Hope Amidst Ruin : A Literary and Theological Analysis of Ezra

by Brown, A. Philip, II

• ISBN13: 9781591669425
• ISBN10: 1591669421
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-12-01
• Publisher: BJU Press

Summary

The book of Ezra deals with building the second temple, restoring the worship of Yahweh, and breaking the habits that undermined Israel's spiritual integrity. In Hope Amidst Ruin, A. Philip Brown II analyzes the book's use of chronology, plot, and point of view, demonstrating that Ezra composed this historical narrative to teach postexilic Israel about the goodness and holiness of their God. The themes of hope and holiness flow throughout the book as the Returnees learn anew of God's promises to the just and of His wrath against those who abandon Him. Purification and separation from evil is necessary for the Israelites to be restored to true fellowship with Yahweh.

Author Biography

A. Philip Brown II (PhD, Bob Jones University) is an associate professor at God's Bible School and College in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hope Amidst Ruin is the published version of his dissertation, "A Literary and Theological Analysis of the Book of Ezra" (2002).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. x
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Abbreviations	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Difficulties	p. 1
Need	p. 2
Previous Works	p. 3
Delimitations	p. 9
Subject and Methodology	p. 10
The Application of Literary Analysis	p. 11
The Application of Biblical-Theological Analysis	p. 12
Hearing the Message in the Reading Process	p. 13
Conclusion	p. 14
Temporal Ordering in Ezra: Part I	p. 15
Temporal Notations	p. 17
Temporal Notations and Narrative Structure	p. 20
Temporal Notations and Narrative Chronology	p. 25
Chronology	p. 28
Anachrony: Chronological Anomalies	p. 29
The Chronology of Ezra's Events	p. 29
Artaxerxes Then Darius	p. 30
"After These Things ..."	p. 34
"Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes"	p. 39
The End Before the Beginning	p. 41
Conclusion	p. 42
Temporal Ordering in Ezra: Part II	p. 44
The Chronological Order of Ezra and Nehemiah	p. 44
Rejection and Rearrangement of the Narrative Order	p. 48
Rejection of Anachrony: Forced Chronology	p. 52
Anachrony Accepted and Explained	p. 58
Temporal Proportioning in Ezra	p. 62
Conclusion	p. 64
An Analysis of Plot in Ezra	p. 66
Plot Structure in Ezra	p. 69
Plot Composition	p. 73
Selection of Events	p. 73
Omission	p. 74
Inclusion	p. 75
Arrangement of Events	p. 82
Presentation of Events	p. 85
Conclusion	p. 90
An Analysis of Point of View in Ezra	p. 92
Point of View	p. 92
Point of View and Biblical Theology	p. 94
Point of View in Ezra	p. 96
The Narrator and His Intrusions	p. 96
Elaborative Intrusions	p. 98
Explanatory Intrusions	p. 101
Shifts Between Third- and First-Person Narration	p. 103
Characterization and the Narrator's Point of View	p. 108
Internal Perspective	p. 109
Direct Characterization	p. 112
Conclusion	p. 114
Yahweh: God of Israel, God of Heaven and Earth	p. 116
The Immanence of God	p. 117
The Sovereign Power of God	p. 118
Initiating the Temple Reconstruction	p. 119
Overturning Opposition to the Temple Reconstruction	p. 123
Completing the Temple Reconstruction	p. 124
The Faithfulness of God	p. 125
God's Faithfulness to His Word	p. 125
"The Word of Yahweh by the Mouth of Jeremiah"	p. 127
Fulfillment in Ezra of Jeremiah's Restoration Promises	p. 130
God's Faithfulness to His People	p. 133
The Gracious Goodness of God	p. 136
The Righteousness of God	p. 138
The Supremacy of Yahweh	p. 141
Conclusion	p. 143
Holiness in Ezra: Separated from Uncleanness and Seeking the Lord	p. 146
Ezra 2: Priests Profaned from the Priesthood	p. 146
Ezra 4: Syncretists Rejected	p. 148
Ezra 6: Separatists Welcomed in Worship	p. 149
Ezra 8: Holy Guards Required for Holy Vessels	p. 151
Ezra 9-10: Mixed Marriages Separated	p. 152
The Peoples of the Lands and the Foreign Women: A Spectrum of Views	p. 154
The Peoples of the Lands: Pagan Foreigners	p. 154
The Peoples of the Lands: Non-Golah Jews	p. 157
The Peoples of the Lands: Synthetic Views	p. 160
The Peoples of the Lands and the Foreign Women: The Biblical Data	p. 161
The Identity of the Wives: Ezra's Terminology	p. 162
The Nature of the Problem: Ezra's Prayer	p. 167
The Solution to the Problem: Ezra's Rationale	p. 170
The Peoples of the Lands and the Foreign Women: The Importance of Holiness	p. 175
Ezra the Priest and Scribe: Holiness Modeled	p. 176
Conclusion	p. 177
7	p. 180
Continuity with Preexilic Israel	p. 180
Genealogical Continuity in Ezra	p. 181
The Lists of Returnees in Ezra 2 and Ezra 8	p. 181
The Genealogy of Ezra	p. 186
Geographical Continuity in Ezra	p. 187
National Continuity in Ezra	p. 188
Spiritual Continuity in Ezra	p. 189
Worship Renewal	p. 189
A Guilty Remnant	p. 192
Conclusion	p. 194
Hope for the Future: The Nexus of Ezra's Theological Message	p. 195
The Existence and Nature of Hope in Ezra	p. 196
The Grounds of Ezra's Hope: Ezra's Theological Message	p. 198
Conclusion	p. 200
A Reader's Guide to the Theological Message of Ezra: A Literary-Theological Synthesis	p. 201
Ezra 1-6: The First Return and the Temple Rebuilt	p. 202
Return Under Cyrus (Ezra 1-2)	p. 202
Ezra 1-First Return Initiated	p. 202
Ezra 2-First Return Completed	p. 203
Thematic Summary	p. 204
Rebuilding the Temple (Ezra 3-6)	p. 205
Ezra 3-Temple Construction Started	p. 205
Ezra 4-Successful Opposition to God's People	p. 206
Ezra 5:1-6:12-Reversal of Opposition to God's People	p. 208
Ezra 6:13-22-Temple Construction Completed	p. 209
Thematic Summary	p. 211
Thematic Sequence and Message Development in Ezra 1-6	p. 211
Ezra 7-10: The Second Return and the Community Purified	p. 212
Return Under Artaxerxes (Ezra 7-8)	p. 212
Ezra 7-Ezra's Credentials and Artaxerxes' Commission	p. 212
Ezra 8-Preparation, Journey, and Arrival of the Second Return	p. 214
Thematic Summary	p. 216
Purification of the Community (Ezra 9-10)	p. 217
Ezra 9-Mixed Marriages Discovered	p. 217
Ezra 10-Mixed Marriages Dissolved	p. 219
Thematic Summary	p. 220
Thematic Sequence and Message Development in Ezra 7-10	p. 220
Parallelism and Antithesis: Ezra in Retrospect	p. 221
Conclusion	p. 223
Conclusion	p. 224
Literary Analysis	p. 224
Theological Analysis	p. 227
Literary-Theological Synthesis	p. 230
Prospects for Further Study	p. 230
Then and Now: Homiletical Values in Ezra	p. 231
Appendix: References to God in Ezra	p. 233
Selected Bibliography	p. 235
Literary Analysis	p. 235
Theological Analysis	p. 243
	p. 259
	p. 270
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