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The last visit to the world by the Creator (1–6). The border between the present and future centuries (7–10). Ezra's prayer for further signs of the end to be revealed to him (11–12). Signs of the end (13–28). The promise of new revelation (23–34). Third vision. A new prayer of Ezra for the resolution of perplexities arising from the oppression of the chosen people by the pagans (35–59). 3Ezra 6:1 And He said to me: From the beginning of the creation of the circle of the earth, and before the boundaries of the age were established, and before the winds blew; 1. To prove his idea that God himself will make the last visit to the world, the author draws a complete analogy between the beginning of the world and its end. Just as the Creator did not resort to anyone’s help when creating the world, so He will not need an intermediary to carry out the final judgment on people. The highly poetic picture of the creation of the world drawn here is borrowed from tradition (cf. Proverbs VIII: 24–29; Ps LXXXIX: 2). The Slavic Bible accurately conveys the meaning of the Latin expression exitus saeculi - “the outcome of the age.” Since we are talking about the winds nearby, then, obviously, under the eyelid here we mean the sky, the heavenly gates are those openings in the firmament of the sky from where the winds blow and the stars come out to make their established path. According to the ancients, each atmospheric phenomenon had a special room in the sky, equipped with doors. 3Ezra 6:2 before the voices of the thunder were heard, before the lightning flashed, before the foundations of paradise were established; 3Ezra 6:3 before beautiful flowers appeared, before the moving forces were established, and before countless armies of angels were gathered; 3. By beautiful flowers, as we speak, we mean the flowers of paradise. According to the mythological ideas of the ancients, the flowers of the heavenly garden are the stars scattered across the sky. Since there is no more talk about stars in this section, despite the author’s attempt to give a comprehensive picture of the universe, then, obviously, the celestial bodies are called flowers here. Instead of moving forces (motae virtutes, Vulg.) one should read: “forces of movement”, “forces that control movement” (motte virtutes, Latin manuscript). According to Gunkel, this refers to the angelic powers (αί δυνάμεις των ουρανών, Matthew XXIV:29), which are in charge of the luminaries. This view was also shared by the pagan world. Sabeism saw the Divinity in every star. 3Ezra 6:4 before the heights of the air were lifted up, before the measures of the firmaments were determined, before the fires were kindled in Zion; 4. The speech about the fires blazing in Zion is taken from the Vulgate (antequam aestuarent camini in Sion). It represents the fruit of an error, since in the Eastern translations this place speaks of the establishment of the foundations of Zion. Bensley, on the basis of manuscripts, restores the text in this form: “before Zion was intended to be a foothill” (antequam aestimaretur scabellum Sion). Zion is repeatedly called in the Old Testament the footstool (ύποπόδιον) of God (Ps. XCVIII:5; CIX:1–2; CXXXI:7; 1 Chronicles XXVIII:2; Ezek XLIII:7; Lamentations II:1) Hilgenfeld, Bissel and Zeckler suggest reading instead of aestimaretur - aediticaretur, applying this passage to the settlement of Mount Zion. But the author could in no way place next to the phenomena preceding the creation of the world an event that took place many years later. “Before the present years were distributed, and the encroachments of those who now sin were rejected, and those who lay up the treasure of faith were sealed.” 3Ezra 6:5 before the years were searched out, and those who now sin were separated, and those who kept the faith were sealed as a treasure: 5. Before the creation of the world, God determined with extraordinary precision all the stages in its development. Therefore, the encroachments of sinners cannot cross the boundaries set for them; they will be rejected. The Apocalypse speaks about the seals placed on the foreheads of God’s servants (VII: 2–8). 3Ezra 6:6 Then I thought, and all things were created by Me alone, and not through anyone else; the end will also come from Me, and not from anyone else. 6. Gunkel draws attention to the fact that the author is not talking about the creative word, but about creative thought, and sees here evidence of a more sublime understanding of the creative activity of God. The end of the world will be similar to the beginning. Just as during creation God acted alone, so at the end of the world He will act Himself, without resorting to anyone else. The coming of the Messiah is not excluded here at all. But for the author it is only one of the phenomena preceding the end of the world. The final moment in world history will occur apart from the Messiah. 