Ezra in 450 BCE? Think Again.

 In yesterday's post, I engaged somewhat with the following graphic:

Today, I'd like to explain why it is extremely unlikely that the Book of Ezra was written, as the table above has it, in 450 BCE.

Ezra 7:7–8 references the seventh year of Artaxerxes. Now, there's some ambiguity here, as this could be referencing either Artaxerxes I or II. If it is referencing Artaxerxes I, then the seventh year likely is c. 458; if referencing II, then the seventh year would likely be c. 398. If it is referring to Artaxerxes I, then taken on its own Book of Ezra could have been written c. 450; it is referring to Artaxerxes II, then a date earlier than c. 395 is virtually excluded. It is important to remember however that the Book of Ezra cannot be taken on its own, but must be related to Nehemiah. Indeed, Ezra and Nehemiah are so closely connected that it's not unusual to speak of Ezra–Nehemiah, and to assume that—at least in the form that we are familiar with them—they are the product of a single hand. And here's where the 450 date for the Book of Ezra gets dicey, as Nehemiah 2:1 speaks of the twentieth year of Artaxerxes. This is most likely Artaxerxes I, and thus Nehemiah likely does not arrive in Jerusalem until c. 445. Moreover, Nehemiah is governor in Judea through to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes (again, likely Artaxerxes I), and after leaving Judea returns again at an unspecified time (cf. Neh. 5:14, 13:6–7). As such, our Nehemiah cannot have been completed earlier than 433 BCE (thirty-second year of Artaxerxes I), and indeed probably not even that early. If indeed our Ezra and Nehemiah were completed at the same time, then neither can our Book of Ezra predate c. 430. And if the Artaxerxes referenced in Ezra 7 is in fact Artaxerxes II, then it must date even later than that.

So, is 450 a possible date for our Book of Ezra? Sure. But there are a goodly number of reasons to think that it was written at least a couple decades later than that.