Editing 1 Esdras (section)

== Contents ==
{{further|Book of Ezra}}

1 Esdras contains the whole of Ezra with the addition of one section; its verses are numbered differently. Just as Ezra begins with the last two verses of [[Books of Chronicles|2 Chronicles]], 1 Esdras begins with the last two chapters; this suggests that Chronicles and Esdras may have been read as one book at sometime in the past.

Ezra 4:6 includes a reference to a King [[Ahasuerus]]. Etymologically, Ahasuerus is the same as [[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes]], who reigned between [[Darius I]] and Artaxerxes I. In 1 Esdras, the section is reorganized, leading up to the additional section, and the reference to Ahasuerus is removed.

The additional section begins with a story variously known as the '[[Zerubbabel#1st Esdras|Darius contest]]' or 'Tale of the Three Guardsmen' which was interpolated into 1 Esdras 3:4 to 4:4.<ref>{{ cite book
 | title=Ezra Studies  |page=[https://archive.org/details/ezrastudies00torruoft/page/n77 58]
 | author=Charles C. Torrey |year=1910 | publisher=University of Chicago Press
 | url=https://archive.org/details/ezrastudies00torruoft
 }}</ref> This section forms the core of 1 Esdras with Ezra 5, which together are arranged in a literary [[Chiastic structure|chiasm]] around the celebration in Jerusalem at the exiles' return. This chiastic core forms 1 Esdras into a complete literary unit, allowing it to stand independently from the [[book of Nehemiah]]. Indeed, some scholars, such as [[W. F. Albright]] and [[Edwin M. Yamauchi]], believe that [[Nehemiah]] came back to Jerusalem ''before'' Ezra.<ref>W. F. Albright, "The Date and Personality of the Chronicler", ''[[Journal of Biblical Literature|JBL]]'' 40 (1921), 121.  [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3259291 Full text.]</ref><ref>Edwin Yamauchi, "The Reverse Order of Ezra/Nehemiah Reconsidered," ''[[Themelios]]'' 5.3 (1980), 7-13. [http://s3.amazonaws.com/tgc-documents/journal-issues/5.3_Yamauchi.pdf Full text.]</ref>

{{Ezra&Esdras}}