A Conversation on Tamara Cohn Eskenazi's Ezra: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, Anchor Yale Bible 14A
Rabbi Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Ph.D., The Effie Wise Professor Emerita of Biblical Literature and History
As part of The Bible and the Ancient World Seminar Series, Dr. Cohn Eskenazi lectures on, “After the Catastrophe: Ezra-Nehemiah and the Rebuilding of Community and Identity.”
The deaths and deportations that accompanied the destruction of the Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BCE mark the turning point in the arc of biblical narrative. The book of Ezra-Nehemiah describes the reconstruction of life in Judah in the aftermath that catastrophe. It is the only book in the Hebrew Bible to depict this formative period. For over a century, scholars neglected Ezra-Nehemiah and the period it describes. But the pendulum swung at last, and in recent decades the book became a focal point for several reasons. Detractors and admirers alike concur that its messages had an enduring significance in the past and important messages for the present. This session will explore what the book contributed to the revival of communal life in an ancient homeland as well as its relevance to today’s challenges.
Read more about this special collection of revised essays from a 2023 SBL panel on Dr. Cohn Eskenazi’s Anchor Bible commentary on Ezra. In this collection, contributors assess her portrayal of Ezra’s political artistry and formation of “peoplehood,” engage major debates in Ezra–Nehemiah scholarship, and reflect on the role and limits of the commentator in reconstructing history and interpreting the text amid contemporary resonances.