Ezra (Book)

Ezra is the fifteenth book of the Old Testament and the Bible. "Ezra" is Hebrew and means "God helps". The book of Ezra is written by the prophet Ezra who is also called Ezra the Priest and Ezra the Scribe. Before Christ it was combined with the Book of Nehemia but they became seprated in the early centuries after Christ. It is divided in two parts; the first tells the story of the return of exiles of the Babylonian Captivity and the completion and the dedication of the new Temple in Jerusalem. The second tells about the subsequent mission of Ezra to Jerusalem and his struggle to purify the Jews from the sin of being marriaged with non-Jews.