Ezra
The testimonies included in the Chronicles and the books of Ezra delineate and describe the formation of Judaism. These books, that came into the canon of the Hebrew Bible at a later date, remain inseparable.
The deportation of the elites within the tribe and land of Judah in 606 and 587 BC put an end to the nation of Israel in the land of Palestine. [Most of those people included within the northern tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and other less important tribes had already ceased to exist as the "Kingdom of Israel" after the Assyrian deportations of 634 and 621. When Cyrus from Persia took over Babylon, in his decree of 538 he invited the deportees from Judah not to rebuild their kingdom, but instead a Persian province of Jerusalem. Nothing of the sort ever happened with the northern tribes. They were never able to impose their culture and religion on the Canaanites and on the new immigrants with whom they had intermingled.
It was Ezra who really established "Judaism" by making the reading and practical application of the Mosaic Law into the supreme rule for the community.
Estimated walking time
1 Hour 30 minutes
Estimated running time
40 Minutes
Estimated cycling time
15 Minutes
Chapter 1; Verses 1 to 11
End of the Babylonian Captivity
St Edward the Confessor
"King Cyrus himself brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem,..."
Chapter 2; Verses 1 to 70
List of the Returned Exiles
Holiday Inn
"Now these were the people of the province who came from those captive exiles..."
Chapter 3; Verses 1 to 7
Worship Restored at Jerusalem
Stableside Guesthousing
"They set up the altar on its foundation, because they were in dread of the neighbouring peoples,..."
Chapter 3; Verses 8 to 13
Foundations Laid for the Temple
Pinfold for Sheep & Cattle
"... for the people shouted so loudly that the sound was heard far away."
Chapter 4; Verses 1 to 5
Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple
Racing - Sign Board
"Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and made them afraid to build, and they bribed officials to frustrate their plan..."
Chapter 4; Verses 6 to 24
Rebuilding of Jerusalem Opposed
Old Telephone Exchange
"You will discover in the annals that this is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from long ago."
Chapter 5; Verses 1 to 17
Restoration of the Temple Resumed
St Leonard's Hospice
"We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago,..."
Chapter 6; Verses 1 to 12
The Decree of Darius
York College
"... a beam shall be pulled out of the house of the perpetrator, who then shall be impaled on it. The house shall be made a dunghill."
Chapter 6; Verses 13 to 18
Completion and Dedication of the Temple
Trans Pennine Trail - Route N65
"They finished their building by the command of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia;..."
Chapter 6; Verses 19 to 22
The Passover Celebrated
Picnic Spot
"... for the Lord had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the King of Assyria to them,..."
Chapter 7; Verses 1 to 10
The Coming & Work of Ezra
The Great Oak Tree
"For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach the Statutes and ordinances in Israel."
Chapter 7; Verses 11 to 28
The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra
Footpath to College Grounds
"I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me."
Chapter 8; Verses 1 to 14
Heads of Families Who Returned with Ezra
Seven Furlong Start
"Of the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them seventy males."
Chapter 8; Verses 15 to 20
Servants for the Temple
Six Furlong Start
"As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the descendants of Levi."
Chapter 8; Verses 21 to 23
Fasting and Prayer for Protection
Railway Sleeper Bench
"So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty."
Chapter 8; Verses 24 to 30
Gifts for the Temple
Cycle Path - Bench & Sign
"And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God..."
Chapter 8; Verses 31 to 36
The Return To Jerusalem
Footbridge into the Race Course
"Then we left the River Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem;..."
Chapter 9; Verses 1 to 4
Denunciation of Mixed Marriages
Hamilton Panthers FC
"When I heard this, I tore my garment and my mantle, and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled."
Chapter 9; Verses 5 to 15
Ezra's Prayer
Race Course Cottage
"For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the Kings of Persia,..."
Chapter 10; Verses 1 to 5
The Peoples Response
The Tyburn - Tadcaster Road
"So now let us make a covenant with God to send away all these wives and their children,..."
Chapter 10; Verses 6 to 44
Foreign Wives and Their Children Rejected
The Marriot Hotel
"You have trespassed and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel."
A Poem by Charles Causley
I am the Great Sun
The War Memorial - St Eds
"From a Normandy Crucifix of 1632 ... I am the captive but you do not free me, I am the captain but you will not obey, I am the truth but you will not believe me,..."