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The appearance of a husband from the depths of the sea (1–3). His destruction of enemies (4–11) and the calling of a peaceful society (12–13). Ezra's prayer for the interpretation of the vision and the decision of the advantages of those who live to see the Messiah over previous generations (14–20). Resolution of the question posed by Ezra (21–24). Interpretation of the Messiah's actions in relation to enemies (25–38) and peaceful society (39–53). The promise of new revelation (54–58). 3Ezra 13:1 And it came to pass after seven days, that I dreamed at night: 3Ezra 13:2 Behold, a wind arose from the sea to trouble all its waves. 3Ezra 13:3 I looked, and behold, a mighty man came out with the army of heaven, and wherever he turned his face to look, everything that was visible under him trembled; 3. There is a gap in the Vulgate text that is filled in by Eastern translations. “And I saw, and from the action of this wind, out of the depths of the sea came the likeness of a man. And I saw, and behold that man was flying with the clouds of heaven.” The Vulgate, instead of clouds, speaks of thousands of heaven, by which the scribe obviously meant angelic armies. The description of the husband is inspired by the book of Daniel (VII: 13–14), where the Son of Man similarly walks with the clouds of heaven. The difference between them is that in Daniel the Son of Man appears directly on the clouds, but in Pseudo-Ezra He emerges from the sea, like the four beasts of Daniel, depicting world monarchies (VII: 2) and only then begins to soar in the clouds. Wieseler (299–302) unfairly sees in this addition a desire to smooth out the supernatural character that the Son of Man bears in Daniel. The author himself explains the detail he introduced in precisely the opposite sense to Wieseler. The appearance of a husband from the depths of the sea is a symbol of the fact that no one on earth can see him before his appearance. The doctrine of the Messiah as a “heavenly man” is found in Philo, the rabbis, Paul and the Gnostics. 3Ezra 13:4 And wherever the voice came out of his mouth, all who heard his voice burned, just as wax melts when it feels fire. 4. Micah I:4–5, cf. Dan II:45. In a dream sent to Nebuchadnezzar, a stone taken from a mountain breaks an image. In the same way, the Son of God carves out a great mountain for himself. 3Ezra 13:5 And after this I saw: behold, a multitude of people, without number, was gathered together from the four winds of heaven to overcome this man who rose up from the sea. 3Ezra 13:6 I saw, and behold, he made himself a great mountain and flew up to it. 3Ezra 13:7 I tried to see the country or place from which this mountain was carved, but I could not. 3Ezra 13:8 After this I saw that all who were going to defeat him were very afraid, and yet they dared to fight. 3Ezra 13:9 But when he saw the rush of the multitude coming, he did not lift up his hand, nor did he hold a spear or any weapon of war; 3Ezra 13:10 but only, as I saw, he sent out from his mouth, as it were, a breath of fire, and from his lips, as it were, a breath of flame, and from his tongue he sent forth sparks and storms, and all this was mixed together: a breath of fire, and a breath of flame, and a strong storm. 3Ezra 13:11 And he quickly attacked this multitude, which was preparing to fight, and burned them all, so that nothing could be seen from the countless multitude except dust, and only the smell of smoke; I saw this and was afraid. 9–11. The Messiah's only weapon in the fight against his enemies was His word, which acts like an unstoppable stream of fire. Volkmar (183) sees here an echo of the eruption of Vesuvius in 80. But there is no basis for a historical explanation (cf. Isaiah XI:4). 3Ezra 13:12 After this I saw that man come down from the mountain and call to him another peaceful multitude. 3Ezra 13:13 And many came to him, some with cheerful faces, and some with sad faces, some were bound, some were brought, and I fainted from great fear, woke up and said: 13. After the destruction of the enemies, the Messiah descends from the mountain and calls peaceful people to Himself. Some of them reveal joy, others sadness; some are bound, others bring others as sacrificial gifts (aliqui adducentes ex eis qui offerebantur). By bound people are meant the Jews who were in bonds of Rome (Luke, 180, Gunkel, 395). Volkmar's assumption (184–185) that the dead are meant here cannot be accepted, since the resurrection of the dead, according to the author, precedes not the “parousia”, but the final judgment. The meaning of the last words of this verse is very dark. Lieke (180) sees them as talking about victims. Ewald - about the gifts people bring to God. It is most natural to understand them in the sense that the pagans who survived destruction and were peacefully disposed towards Israel bring the Jews with them to the Messiah as sacrificial gifts. The image is taken from the book of Isaiah (LXVI:20): “They who are saved from the Gentiles will present all Judah from all nations as a gift to the Lord on horses and chariots and on litters and on mules and on swift camels, just as the children of Israel bring a gift to the house of the Lord in a clean vessel” (Lupton and Gunkel). 3Ezra 13:14 From the beginning You showed Your servant these wonders and judged me worthy to accept my prayer; 3Ezra 13:15 Show me the meaning of this dream, 3Ezra 13:16 because, as I understand with my understanding, woe to those who are forsaken until those days, and even more woe to those who are not forsaken. 1Ezra 13:17 For those who were not abandoned were sad. 1Ezra 13:18 Now I understand that what is put aside for the last days will meet them, but also those who are left behind. 