II. The Historical Value of the Ezra Tradition. Recognizing that the Ezra tradition comes from the hand of the Chronicler, certain Old Testament scholars are inclined to regard it as entirely unhistorical. It can no longer be regarded as a strictly historical record. Like II Chronicles 31, it is shot through with the ideas current during the Greek period. With no desire to deceive, but with nothing of the modern historical spirit, the Chronicler freely projects the institutions, ideas, and traditions of his own day into these earlier periods. The result is that he has given not an exact or reliable historical record, but his own conception of the way in which the course of history should have unfolded. The Ezra tradition also lacks the support not only of contemporary testimony, but also of all the Jews who wrote during the next few centuries. Ben Sira in his review of Israel's heroes speaks in highest terms of Nehemiah, but knows nothing of Ezra's work. Even the comparatively late Jewish tradition reflected in the opening chapters of II Maccabees attributes to Nehemiah the re-establishment of the temple Service and the collection of the sacred writings of his race. At many points the Ezra tradition is also inconsistent with the straightforward contemporary record contained in Nehemiah's memoirs. The real question is whether or not there is a historical nucleus in the Ezra story, and if so, what are the facts which it reflects.
III. The Facts Underlying the Ezra Tradition. The later records make it clear that during the latter part of the Persian period the attitude of the Jews in Palestine toward their neighbors became more and more exclusive. Nehemiah appears to have given a great impetus to the movement which ultimately resulted in the Samaritan schism and the high wall that henceforth separated Jew and Gentile. The emphasis on the strict observation of the sabbath grew stronger and stronger, until at the beginning of the Greek period the Jews of Jerusalem preferred to fall before the sword of their foes rather than fight on the sabbath day (cf. Section CIII). The ritual of the temple became even more elaborate, and its income was greatly increased during the latter part of the Persian period. The extension of the territory of the Judean community implied that its numbers were increased by the return of loyal Jews attracted by the security offered by its walls and by the new spirit that animated the Jews of Palestine. The priestly laws which were formulated to meet the new needs of the Judean community appear to have been written in Palestine and by those closely connected with the temple service, but in the emphasis upon the sabbath and in their endeavor to prevent marriage with foreigners they suggest the presence and influence of Jews who had returned from the land of the dispersion. It is possible that among those who thus returned was the priest Ezra, and he may have been at the head of one of these groups of returning exiles. In the days of Josiah the code contained in the newly discovered Book of the Covenant was presented to the people in a public assembly and adopted and enforced by the king, who acted as the representative of the people (Section LXXXIII:iii). It is probable that in the small Judean community new regulations gained acceptance in the same way, except that the people were represented by their nobles and priests rather than by a king. The tradition of Ezra, therefore, is typical of the great movement that shaped the life of Judaism in the century immediately following the work of Nehemiah.
IV. Origin and Aims of the Priestly Laws. The late priestly laws which moulded the life of Judaism are found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. They do not constitute a unified code, but rather are made up of a series of smaller groups of laws, the older nucleus being the Holiness Code found in chapters 17-26 of Leviticus (cf. Section XCIII:iii). In some cases variants of the same law are found in different groups. Certain of these laws simply reiterate in slightly different form those already found in the primitive and Deuteronomic codes; but in general they supplement these earlier codes. The formulation, collection, and codification of these later laws apparently continued until toward the latter part of the Persian period when the Samaritan schism (Section CIII) fixed them in their present form.
To these laws was prefixed, as an introduction, the priestly history that opens with the account of creation in the first chapter of Genesis and briefly traces Israel's history to the settlement in Canaan. The interest of these late priestly historians is, like that of the Chronicler, in the origin of institutions. Thus the object of the first chapter of Genesis is to give the traditional origin and authority of the sabbath. The account of the flood culminates in a covenant embodying the command that man shall not eat of the blood of sacrificial animals; the priestly stories regarding Abraham aim to give the origin of the rite of circumcision. Israel's early experiences in the wilderness furnish the setting for the giving of the law at Sinai. In this way the late editors of these opening books of the Old Testament connect all of Israel's legislation with Moses and aim to establish its divine authority.
V. Their Important Regulations. The central aim in all these late priestly laws was similar to that of Ezekiel: it was to make Israel a holy people and to prevent them from falling again into the sins to which were attributed the overwhelming disasters that had overtaken them. This aim they sought to accomplish: (1) by making the temple and its services the centre of the life of the people and through ceremonial barriers and regulations to shield it from everything that might pollute it; (2) by rendering the temple service attractive; (3) by insuring through rigid ceremonial laws the purity of its priesthood; (4) by preserving the ceremonial cleanliness of the people through strict laws regarding the food which they ate and elaborate provisions for their purification in case they were contaminated by contact with that which was regarded as unclean; (5) by prohibiting absolutely all marriages with the heathen; and (6) by emphasizing the rigid observation of the sabbath and other distinctive institutions. In general these late priestly laws represented a return to the older and more primitive conception of religion, and defined duty in terms of ceremonial rather than moral acts.
VI. Their Practical Effects. Later Judaism represents to a great extent the result of the rigid enforcement of these regulations. Its life was centralized more and more about the temple. In its services the people found their chief interest and joy. The numbers of the priests and Levites were also greatly increased. To the older temple dues many new ones were added. Thus each man brought to the temple the first-born of his flock. Even his oldest son must be redeemed within a month after his birth by a gift of five shekels (which represented in modern currency between three and four dollars). Of every animal slain the shoulder, two joints, and the stomach went to the priests. Of the vintage and oil and grain they received about one-fiftieth. In addition a tithe was turned over to the Levites. Part of the wool in every sheep-shearing, as well as a part of the bread which they baked, found its way to the temple. In addition a large income came through the vows made by the people or the conscience money which was paid either in currency or gifts. Although the priests had no temporal authority by which to enforce these laws, it is evident that the people bore their heavy burdens gladly and brought willingly their offerings, that they might thereby win a definite assurance of Jehovah's favor. The law was to them a source of joy rather than a burden. Their love for it steadily grew until two centuries later during the Maccabean persecutions there were many who were ready to lay down their lives for it.
Section CIII. THE JEWISH STATE DURING THE LAST CENTURY OF PERSIAN RULE
[Sidenote: Ps. 36:5-10]
Thy loving-kindness, O Jehovah, is in the heavens,
Thy faithfulness reacheth to the skies,
Thy righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
Thy judgments are like the great deep;
Thou preservest man and beast.
How precious is thy loving-kindness, O God!
And the sons of men put their trust in the shadow of thy wings.
They are fully satisfied with the rich things of thy house,
And thou makest them drink of thy river of delights.
For with thee is the fountain of life,
And in thy light shall we see light.
O continue thy loving-kindness to those who know thee,
And thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
[Sidenote: Joel 2:1, 2b]
The word of Jehovah, which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
Blow a horn in Zion,
Sound an alarm in my holy mountain,
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of Jehovah comes,
For near is the day of darkness and gloom,
The day of cloud and thick darkness!
[Sidenote: Joel 2:2c-6]
Like the light of dawn scattered over the mountains,
A people great and powerful;
Its like has not been from of old,
Neither shall be any more after it,
Even to the years of coming ages.
Before them the fire devours,
And behind them a flame burns;
Like the garden of Eden is the land before them,
And after them it is a desolate desert,
Yea, nothing escapes them.
Their appearance is as the appearance of horses,
And like horsemen they run.
Like the sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains they leap,
Like the crackle of flames devouring stubble,
Like a mighty people preparing for battle.
Peoples are in anguish before them,
All faces glow with excitement.