath called ye to the heavenly kingdoms, alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia. Psalm 77 Attend, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
Glory be. Receive.”[21] The Alleluia verse Crastina die for the Vigil Mass of Christmas in the Roman
Missal is taken from chapter 16, verse 52.

Christopher Columbus quoted verse 6:42, which describes the Earth as being created with 6 parts land and
1 part water, in his appeal to the Catholic Monarchs for financial support for his first voyage of
exploration.[22]

The book is appointed as a scripture reading in the Ordinariate’s Evensong service for All Hallows’ Eve.

See also
Esdras
1 Esdras
Ostrog Bible
Vision of Ezra

References

Footnotes
a. Among many, the KJB, RSV, NRSV, NEB, REB, and GNB. More in naming conventions.
 b. 4 Ezra is the title used in modern English translations as in Charlesworth's.[1]

Sources
1. ISBN 978-0-385-09630-0.
2. NETBible, Apocalyptic Esdras (http://net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=Apocalyptic%20Esd
ras) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234523/http://net.bible.org/dictionary.ph
p?word=Apocalyptic%20Esdras) September 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
3. Stone, Michael Edward (1990). Fourth Ezra: A Commentary on the Book of Fourth Ezra (http
s://archive.org/details/fourthezracommen0000ston). Hermeneia. Fortress Press. ISBN 978-0-
8006-6026-0.
4. For example, it is listed with the apocrypha in the Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion.
5. "Esdras." Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05535a.htm).
6. Bensley, R. The Fourth Book of Ezra, the Latin Edition edited form the MSS Cambridge
1895
7. Metzger, B. M. "The Fourth Book of Ezra". In J. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament
Pseudepigrapha. vol 1, p. 517ss.
8. See for example Souvay, C. (1909). Esdras. In The Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newa
dvent.org/cathen/05535a.htm). New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved January 10,
2020 from New Advent.
9. Bogaert, Pierre-Maurice (2000). "Les livres d'Esdras et leur numérotation dans l'histoire du
canon de la Bible latin". Revue Bénédictine. 110 (1–2): 5–26. doi:10.1484/J.RB.5.100750 (h
ttps://doi.org/10.1484%2FJ.RB.5.100750).
10. See for example B. M. Metzger, "The Fourth Book of Ezra", in Charlesworth, James H. (ed.)
The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol 1 (1983). Garden City, NY: Doubleday. p. 517.
ISBN 978-0-385-09630-0
11. Theodore A. Bergren (2010). Michael D. Coogan (ed.). The New Oxford Annotated
Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version. New York, USA: Oxford University Press.
pp. 317–318. ISBN 9780195289619.
12. Wong, A. C. K.; Penner, K. M.; Miller, D. M. (2010). "4 Ezra" (http://pseudepigrapha.org/docs/i
ntro/4Ezra). The Online Critical Pseudepigrapha. Atlanta: The Society of Biblical Literature.
Retrieved April 12, 2019.
13. 2 Esd 7:102–104, GNB
14. Article from Early Jewish Writings (http://earlyjewishwritings.com/2esdras.html)
15. The Missing Fragment of the Latin Translation of the Fourth Book of Ezra (Cambridge UP,
1875) (https://archive.org/details/missingfragmento00bensuoft/page/n5/mode/2up)
16. The Fourth Book of Ezra (Texts & Studies 3.2, ed by J.A. Robinson, Cambridge UP, 1895) (h
ttps://archive.org/details/rulesoftyconius00tico/page/n245/mode/2up)
17. Biblia Sacra Vulgata, 4th edition, 1994, ISBN 3-438-05303-9.
18. Jewish Encyclopedia article (http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5852-esdras-books-of#
1253)
19. Clementine Vulgate, Note to the Appendix (http://sacredbible.org/vulgate1861/scans/817-Ap
ocrypha.jpg)
20. "St. Jerome, The Prologue on the Book of Ezra: English translation" (http://www.tertullian.or
g/fathers/jerome_preface_ezra.htm).
21. Actual Apocrypha in the Liturgy (http://catholicnewslive.com/story/610621).
22. Longenecker, Bruce W. (1995). Two Esdras (https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx5vj2RD3
WoC&pg=PA112). A&C Black. p. 112. ISBN 9781850757269.
External links

Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims Version, O.T. Part 2 (https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1610) at

Project Gutenberg. (See in the appendix: The Fovrth Booke of Esdras in a 1610 translation.
Also included is Robert Lubbock Bensly's 1874 translation of a "rediscovered" 70-verse
fragment (7:36–105) on a page that was omitted from the 1610 translation, though present in
all earlier versions.)
Revised Standard Version (includes the missing page with 7:36–105) (http://www.hti.umich.
edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV1&byte=3652195)
2 Esdras at earlyjewishwritings.com (http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/2esdras.html)
Latin text of 2 (4) Esdras (https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:19
99.02.0060:book=2%20Esdras)
World Wide Study Bible: 2 Esdras (http://www.ccel.org/wwsb/2Esdras/index.html)
Catholic Encyclopedia: Esdras: The Books of Esdras: IV Esdras (http://www.newadvent.org/
cathen/05535a.htm)
Jewish Encyclopedia: Esdras, Books of: II Esdras (http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?a
rtid=463&letter=E&search=Esdras#1253)
"Ezra, Fourth Book of"  (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannic
a/Ezra,_Fourth_Book_of). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
2 Esdras 1 (https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=2%20Esdras%201&version=nrsvae)—
NRSV
King James version of 2 Esdras (http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/k/kjv/kjv-idx?type=DIV1&byte=
3609614).
Ezra/Esdras Chart (http://www.bombaxo.com/biblical-stuff/apocrypha-and-pseudepigrapha/e
zra-chart/)
2 Ezra: 2012 Critical Translation with Audio Drama (http://www.biblicalaudio.com/ezra2.htm)
at biblicalaudio

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