3Ezra 6:7 Then I answered: what is the division of times, and when will the end of the first and the beginning of the last be? 3Ezra 6:8 From Abraham even to Isaac, when Jacob and Esau were born of him, Jacob's hand held Esau's heel from the beginning. 3Ezra 6:9 The end of this age is Esau, and the beginning of the next is Jacob. 3Ezra 6:10 A man's hand is his beginning, and his end is his heel. About something else, Ezra, don’t ask Me. 7–10. The boundary drawn here between the present and future centuries is distinguished by a half-mysterious character, only slightly lifting the veil of secrecy over the last days of the world (cf. Gal IV: 21-31). It is considerably toned down in the Latin translation and even more so in the printed text of the Vulgate. The Angel’s speech about the division of times is preserved intact in the Syriac text: “From Abraham to the descendants of Abraham (ab Abraham usque ad generatorionem Abrahami), for from him was born Jacob and Esau, and the hand of Jacob in the beginning held Esau’s heel. The heel of the first century is Esau, and the hand of the second is Jacob; for the beginning of a man is his hand, and the end of a man is his heel. Between the heel and the hand, do not look for anything else, Ezra!” (Cf. eff., ar. 1, 2). The Arabic translation explains why the present and future ages are compared with the heel and hand of a person: “And now the heel and the hand are connected with each other.” In the Latin translation, the symbols of the heel and hand are interpreted, resulting in the idea that Esau will be the end of the present age, and Jacob the beginning of the future. The author's task was to show that there will be no gap between the present and the coming century: the first will be immediately followed by the second. To do this, he uses three comparisons. The first of these, according to Volkmar (41), the author wants to say that the image of the end is inscribed in the original history of the chosen people. There is no break in the succession of generations from one to another. Abraham is followed by his descendant, followed by Esau and Jacob, etc. Kabish (43–50) explains the comparison even more simply: the transition from the present age to the future will occur in exactly the same way as the appearance of each new generation in the chosen people, without the participation of foreign blood. Zeckler (454) understands the comparison in relation to further words in the sense that the future age will follow directly after the present, just as Abraham’s two grandsons were born to Isaac during his grandfather’s lifetime. In the circumstances of the birth of Esau and Jacob (Gen. XXV:26), the author sees a complete analogy with the replacement of the present age with a new one. In addition to historical examples, he refers to the structure of the human body. It shows a close connection between the lower extremity of a person - the fifth, and the hand, which in a vertical position makes up the upper extremity of the body. In Latin manuscripts, the Angel's answer begins with an incomprehensible expression: “from Abraham to Abraham (ab Abraham usque ad Abraham).” It is explained by the fact that in the Greek text there was από τού Αβραάμ έπί τόν τού Αβραάμ (Volkmar) or έπί τόν τού Αβραάμ (Hilgenfeld). The Greek member was left without translation. The Vulgate corrects it for context: “From Abraham even to Isaac.” No less dark is the meaning of the final words of the Angel, where, obviously, there is an omission: “a man’s hand between the heel and the hand; Don’t ask about anything else, Ezra.” Volkmar (41) and Bissel (649) understand by the hand of man the reign of Nerva, falling in the interval between the neighboring scion of the dynasty of Herod the Edomite and the onset of the dominion of Jacob. But such an understanding is too arbitrary. Hilgenfeld (Esra und Daniel, 21. Messias Judaeorum, 134) reads instead of manus membra, but this unjustified correction only complicates the elements included in the comparisons. Therefore, most researchers support the authenticity of the Syrian edition. Gunkel here assumes only an incorrect interpuncture when translating the Greek phrase: μεταξύ πτέρνης καί χειρός ούδέν άλλο ώήτει Ἐζρα. The angel points out that “between the heel and the hand there is nothing else” that is not part of the human body, and calls Ezra to understand what was said: “Understand, Ezra” (cf. Mark XIII:14; Matt XXIV:15). With all his comparisons, the author wants to express the idea that the new century will follow on the heels of the present. The coming age is called the age of Jacob, since the Messiah, a descendant of Jacob, will reign in it. According to most researchers, under the symbol of Esau, the writer of the book depicted the contemporary political situation of the Jews. Hilgenfeld (Judischs Apokalyptik 195); (Esra und Daniel. 