New Ezra/Nehemiah Resource

Regular readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of the pictorial resources produced by BiblePlaces. Todd Bolen has assembled a great team and together they produce visual materials that are great aids for Bible preachers and teachers, or really anyone who wants to know the Bible better. Their latest offering is Ezra and Nehemiah in the Photo Companion to the Bible Series. Not only are there more than 4,500 photos in this collection but the notes are informative. I am a Bible professor and I often learn stuff from the notes.

You really do owe it to yourself to check it out. And right now these resources are on sale. You can get the best price on the two books together: Ezra ($39), Nehemiah ($49), or Ezra and Nehemiah together for $59 as DVD+download or as download-only. 

 

Top Ezra–Nehemiah Commentaries

Aubrey Buster lists and annotates her top "six" (actually 8) commentaries on Ezra–Nehemiah on Nijay Gupta's blog here.

The Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim

Leen Ritmeyer has a very interesting post about it and other structures here.

Post-Exilic Timeline

Russell Meek has created a helpful timeline for the post-exilic period with reference to Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, and Zechariah. You can view the timeline here.

Susa

Claude Mariottini has a very nice post here on the city of Susa. The city is mentioned in Ezra 4:9, Nehemiah 1:1, Esther 1:2, 5; 2;3, 5, 8; 3:15; 4:8, 16; 8:14, 15; 9:6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18), and Daniel 8:2.

Teaching Ezra

Nancy Guthrie talks to Aaron Messner about it here.

Nehemiah's Jerusalem in 3-D

I'm not sure that this video recreation of Post-Exilic Jerusalem is entirely accurate and there by necessity is a significant amount of artistic imagination but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Studying Ezra

Jesse Johnson explains here why it should be done.

New Persia Resource

BiblePlaces recently released their latest volume featuring Persia. This collection of brand new images includes 22 PowerPoints and more photographs than any other Pictorial Library of Bible Lands volume. I didn't count all the images

but the PDF index listing all the images runs 46 pages! Todd Bolen combines a photographer's eye with a Bible scholar's knowledge. So if you teach or preach from books like Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah, you really owe it to yourself to check out this volume. Plus, you can now order the Persia volume at the introductory price of $25 (download or DVD or both).

Strange Anti-Climaxes in Ezra–Nehemiah?

I have found The Bible Project's videos to be creative, well-done, and helpful. I recently watched the video on Ezra-Nehemiah. The presentation is fairly straightforward but the video presents Ezra 4, 9–10 and Nehemiah 13 as  strange anti-climaxes.This explanation is interesting but I am not sure I would view the events in these chapters as negatively as they do. In any case, you can check it out for yourself. Feel free to let me know what you think.

Preaching Ezra and Nehemiah

The Southern Blog has a nice interview with James Hamilton related to the development of his new book Exalting Jesus in Ezra and Nehemiah.

Review of Memoirs of the Way Home

Gerald M Bilkes, Memoirs of the Way Home: Ezra and Nehemiah as a Call to Conversion. Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2013. 

Memoirs of the Way Home is a thematic exposition of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Combining these books into single study is appropriate since these books should be read as a single unit. Memoirs is a thematic exposition in that the author understands Ezra and Nehemiah as an extended account of the prodigal’s way back home” (2). The subtitle of the book also suggests another metaphor, namely, conversion.

The book contains thirty-three brief chapters, ten devoted to Ezra and 23 to Nehemiah. Each chapter includes several study questions. There are also two appendices (Lessons for ministry from Ezra and Lessons for prayer from Nehemiah).

The expositions are fairly concise and generally give the reader a decent explanation of the contents. (One who is looking for a detailed discussion of the text will need to turn elsewhere since the author clearly does not intend for this work to be exegetically comprehensive.) Principles and applications are intermingled throughout the discussion. Bilkes’ prose is simple, clear, and pastoral. Many of the chapter-ending questions are helpful and could be put to effective use in a class or small group setting. Preachers are also likely to find nuggets here and there to incorporate into their sermons.
 
However, I am not sure whether the prodigal metaphor works all that well and I found some of the attempted connections to the theme a bit strained. In the parable of the prodigal son, the son chooses to leave. In Israel's exile the people did not choose to leave but were in fact forcibly removed. Similarly, the return of Israel was not the result of coming to one's senses (see Luke 15:17) but of the grace of God who allowed His people to return. Equally unconvincing is the metaphor of conversion. Related to these two issues is the tendency to shift too quickly to the New Testament. While it is wholly appropriate for Christians to move ultimately to the New Testament, one senses that Ezra and Nehemiah are not being allowed to speak on their own terms.
 
These criticisms aside, Bilkes is to be commended for drawing attention to these less familiar books of Scripture.
 
You can read a PDF excerpt here. Thanks to Reformation Heritage for providing the copy used in this unbiased review.

Ezra 7:10

Andy Naselli has some thoughts and links related to Ezra 7:10 here.

Sermons on Ezra

James Hamilton has a posted a link to some sermons that he recently preached on Ezra. Check it out here.

The Ezra / Nehemiah Commentary from ZIBBCOT

The Ezra / Nehemiah commentary by Edwin Yamauchi from the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary Old Testament has been made available free online here.

Top Five Commentaries on Ezra-Nehemiah

Ligonier Ministries has a list and discussion of their top five commentaries on Ezra-Nehemiah. I would replace the briefer works of Kidner and McConville with Blenkinsopp (OTL) and Thrtontveit (Int). I would also add Yamauchi (EBC) to the runners-up list. In any case, the top five Keith Mathison has listed are:

1. F. Charles Fensham -- The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament, 1983).
2. H.G.M. Williamson -- Ezra/Nehemiah (Word Biblical Commentary, 1985).
3. Derek Kidner. -- Ezra & Nehemiah (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 1979).
4. Mervin Breneman -- Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (New American Commentary, 1993).
5. J. G. McConville -- Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Daily Study Bible, 1985).