repentance, confession of sin, and restitution, so that true worship of God could be restored The sin of mixed marriages (between Israelites and the heathen) was a major de lement at this time How did this sin a ect the religious life of Israel? 13 Observe, from the dates shown on the chart, the duration of the time between chapters and Consult Chart 57, and note that the book of Esther is located in this period 14 The names of the three important kings of Persia—Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes—are placed on the chart where they relate to the story 15 In chapters 4-7, Ezra records much of the o cial correspondence involving the kings’ o ces and having to with the Jews’ permission to return to Canaan Originally these letters were written in Aramaic, which was the o cial language of diplomatic discourse in those days Ezra preserved the letters in their original Aramaic form This is one of the few Aramaic sections in the Hebrew Bible Identify the sender and addressee in each case: 4:11-16; 4:17-22; 5:7-17; 6:6-12; 7:1126 16 Compare the two sections identi ed on the chart as The Work Why were these activities important in the life of the Jews? IV PROMINENT SUBJECTS OF EZRA (chaps 1-6) A simple outline shows the content of this first half of the book A RESTORATION UNDER ZERUBBABEL I The Journey (1:1—2:70) A Decree of Cyrus (1:1-4) B Preparations for the Journey (1:5-11) C List of Returning Exiles (2:1-70; scan Neh 7:5-73 for a similar list) II The Work (3:1—6:22) Work Begun (3:1-13) (536 B.C.) Work Opposed (4:1-24) (534 Work Resumed (5:1—6:12) (520 B.C.) Work Finished (6:13-22) (516 B.C.) B.C.) (Locate the above four dates on Chart 57.) The last two verses of the above section could be called key verses for Ezra They summarize the rst return of Jewish exiles from captivity in 536 B.C., with the aid of God and through the favor of an Assyrian king (6:21-22) When the core is extracted from these verses, a bright note of gladness is the emphasized concluding message: “The sons of Israel … ate … with joy, for the LORD had caused them to rejoice.” (chaps 7-10) As the survey Chart 59 shows, the subject of these chapters is similar to that of the first half of the book The two main parts are “The Journey” (7:1—8:32), and “The Work” (8:33—10:44) The journey (7:1—8:32) (Study the section with the following four points in view.) a) The permission (7:1-26) b) The psalm (7:27-28) c) The people (8:1-14) d) The pilgrimage (8:15-32) About sixty years transpired between chapters and They were probably years of spiritual decline for Jews in Judah The coming of Ezra the scribe with a second contingent of returning exiles was very timely, for Ezra was a man of God who had B REFORMS UNDER EZRA ... for the LORD had caused them to rejoice.” (chaps 7-10) As the survey Chart 59 shows, the subject of these chapters is similar to that of the first half of the book The two main parts are ? ?The. .. with the aid of God and through the favor of an Assyrian king (6:21-22) When the core is extracted from these verses, a bright note of gladness is the emphasized concluding message: ? ?The sons of. .. activities important in the life of the Jews? IV PROMINENT SUBJECTS OF EZRA (chaps 1-6) A simple outline shows the content of this first half of the book A RESTORATION UNDER ZERUBBABEL I The Journey (1:1—2:70)