22–23; Messias Judaeorum, 55), Gutschmid, Volkmar (41, 361–362) and Wieseler (278) see here an allusion to the dynasty of Herod the Edomite, which ruled Palestine. The first two scholars place the book's origins in the reign of Herod the Great; the rest to the reign of the last scion of Herod's house, Herod Agrippa. Thanks to his sister Veronica, the former mistress of Titus, Herod Agrippa concentrated in himself quite extensive power over Palestine. However, the Herodian dynasty never played such a major world role in the eyes of the Jews that its name could be used to designate an earthly age. These were only obedient slaves of Rome, obsequiously fulfilling all the wishes of the Roman Caesars. Therefore, it is much more fair to see in Esau or Edom a symbol of Rome, whose power at the time of the appearance of the book captured the entire universe. This understanding is held by Ehler (Herzog. Real - Encyklopedie, 2 Aufl., K, 660), Ewald, Langen (125–126), Wellhausen (245), Gunkel (365), Shirer (320–321) and Lagrange (490). The rabbis often call Rome Edom. Blessed Jerome notes the enthusiasm with which the Jews attributed all the passages of the Bible about Edom to Rome: “Some of the Jews read rumah instead of the word dumah, wanting to apply the prophecy to the Romans due to the false belief that the name Edomites always means the Romans” (Comment. ad Jesajam, XXI, 11-12). This interpretation also penetrated into New Testament literature (Origen, Tertullian, Ambrose, Gregory the Great, Augustine, Isidore of Seville, Ephraim the Syrian and James of Edessa). It should be noted that the boundary drawn by the author between the old and new centuries is not firm. Here, apparently, the reign of the Messiah, a descendant of Jacob, marks the beginning of the coming age. Below, in the third vision (VII:29) it is referred to the present age. The difference is explained by the fact that the author widely used folk legends, where the coming of the Messiah was considered either as the final moment in the development of the present century, or as the beginning of the future. 3Ezra 6:11 And I answered and said to Him: O Sovereign Lord! if I have found grace in Your sight, 3Ezra 6:12 I pray to You, show Your servant the end of Your signs, some of which You showed me last night. 3Ezra 6:13 He answered me and said, Stand up on your feet, and listen to the voice full of noise, 13. A sonorous voice, like the sound of many waters (Ezek I:24); (Rev I:15; XIV:2; XIX:6), belongs to God. In this detail one cannot fail to notice the influence of the Jewish teaching about bath – qol (daughter of the voice). Post-exilic Judaism taught that the voice of God in its immediate form could not be perceived by man. It is replaced only by an echo that reaches the earth and is called the daughter of the voice (Hamburger, II, 92–95 Weber. System der altsynagogischen Theologie, 188–189). 3Ezra 6:14 And there will be something like an earthquake, but the place on which you stand will not be shaken. 3Ezra 6:15 Therefore, when he speaks, do not be afraid; for the word will be about the end, and the foundations of the earth are understood. 3Ezra 6:16 But as far as they are concerned, the earth will tremble and shake, for it knows that their end must change. 14–16. The Vulgate text must be corrected. “And if the place where you stand shakes greatly while He speaks, do not be dismayed.” The current reading arose due to the incorrect division of the words commotione commovebitur. 3Ezra 6:17 And it came to pass, when I heard the voice, that I stood up on my feet, and heard, and behold a voice speaking, and the sound thereof was like the sound of many waters, 3Ezra 6:18 and said, Behold, the days are coming when I will begin to draw near to visit those who dwell on the earth, 3Ezra 6:19 when I begin to exact punishment from those who in their unrighteousness have unjustly caused great harm, and when the measure of the humiliation of Zion is fulfilled. 3Ezra 6:20 And when the age begins to pass, these are the signs that I will show: the books will be opened before the face of the firmament, and everyone will see it together; 20. The age will be sealed (supersignabitur). The comparison is taken from a written document in which the application of the seal constitutes the final act. The open books, among other signs of the end, are mentioned in the prophet Daniel (VII:10) and in the Apocalypse (V:1). Gunkel gives these books the same meaning as a book sealed with seven seals in the right hand of Him who sits on the throne. The books, visible in the sky for everyone, announce various kinds of scourges that are about to fall on humanity. Kabish here means books in which the good and evil deeds of people are recorded. By them God will judge people during his last visit to the world. 