3Ezra 13:19 Therefore they came into great danger and great difficulty, as these dreams show. 3Ezra 13:20 But it is easier for one who is in danger to endure this than to pass away like a cloud from this world and not see what will happen in the last times. He answered me and said: 17–20. This place needs to be fixed. “Those who are not forsaken will be saddened, understanding what is reserved for the last days, and not participating in it; but woe to those who remain, for they will see great dangers and great needs, as real dreams show. But it is better to achieve this through danger than to disappear from the world like a cloud and not see what will happen in the last days.” The question of the fate of the dead before the “parousia” in relation to the living is posed by Ap. Paul (1 Sol IV:15), and he uses the same term περιλειπόμενοι to designate the living as the 3 book of Ezra (VI:25; VII:28; IX:8; XIII:16–24). Based on the similarities in individual expressions, Hilgenfeld concludes that Ap. Paul borrowed a solution to this issue from the prophet Ezra. But there is a fundamental difference between them. According to the Apostle, the survivors will not have any advantages over the dead. The dead are resurrected and, together with the living, are caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord. In the prophetic book of Ezra, on the contrary, the fate of those who died before the onset of the last days is compared to a cloud that leaves no traces in the sky. The advantage of those who remain is that they will be participants in the four hundred year Kingdom of the Messiah. Only after it comes the general resurrection and the final judgment. 1Ezra 13:21 And the meaning of the vision I will tell you, and what you spoke about I will reveal to you. 1Ezra 13:22 Since you spoke about those who are forsaken, here is the explanation: 1Ezra 13:23 Whoever endures the danger at that time has preserved himself, but those who will fall into danger are those who have works and faith in the Almighty. 23. “Whoever brings danger at that time will himself preserve those who have fallen into it, who have works and faith in the Almighty.” God will provide His help to the righteous amid the dangers that they will have to endure at the end of the world. 3Ezra 13:24 Know therefore that those who are forsaken are more blessed than those who die. 1Ezra 13:25 This is the explanation of the vision: because you saw a man rising out of the middle of the sea, 3Ezra 13:26 This is the one whom the Most High preserves for many times, who by himself will deliver his creation and guide those who are left behind. 26. The Messiah in the Latin text is assigned creative activity, contrary to other clearer evidence of the same book that everything was created by God alone without any mediation (VI:6). The correct reading of this passage is contained in Eastern translations. “This is the one whom the Almighty preserves for a long time, through whom (per quem) he will free his creation.” 3Ezra 13:27 And what did you see coming out of his mouth like wind, fire, and a storm? 3Ezra 13:28 and that he did not hold a spear or any weapon of war, but his desire struck the multitude that came to defeat him, then here is the explanation: 3Ezra 13:29 Behold, the days are coming when the Most High will begin to deliver those who are on the earth, 3Ezra 13:30 and will amaze those who live on the earth. 3Ezra 13:31 And they will make war, one against another, city against city, one place against another, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom. 31. Isa XIX:2; Matthew XXIV:7; Mark XIII:8; Luke XXI:10. 3Ezra 13:32 When this happens, and the signs that I showed you before are revealed, then My Son, whom you saw as a man ascending, will be revealed. 1Ezra 13:33 And when all the nations hear His voice, every one will leave the war in his own country which they have among themselves. 32–33. Zax XIV:2–3; Eze XXXVIII-XXXIX; Joel II:20; Rev. XIX:19. 3Ezra 13:34 And an innumerable multitude will be gathered into one congregation, as if desiring to go and overcome Him. 3Ezra 13:35 And he will stand on the top of Mount Zion. 3Ezra 13:36 And Zion will come and will appear to everyone prepared and built, just as you saw the mountain carved without hands. 3Ezra 13:37 But My Son will expose the wickedness invented by these nations, who with their evil thoughts have brought the storm and torment closer, with which they will begin to suffer, 37. “My Son himself will reprove the nations that have come to Him for their wickedness, which is like a storm, and will present before them their evil plans and the torment that they will begin to endure...” 3Ezra 13:38 and which are like fire; and He will destroy them without difficulty with a law that is like fire. 3Ezra 13:39 And what did you see, that He was gathering another, peaceful society to Himself: 3Ezra 13:40 These are the ten tribes that were carried captive out of their land in the days of King Hoshea, whom Shalmaneser king of Assyria carried captive, and carried them across the river, and they were carried into another land. 39–40. Under the river beyond which Shalmaneser resettles the captive Israelites is, of course, the Euphrates (Syr.). The manuscripts of the Latin text speak of either 10 or 9 tribes of Israel. The last count is accepted by the Ethiopian and one of the Arabic (Ar. 2) translations. The Syriac and other Arabic text (Ar. 1) number 9 1/2 tribes. The first reading is the simplest. It excludes from the 12 tribes 2 tribes - Judah and Benjamin, which were part of Judea. The figure for the tribes of Israel decreases by one if we exclude from them the tribe of Dan, which apparently died out early (1 Chronicles IV-VII; Rev. VII:4–8). Some explain the fractional count (Like, 181) by the fact that only half of the tribe of Joseph was taken into account, namely the tribe of Ephraim, others (Ewald, III, 410. Gutschmid, II, 278) by the fact that the tribes of Judah, Simeon and half of Benjamin were included in Judea. 