What is it about?
Ezra 3 breaks down into three sections. The author has given us literary clues to this effect.
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Why is it important?
As readers, we want to understand how best to read Ezra 3, both in regard to (a) the organizing principles within the chapter, and (b) how it relates to the preceding and following chapters. It is not easy to recognize the outline of Ezra 3. For example, the New International Version places a major paragraph break between verse 6 and verse 7, while the English Standard Version places a major paragraph break between verse 7 and verse 8. There's also an unresolved question as to whether or not we should read Ezra 3 as a distinct literary unit. Two highly-regarded commentaries (Williamson, Throntveit) see the overarching literary unit as 3:1 - 4:5. This raises the question, should we read Ezra 4:1-5 as more tightly connected to chapter 3 or the rest of chapter 4?
Perspectives
I've been studying Ezra-Nehemiah for 25 years. In 1999, I completed a master's thesis on Ezra 4-6. The question of the structure of Ezra 3 has always been a puzzle to me. In 2016 I was wrestling with Ezra 3 in advance of a presentation I was scheduled to make to a local pastor's group. The key problem was the opening half of verse 8. Those lines don't seem to fit. It was especially the repeated reference to the laying of the temple foundations (verses 6, 10) that clued me in to the possibility that there might be a "concentric ring" shape (chiasm) to the chapter. The pieces began to fall into place once I saw that the first half of verse 8 is the exact center of the chapter. Another key observation was the parallel references to Moses, Cyrus, and David, one each for each of the three scenes of the chapter. I am hoping that this article helps others read Ezra 3 as the original author meant it to be read.
Stefan C Matzal
Trinity Fellowship
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Structure of Ezra 3, Vetus Testamentum, April 2018, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/15685330-12341329.
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