3Ezra 6:21 And babies one year old will speak with their own voices, and pregnant women will give birth to unripe babies in three and four months, and they will remain alive and strong; 21. Already in the previous vision, extraordinary phenomena in the field of childbirth were noted, as harbingers of the near end. Women will give birth in the third or fourth month of pregnancy. However, the babies will live. Their development will proceed at a rapid pace: one-year-old children will speak like adults. This anomaly depends on the fact that before the judgment begins, all souls residing in the vaults must leave them. The speed of development is also designed to give everyone the opportunity to answer in court for their free, and not unconscious, actions. 3Ezra 6:22 The sown fields will suddenly appear as unsown, and the full barns will be found empty; 3Ezra 6:23 Then the trumpet will sound with a loud noise, and when they hear it, everyone will suddenly be terrified. 23. The sound of a trumpet announces the danger threatening the world (cf. Am III:6; Matt XXIV:31; 1 Cor XV:52; 1 Sol IV:16). 3Ezra 6:24 And it will come to pass at that time that friends will arm themselves against friends as enemies, and the land and those who dwell on it will be afraid, and the veins of the fountains will stop and will not flow for three hours. 24. Wed. V:9. Three hours represents the apocalyptic designation of the period during which evil will reign on earth. 3Ezra 6:25 Whoever remains alive after all this, which I have foretold you, will himself be saved, and will see My salvation and the end of your age. 25. The benefits of the next century are the property of the righteous alone. All sinners will be destroyed by this time. Only the righteous will emerge unharmed from all trials (VII:28; IX:8; XIII:16–24; 1 Sol IV:15). 3Ezra 6:26 And the chosen people, who have not experienced death since their birth, will see, and the hearts of the living will change and be converted to a different feeling. 26. “And they will see people who were caught up (qui recepti sunt homines) and who did not taste death from their birth.” This refers to Enoch (Genesis V:24; Sir XLIV:15, XLIX:16, Heb XI:5), Elijah (2 Kings II:10–11, Sir XLVIII:9, cf. Wis IV:11), Moses, Ezra himself (3 Ezra I:4) and other similar righteous people, whose coming was expected before the end of the world. Their ardent preaching will produce a radical change in the hearts of people (cf. Mal IV: 5–6). 3Ezra 6:27 For evil will be destroyed, and wickedness will disappear; 3Ezra 6:28 Faith will flourish, corruption will be defeated, the truth will appear, which has remained without fruit for so long. 3Ezra 6:29 While He was speaking, I looked at the one before whom I stood. 29. The Vulgate text, like v. 14, needs correction. “And while He spoke to me, the place where I stood began to shake little by little.” 3Ezra 6:30 And he said to me: I have come to show you the time of the coming night. 30. In its entirety, this verse has the following meaning. “I will come (veni) to show you this next night. So, if you begin to pray again and fast again for seven days, then I will tell you even more during the day.” The angel is referring to the third and fourth visions. Revelation granted during the day, in the eyes of the author, is the highest level, compared with ordinary night visions. In the Latin text, the past tense is used in application to revelations that are about to be made as a sign that the words of the Angel will certainly be fulfilled. 3Ezra 6:31 Therefore, if you pray again and fast again for seven days, then I will show you more on the day on which I heard you. 3Ezra 6:32 Your voice is heard by the Most High; The Mighty One saw the correct action, and saw the purity that you have preserved from your youth. 32. The Latin text speaks of righteousness (directionem) instead of right action. 3Ezra 6:33 Therefore He sent me to show you all this and say: hope and do not fear; 3Ezra 6:34 Do not hasten in the first times to think about vanity, lest you judge with the same haste the last times. 