3Ezra 13:41 And they decided in their council to leave the multitude of the heathen and go to a distant country, where the human race had never dwelt, 3Ezra 13:42 to keep their laws there, which they did not keep in their own country. 3Ezra 13:43 They approached the Euphrates River through narrow entrances; 3Ezra 13:44 For the Most High then performed miracles for them and stopped the veins of the river while they passed through; 44. Wed. Joshua III:15–17; Isa XI:15–16. 3Ezra 13:45 For they walked through this country for a long time, a year and a half; this country is called Arsaref. 41–45. The country where the Israelis moved is characterized by 4 characteristics. No one lived there before them. It lies far from Assyria, so the journey there takes 1 1/2 years. The country is located beyond the Euphrates. Its name is Arsareph. The legend about this migration is devoid of any credibility and is in clear contradiction with other sacred books. It is impossible to allow the Assyrians to allow the captive people to move out in full force. History shows that the Israelis were far from being distinguished by the loyalty to the law that is presented here as the main reason for the resettlement. On the contrary, they completely disappeared into the pagan masses, adopting its faith and language and losing their nationality. The complete silence about the 10 tribes of Israel in the story of the canonical books about the return of the Jews from captivity under Cyrus and Artaxerxes created the legend that the 10 tribes live somewhere in an unknown country, enjoying all possible benefits. The attention of some researchers was drawn to finding an ancient city that closely matched the name of the land of Arsaref mentioned here. Basnage (Historia Judaeorum. Lib. VI, p. 2. Goth. IV, p. 934. Quoted by Fabricius. Codex Pseudepigraphus Veteris Testamenti, II, 190) sees in it a city in Media beyond the Araxes River; Gutshmid (II, 278–281) is the main city in southeastern Armenia of Arsarat, which was the center of a vast Jewish colony that had long been established in Greater Armenia. Volkmar derives the country's name from the Hebrew eretz arat. This name was attached to Mount Ararat in Northern Armenia. Many researchers were content to list the different states where the Israelis could find shelter. They were allowed to move to China, India, Turkestan, Afghanistan and even America (Corrodi. 231–238). The most plausible is the assumption of Renan (355), Zeckler (470) and Gunkel (397) that what is given here is not any particular, but the most general designation of “another land” where the Israelis went from captivity. They bring the land of Arsaref closer to the Hebrew eretz acheret (another land). This name is used both by the author himself (XIII:40) and by Talmudists. Even Josephus (Antiqiutates Judaicae XI, 5, 2) believes in the existence of the land of Arsareph, where the captive Israelites live. 3Ez.13:46 They lived there until recently. And now, when they begin to come, 46. Wed. Sir XLVIII:10; Isaiah XLIX:6. In the prophets, liberation from captivity captures all Jews. 3Ezra 13:47 The Most High will again stop the veins of the river so that they can pass through; therefore you saw a peaceful multitude. 1Ezra 13:48 But those who are left behind from your people are those who are within My borders. 48. Having conveyed the legend of the 10 tribes of Israel, the author moves on to the fate of the Jews who lived after returning from captivity within the Holy Land. By this he wants to express the idea that all Jews who emerged unharmed from the last trials will be participants in the Messianic Kingdom. 3Ezra 13:49 For when He begins to destroy the multitude of nations gathered together, He will protect His people who remain. 3Ezra 13:50 And then he will show them many miracles. 3Ezra 13:51 I said: Sovereign Lord! Explain this to me, why did I see a man rising from the middle of the sea? 3Ezra 13:52 And He said to me, Just as you cannot search and know what is in the depths of the sea, so no one on earth can see My Son, nor those who are with Him, except in His day. 51–52. Gunkel draws attention to the fact that the appearance of the Son of God from the depths of the sea is unusual for prophetic writing, where the Messiah appears to be coming from heaven. In view of this, he connects the image of a husband with the mythological idea of ​​the sun god, who floats into the sky from the sea, climbs the heavenly mountain, destroys enemies with his scorching rays and establishes his peaceful kingdom. Against this view, it must be said that the explanation given by the author for the husband’s emergence from the depths of the sea is so simple and natural that there is no need to dispute the author’s independence in this particular. In his own way, the prophet wanted to say that the Son of God is as unsearchable for the human mind as the depths of the sea. 3Ezra 13:53 This is the interpretation of the dream that you saw and by which you alone are enlightened here. 3Ezra 13:54 You left your works and practiced My law, and sought it, 1Ezra 13:55 For you have ordered your life in wisdom, and you have called discretion your mother. 3Ezra 13:56 Therefore I have shown you the rewards of the Most High; after three days I will show you something else and reveal to you something important and wonderful. 3Ezra 13:57 Then I went and went out into the field, praising and thanking the Most High a lot for the miracles that He performed from time to time, 1Ezra 13:58 and that He controls the present and what will happen in time - and there I sat for three days.