‘Father of the Jews’ Ezekiel, Ezra, Razis

by Damien F. Mackey “Ezekiel has often been called the father of Judaism. His influence on the future development of Israel's religion was, at least for several centuries, greater than that of any of the other prophets”. CliffsNotes Ezekiel Fr. Arnold J. Tkacik (OSB), writing of the fact that Ezekiel had prophesied both a fall and then a rise of Israel (or the Jews), will proceed to comment (article “Ezekiel”, The Jerome Biblical Commentary, 21:2): “[Ezekiel’s] contribution to the birth of the new order is so pregnant that he has been called, rightly or wrongly, the father of Judaism”. And again we read: https://new-birth.net/samuels-messages/76-sermons-on-the-old-testament-given-by-jesus/sermon-59-ezekiel-gained-the-title-of-father-of-judaism/ Sermon 59 - Ezekiel gained the title of “Father of Judaism.” April 15th, 1963 Received by Dr Samuels Washington D.C. And further, at: https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/o/old-testament-of-the-bible/summary-and-analysis/ezekiel we read: Ezekiel has often been called the father of Judaism. His influence on the future development of Israel's religion was, at least for several centuries, greater than that of any of the other prophets. His conception of holiness, which stands in sharp contrast to Isaiah's, became dominant in the period that followed his people's return from Babylonian exile. For Ezekiel, holiness was a quality present in both things and people. Holy objects would be profaned whenever anything common or unclean was brought into direct contact with them, a belief that led to a sharp distinction between the secular and the holy and gave new meanings to such items as the observance of dietary laws, payment of tithes, and observance of the Sabbath. Violation of any of these rules would constitute a profanation of that which was holy or sacred. This interpretation of rules and regulations pertaining only to the Israelite religion served to strengthen the spirit of nationalism and thus to increase the antagonism that already existed between Jews and non-Jews. .... A Jewish site somewhat similarly designates Ezekiel as: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ezekiel/ “Father” of Jewish Mysticism Furthermore, Ezekiel’s strange, mystical mood, which made him see those elaborate and magnificent visions of the heavenly chariot, became the basis for Jewish mystical studies which later developed into the Kabbalah. .... Apparently, then, Ezekiel is widely considered to have been the “Father of Judaism”. Ezra But this very same impressive title, Father of Judaism, has been applied to Ezra the scribe: https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/external/ezra “Ezra has with some justice been called the father of Judaism since his efforts did much to give Jewish religion the form that was to characterize it for centuries after the specific form the Jewish religion took after the Babylonian Exile”. And again: https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/israel/ezra-the-scribe.htm No man since Moses has played so important a part in the literary tradition of the Jews as Ezra the Scribe. By the newer criticism, Ezra the Scribe was the father of Judaism .... I recalled this very fact in my multi-part series: Ezra ‘Father of the Jews’ dying the death of Razis especially in Part Two: (3) (DOC) Ezra 'Father of the Jews' dying the death of Razis. Part Two: "Razis" of 2 Maccabees likely to be an aged Ezra | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu in which I there proceeded to attempt to forge a link between Ezra and a character who would conventionally be considered much too far distant in time to be a chance for Ezra’s alter ego. I refer to the Maccabean: Razis In Part One of the above article, I had asked: Who was Razis? And then wrote: The name itself, Razis (Greek: Ραζις), does not appear (at least immediately) to offer much assistance, as we commonly read of it something along the lines of John L. Mackenzie’s: “Razis (Gk razis, Hb ?, meaning uncertain) …” (The Dictionary Of The Bible, p. 721). Far more useful to us is the Maccabean account of the status of this extraordinary man, a glorious and heroic martyr in the opinion of the author(s) of the Maccabean narrative, but denounced for his act of suicide by some commentators as a madman, or proud, or a coward. For instance, we read this terse estimate of Razis as written by Forbes Winslow: “The self-destruction of Razis is full of horror, and can only be quoted as an evidence of the act of a madman”: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50907/50907-h/50907-h.htm William Whitaker, for his part, has written: “And in 2 Macc. chap, xiv., the fortitude of Razis is commended, who laid violent hands upon himself. Yet Razis deserved no praise for his fortitude. For this was to die cowardly rather than courageously, to put himself voluntarily to death in order to escape from the hands of a tyrant” (A Disputation on Holy Scripture: Against the Papists, especially Bellarmine, p. 95). Here is what 2 Maccabees tells us about the high status of Razis, “called Father of the Jews” (vv. 37, 38-39): … Razis, one of the elders of Jerusalem … a man who loved his compatriots and was very well thought of and for his goodwill was called Father of the Jews. In former times, when there was no mingling with the Gentiles, he had been accused of Judaism, and he had most zealously risked body and life for Judaism. Nicanor … sent more than five hundred soldiers to arrest him …. This crucial information provides us with, I believe, sufficient information to identify, in biblical terms, just who was this major character, Razis. “Razis” of 2 Maccabees likely to be an aged Ezra “… Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. …. the gracious hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel”. Ezra 7:6, 9-10 Finally, in Part Four of the above article, I added to my Ezra-Razis package a further Maccabean identification for the holy man in the person of Esdrias: “… all the people … asked Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses which Yahweh had prescribed for Israel. … Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly …. On the square before the Water Gate … he read from the Book from early morning till noon …”. Nehemiah 8:1-3 Thanks to a considerably truncated, revised chronology, I was able earlier in this series to suggest a connection – {one conventionally quite impossible} – of the significant personage, Razis of 2 Maccabees 14:1-46, of highly spectacular death, with the great priest-scribe himself, Ezra. Ezra, or Esdras (= Razis), Razis, known as “the Father of the Jews” (v. 37). So significant was this Razis that “Nicanor sent over 500 soldiers to arrest him” (v. 40), so as to deal a “severe blow” to the Jews. Since my writing of the first part of this series, I have picked up in 2 Maccabees a couple of other points that do no harm to the theory that Razis was Ezra. One: The elderly Razis was in possession of a “sword” at the time of his death (v. 41). And, a little earlier in 2 Maccabees, in chapter 12, we learn that Razis, there called Esdrias (cf. Ezra as Esdras) was even commanding Jewish troops (v. 36). “… Esdrias and his men had been fighting for a long time and were exhausted …”. That might explain the “sword” Razis wielded. Two: More significantly, after a Maccabean victory over Nicanor, Judas Maccabeus gets this Esdrias (8:23) “to read the sacred book aloud …”. Is this not what Ezra did? (Nehemiah 8:1-3): “… all the people … asked Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses which Yahweh had prescribed for Israel. … Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly …. On the square before the Water Gate … he read from the book from early morning till noon …”. That a chronology greatly shortening the Chaldean/Medo-Persian to Maccabean period of biblico-history is desperately required is quite apparent (that is, if I am correct) from my article: Long-lived prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo (3) (DOC) Long-lived prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu establishing another connection of a holy man of the Chaldean era with one of the Maccabean period. I refer to my recent identification of the prophet Jeremiah - now to be regarded as the martyred Zechariah son of Berechiah of Matthew 23:35 - with the aged Eleazer, whose martyrdom is narrated in 2 Maccabees 6:18-31.