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 fifth century BC, whom the book identifies with the sixth-century figure Shealtiel.[3]: 37
This article is about an apocryphal work attributed to Ezra. For the protocanonical book following the canonical Book of Ezra, see Book of Nehemiah. For other biblical books called "Esdras", see Esdras.2 Esdras forms a part of the canon of Scripture in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (an Oriental Orthodoxy body), though 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 becoming more general after the 13th century.
Contents[edit]
5 Ezra[edit]
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[edit]
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 first 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 in their entirety; 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.
Author and criticism[edit]
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).[19] The author seeks answers, similar to Job's quest for understanding the meaning of suffering, but the author does not 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; the author of 2 Esdras has also been suggested to have written the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch.[19] In any case, the two texts may date from about the same time, and one almost certainly depends on the other.[19]
Critics have widely debated the origin of the book. Hidden under two layers of translation, determining whether the author was Roman, Alexandrian, or Palestinian is impossible.
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.[19]
Usage[edit]
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".[20] 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.[21] 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.”[22] 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 six parts land and one part water, in his appeal to the Catholic Monarchs for financial support for his first voyage of exploration.[23]
The book is appointed as a scripture reading in the Ordinariate’s Evensong service for All Hallows' Eve.[24]