Reading for November 14th

Read Ezra 6.19-22. In 6.19-22: The first Passover in the rebuilt Temple. The shift back to Hebrew from Aramaic draws attention to this central festival. Just as Israel was not a physical nation until they could worship God following theiir escape from Egypt, celebrated in the Passover, so the Exilic community could not be considered a nation until the house of God was fully functioning. With Temple in place, the Passover clebration had a renewed importance for the community as a sign of their coming into a new status. The author skillfully connects this with the physical separation of the community from the surrounding people, a point that Ezra will hammer on as the centerpiece of reforms. In verse 20: The priests and the Levities had purified themselves: Following the return from Exile, there was a new emphasis on the purity regulations of the Pentateuch and on extending the areas of life they afflected. Before undertaking the Passover, the ritual purity of the priests and levities had to be assured. In verse 21: The people of Israel who had returned from exile, and ... all who joined them and separarted themselves from the polllution of the nations: As a celebration of God miraculous deliverance and the formation of the people into a nation, Passover was a powerful symbol of identity. Those who had been exiled and returned clearly would be recognized as part of Israel. The population that remained behind joined the Exile community by separating from the surrounding peoples. Pollutions: a term normally reseerved for severe violations, according to some parts of the Hebrew Bible, that God removed the Canaanites from the land (Lev 20.22-24). In verse 22: Had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work: An echo of Ezra 1.1-4. The use of the title king Assyria is unclear, though the Persian king did adopt this title since the former Assyrian territory was under his rule. It may be a deliberate reference to King Esarhaddon of Assyria (Ezra 4.2); some of the peoples he transported to the territory north of Jerusalem had indeed "come over" to the side of the returning exiles in opposition to their fellow countryfolk, who opposed the Temple. Comments or Questions..