34. According to Gunkel, a popular proverb is cited here. Its meaning is rather obscure (Et noli festinare in prioribus temporibus cogitare vana, ut non properes in novissimis temporibus). Volkmar sees here a call for the author not to be carried away carelessly by earthly thoughts, like the present century, but at the same time not too impatiently awaiting the new century. Gunkel suggests that the words ut non properes represent a translation of the Greek μή σπεύσης. The verb σπεύδω in the LXX is often used in the sense of “to be horrified,” “to be frightened.” The Angel warns Ezra against being too carried away by philosophizing, pointing out to him the possible danger of losing bliss because of this: “Do not hastily indulge in idle thoughts revolving around the last century, so that you do not experience fear in the last time.” 3Ezra 6:35 After this I prayed again with tears, and also fasted for seven days, to fulfill the three weeks commanded me. 35. Previously there was no talk of the author being commanded to fast for three weeks. It is only noted that he fasted according to the will of the Angel for seven days before the second (V:13, 20–21) and third visions (VI:35). Since three weeks of fasting were completed by the beginning of the third vision, it must be assumed that similar preparations took place before the first vision. The silence about them is explained by the fact that the author’s attention was focused not on the external situation, but on the philosophical problem that he is trying to resolve. Fabricius was already struck by the similarity of this passage with the book of the prophet Daniel (X: 2), which the author imitates in many cases. Before his main vision, Daniel fasted for three weeks, eating neither bread, nor meat, nor wine. Volkmar and Ewald recognize in these words a reference to the book of Daniel, since in God’s command to Daniel the writer of our book saw a commandment addressed to himself. At that time, the Bible was looked at as if it were the word of God, addressed not only to one famous person, but also to each reader individually. The independence that the author reveals in relation to his model speaks against such an understanding: he divides the three-week fast preceding the vision of Daniel into three fasts of a week each before each of the first three visions. 3Ezra 6:36 On the eighth night my heart became agitated again, and I began to speak before the Most High, 3Ezra 6:37 For my spirit was greatly inflamed, and my soul was sorrowful. 3Ezra 6:38 And I said: Lord! You have spoken from the beginning of creation; On the first day you said: “Let there be heaven and earth,” and Your word was a finished deed. 38. Wed. Gen. I:1–3. The creative word “let there be” is referred here to the beginning of heaven and earth. This word was immediately fulfilled: it produced its effect. “And Thy word hath done (perfecit) effect.” 3Ezra 6:39 Then the Spirit rushed about, and darkness lay all around and silence: there was not yet the sound of a human voice. 39. Gen. I:2. “The sound of a human voice has not yet come by Thy will” (abs te). God is considered the Creator of the human voice: He guides man in naming animals (Genesis II:19–20) 3Ezra 6:40 Then You commanded that abundant light should come out of Your treasures, so that Your work might be revealed. 40. Light exists before the creation of the world. He forms part of the Divine Being. On earth one can see only a meager part of this light; the other belongs to that world, the creation of which precedes the earth. 3Ezra 6:41 On the second day You created the spirit of the firmament and commanded it to separate and make a division between the waters, so that some of them would rise up, and the rest would remain below. 41. Ambrose identifies the spirit of the firmament with the Holy Spirit (De Spiritu Sancto, II, 7). “Ezra teaches us that the Spirit is created, saying in the third book: “And on the second day You created the spirit of the firmament.” But there is no basis for such an understanding. Earlier (39) it was already said about the Spirit that rushed at the beginning of creation. By Him we undoubtedly mean the Spirit of God, the organ of Divine revelation. Post-exilic Judaism was convinced that God's command could only be addressed to a rational being. Thus, the idea of ​​the Spirit of the Firmament was formed, that is, of the Angel standing at the head of the firmament (cf. Gen. I:6). 3Ezra 6:42 On the third day You commanded the waters to gather on the seventh part of the earth, and You dried up six parts, so that they would serve before You for seeding and cultivation. 