ESDRAS, BOOKS OF. The word Esdras is the Greek form of Ezra, and indicates that the books so named do not exist in Hebrew or Chaldee. In the Vulgate, the first book of Esdras means the canonical book of Ezra; and the second, the canonical book of Nehemiah; whilst the third and fourth are what we call the first and second books of Esdras. But in the Vatican and other editions of the LXX., what we call the first book of Esdras comes first, and is followed by the canonical book of Ezra, which is termed the second book of Esdras. In all the earlier editions of the English Bible the order of the Vulgate is followed. The Geneva Bible was the first to adopt the classification now used, according to which Ezra and Nehemiah give their names to two canonical books, and the two apocryphal become first and second Esdras. As regards the first book of Esdras, it is for the most part a transcript—and not a very accurate one—of Ezra and a portion of Nehemiah, together with the two last chapters of 2c1 Chronicles. It is impossible to ascertain anything regarding its age or authorship. Joseplius quotes it extensively in his Antiquities, even when it contradicts Ezra proper, a fact which indicates that it was highly valued by the Jews. It may perhaps be interesting to notice that the hackneyed phrase, Magma est veritas et prevrilebit (truth is great, and will pre vail), is taken from the 41st verse of the 4th chapter of this book. The second book of
Esdras, or Revelation of Esdras, is wholly different in character from the first, and it has even been doubted whether it is the work of a Jewish or of a semi-Christian writer. Lawrence and Hilgenfeld argue for its being composed 28-25 B.C. ; Lticke, shortly after the death of Caesar (44 n.c.); while Gfrorer, Bauer, and Wieseler assign it to a period as late as the reign of Domitian (81-96 A.D.). The opinion which has the weightiest evi dence in its favor is, that the book was originally the composition of a Jew, but that it has been largely interpolated by Christian writers. The book was probably written in Egypt, and forms part of what has been called the "Apocalyptic Cycle" of Jewish literature (see REVELATION OF ST. JOHN). It consists of a series of angelic visions and revelations made to Ezra, regarding the mysteries of the moral world, and the final triumph of the righteous, who, however, are to be but " a very few." The descrip tions are occasidnally very gtriking, and even sUblime,'and if the doctrinal portions contain the original views of a man living before the apostolic era, the source of the Pauline phraseology can in part be discovered.