Esdras

Historical scholarship

Passages quoted verbatim from public-domain reference works. They reflect the scholarship of their time, not current consensus, and may use obsolete spellings.

• 1884From the archives

  Esdras— “rising of light”

  Of those to whom these later prophets were sent, Ezra’s name is thought to be the same as that of Zerah, son of Judah, the rising of light, from whom likewise Heman, the writer of the 88th Psalm, is termed the Ezrahite. The name of Ezra is hardly to be recognized in that of Esdras, as the Greek translators rendered it.[20] The house of Aphrah, mentioned in the Prophet Micah, means the house of dust, or ashes, and the Puritans, with their love of piteous names, adopted Aphra…

  Read the full historical passageShow shorter excerpt

  Of those to whom these later prophets were sent, Ezra’s name is thought to be the same as that of Zerah, son of Judah, the rising of light, from whom likewise Heman, the writer of the 88th Psalm, is termed the Ezrahite. The name of Ezra is hardly to be recognized in that of Esdras, as the Greek translators rendered it.[20] The house of Aphrah, mentioned in the Prophet Micah, means the house of dust, or ashes, and the Puritans, with their love of piteous names, adopted Aphra as a name. As well it appears as ‘Dust’ and ‘Ashes’ in actual English.[21]

  Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884), Part I, Chapter III (Israelite Names), Section VIII (Later Israelite Names) · Public domain (Project Gutenberg)