Ez·ra /ˈɛzrə/
 以斯拉,以斯拉記
 Ezra
      n 1: a Jewish priest and scribe sent by the Persian king to
           restore Jewish law and worship in Jerusalem
      2: an Old Testament book telling of a rabbi's efforts in the
         5th century BC to reconstitute Jewish law and worship in
         Jerusalem after the Babylonian Captivity [syn: Book of
         Ezra]
 Ezra
    help. (1.) A priest among those that returned to Jerusalem under
    Zerubabel (Neh. 12:1).
      (2.) The "scribe" who led the second body of exiles that
    returned from Babylon to Jerusalem B.C. 459, and author of the
    book of Scripture which bears his name. He was the son, or
    perhaps grandson, of Seraiah (2 Kings 25:18-21), and a lineal
    descendant of Phinehas, the son of Aaron (Ezra 7:1-5). All we
    know of his personal history is contained in the last four
    chapters of his book, and in Neh. 8 and 12:26.
      In the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus (see
    DARIUS), he obtained leave to go up to Jerusalem and
    to take with him a company of Israelites (Ezra 8). Artaxerxes
    manifested great interest in Ezra's undertaking, granting him
    "all his request," and loading him with gifts for the house of
    God. Ezra assembled the band of exiles, probably about 5,000 in
    all, who were prepared to go up with him to Jerusalem, on the
    banks of the Ahava, where they rested for three days, and were
    put into order for their march across the desert, which was
    completed in four months. His proceedings at Jerusalem on his
    arrival there are recorded in his book.
      He was "a ready scribe in the law of Moses," who "had prepared
    his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it, and to teach
    in Israel statutes and judgments." "He is," says Professor
    Binnie, "the first well-defined example of an order of men who
    have never since ceased in the church; men of sacred erudition,
    who devote their lives to the study of the Holy Scriptures, in
    order that they may be in a condition to interpret them for the
    instruction and edification of the church. It is significant
    that the earliest mention of the pulpit occurs in the history of
    Ezra's ministry (Neh. 8:4). He was much more of a teacher than a
    priest. We learn from the account of his labours in the book of
    Nehemiah that he was careful to have the whole people instructed
    in the law of Moses; and there is no reason to reject the
    constant tradition of the Jews which connects his name with the
    collecting and editing of the Old Testament canon. The final
    completion of the canon may have been, and probably was, the
    work of a later generation; but Ezra seems to have put it much
    into the shape in which it is still found in the Hebrew Bible.
    When it is added that the complete organization of the synagogue
    dates from this period, it will be seen that the age was
    emphatically one of Biblical study" (The Psalms: their History,
    etc.).
      For about fourteen years, i.e., till B.C. 445, we have no
    record of what went on in Jerusalem after Ezra had set in order
    the ecclesiastical and civil affairs of the nation. In that year
    another distinguished personage, Nehemiah, appears on the scene.
    After the ruined wall of the city had been built by Nehemiah,
    there was a great gathering of the people at Jerusalem
    preparatory to the dedication of the wall. On the appointed day
    the whole population assembled, and the law was read aloud to
    them by Ezra and his assistants (Neh. 8:3). The remarkable scene
    is described in detail. There was a great religious awakening.
    For successive days they held solemn assemblies, confessing
    their sins and offering up solemn sacrifices. They kept also the
    feast of Tabernacles with great solemnity and joyous enthusiasm,
    and then renewed their national covenant to be the Lord's.
    Abuses were rectified, and arrangements for the temple service
    completed, and now nothing remained but the dedication of the
    walls of the city (Neh. 12).
 Ezra, help; court