Editing 2 Esdras (section)

{{short description|Apocalyptic appendix to Vulgate (70-218 CE)}}
{{About|an apocryphal work attributed to Ezra|the protocanonical book following the canonical Book of Ezra|Book of Nehemiah|other biblical books called "Esdras"|Esdras}}
[[File:Triple Eagle 2 Esdras.gif|thumb|300px|Illustration of the [[triple-headed eagle]] from Ezra's vision (head-piece from [[Bowyer Bible]], ''Apocrypha'', 1815)]]
{{Tanakh OT |deutero}}
{{Christian Eschatology}}
'''2 Esdras''', also called '''4 Esdras''', '''Latin Esdras''', or '''Latin Ezra''', is an [[Apocalypticism|apocalyptic]] book in some [[English translations of the Bible|English versions]] of the [[Bible]].{{efn|name=list|Among many, the [[King James Bible|KJB]], [[Revised Standard Version|RSV]], [[New Revised Standard Version|NRSV]], [[New English Bible|NEB]], [[Revised English Bible|REB]], and [[Good News Bible|GNB]]. More in [[#Naming conventions|naming conventions]].}}{{efn|4 Ezra is the title used in modern English translations as in Charlesworth's.<ref>{{ISBN|978-0-385-09630-0}}.</ref>}}<ref>[http://net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=Apocalyptic%20Esdras NETBible, ''Apocalyptic Esdras''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234523/http://net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=Apocalyptic%20Esdras |date=September 26, 2007}}</ref> Tradition ascribes it to [[Ezra]], a [[sofer|scribe]] and [[kohen|priest]] of the fifth century BC, whom the book identifies with the sixth-century figure [[Shealtiel]].<ref name="Stone 1990">{{cite book|last=Stone|first=Michael Edward|title=Fourth Ezra: A Commentary on the Book of Fourth Ezra|publisher=[[Fortress Press]]|series=Hermeneia|year=1990|isbn=978-0-8006-6026-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/fourthezracommen0000ston}}</ref>{{rp|37}}

2 Esdras forms a part of the canon of Scripture in the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox Church]] (an [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodoxy]] body), though it is reckoned among the [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha]] by [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]] and [[Protestantism|Protestants.]]<ref>For example, it is listed with the apocrypha in the Anglican [[39 Articles|Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion]].</ref> Within Eastern Orthodoxy it forms a part of the canon<ref>{{Cite book |last=Coogan |first=Michael |title=The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version: An Ecumenical Study Bible |date=March 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-027605-8 |edition=5th |location=New York |pages=1839, 1841}}</ref> although its usage varies by different traditions. 2 Esdras was translated by [[Jerome]] as part of the [[Vulgate]], though he placed it in an appendix. <ref>{{cite web |url=https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/wholecounsel/2018/09/26/4-ezra-a-biblical-book-youve-probably-never-read/ |title=4 Ezra: A Biblical Book You've Probably Never Read |date=26 September 2018 }}</ref>