Person Old Testament
Ezra
Ezra was a priest and scribe who led a group of Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem and played a key role in the spiritual reformation of the people. Mentioned in 22 verses across 2 books, first at Ezra 7:1.
Why it matters. Priest; scribe; led a group of exiles back to Jerusalem.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Ezra
Ezra was a prominent Jewish priest and scribe who lived during the Persian period. He was a descendant of Aaron, the first high priest of Israel (Ezr.7.1-5). Ezra was known for his devotion to the study and teaching of the Law of Moses (Ezr.7.6, 10). He led a group of Jewish exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes of Persia (Ezr.7.7-8). Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Ezra discovered that many of the Jews, including priests and Levites, had intermarried with the pagan peoples of the land (Ezr.9.1-2). Ezra prayed and confessed the sins of the people, leading to a spiritual reformation and the dissolution of the mixed marriages (Ezra 10). Ezra also played a significant role in teaching the Law to the people and leading them in a covenant renewal ceremony (Nehemiah 8). He worked closely with Nehemiah, the governor of Judah, in rebuilding Jerusalem and restoring the spiritual life of the Jewish community (Neh.12.26, 36).
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 22 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.