42. The doctrine that the world is divided into seven parts, of which one part is occupied by water and the rest by land, was taken by the author from contemporary cosmological ideas. It is found in the mythology of the Hindus and Persians. It is shared by Greek mathematicians (Clement of Rome, Recognitiones, IX, 26). According to the views of Aristotle, Seneca and Pliny the Younger, the sea occupies an insignificant part compared to the land. The division of the earth into seven parts is a characteristic feature of Judaism. According to the views of the rabbis, heaven and hell are divided into the same number of parts (Gfrorer, II, 43). In connection with the view of the relationship of land to sea there is a mystical meaning associated by Philo with one and six. According to him, six is ​​the first perfect number after one. According to these numbers, everything is carried out, both the measure of land and the measure of sea. The theory of Ptolemy, who taught that only a sixth of the earth is inhabited, and the rest of the space is covered with water, replaced previous ideas for some time, but in the Middle Ages they surfaced again. Roger Bacon (Opus Majus) recognizes this view as revealed. Drawing on the prophetic book of Ezra, Christopher Columbus argued that the ocean occupies a limited part of space (Lucke, 167–168; Volkmar, 49; Hilgenfeld Judische Apokatyptik, 229; Gunkel, 367). 3Ezra 6:43 Thy word went forth, and immediately the deed was made manifest; 3Ezra 6:44 suddenly there appeared an immeasurable abundance of fruits and many different delights for the taste, flowers in their unchanging form, with an indescribably fragrant smell: all this was done on the third day. 44. The handwritten text talks about flowers with inimitable colors (colore inimitabiles). 3Ezra 6:45 On the fourth day You commanded the brightness of the sun, the light of the moon, the arrangement of the stars 3Ezra 6:46 and commanded that they should serve him who was to be created. 45–46. Wed. Gen. I:14. The author highlights the service significance of the stars, since he knows that the pagan world reveres them as gods. 3Ezra 6:47 On the fifth day You spoke to the seventh part, in which the water was gathered, that it should produce animals, flying creatures, and fish, which it did. 3Ezra 6:48 The silent and soulless water, at the behest of God, gave birth to animals, so that all generations would proclaim Your wondrous deeds. 3Ezra 6:49 Then You preserved two animals: one was called Behemoth, and the other Leviathan. 3Ezra 6:50 And You separated them from each other, because the seventh part, where the water was gathered, could not receive them together. 3Ezra 6:51 You gave Behemoth one portion of the land that was dried up on the third day, so that he might dwell in it, in which there are thousands of mountains. 3Ezra 6:52 To Leviathan you gave the seventh part of the water, and kept it, so that it could be food for those whom You want, when You want. 49–52. In the Vulgate and the Slavic Bible, the hippopotamus is mistakenly called Enoch. The legend about two giant animals - a hippopotamus and a leviathan, created by God on the fifth day, arose in Judaism as a result of a misunderstanding of the words of the Writer of Genesis: χήτη τά μεγάλα (Genesis I:21). The Jerusalem Targum explains them this way: “On the fifth day God created the enormous water monsters Leviathan and his female, who are guarded for the day of consolation.” Prem. Isaiah calls them indifferently leviathans (XXVII:1). Behemoth and Leviathan are clearly distinguished in the book of Job (XL:10; XLI:26). All the legends that arose about the hippopotamus and leviathan in the post-captivity period reflect surprise at their extraordinary size and strength. Gunkel sees here an echo of ancient mythological ideas of the ocean. Initially, the water element was assigned to the hippopotamus and leviathan, but since the seventh part of the entire earth occupied by water could not accommodate them, God separated them from each other. The hippopotamus lives on land, the leviathan in the waters. The hippopotamus is otherwise called the wild bull, which lies on a thousand mountains (Ps. XLIX:10). Every day he destroys all the vegetation on them, but at night the grass grows again, as if it had not been touched at all, according to the word of Scripture (Job XL:15): “the mountains bring him food.” This bull is intended for a magnificent feast of the righteous, which is why it is said about him: “He who created him will raise his sword against him” (Job XL:14). Elsewhere in the Talmud, the sensual nature of the meal awaiting the righteous in the future life is outlined even more sharply. The gigantic animals created by God on the fifth day were dangerous to the existence of the world. If they began to multiply, they would devastate the whole world. In view of this, God emasculated the male, and killed the female and salted her meat for the future solemn feast with which the righteous will greet the coming of the Messiah (Laurence. Gfrorer. Prophetae Veteres Pseudepigraph, 160. Hilgenfeld. Messias Jedaeorum, 60; Judische Apokalyptik, 178, 230. Volkmar, 51, Geschichte des Urchristenthus, II, 32–35. 3Ezra 6:53 On the sixth day You commanded the earth to bring before You livestock, beasts and reptiles; 3Ezra 6:54 And after them You created Adam, whom You made ruler over all Your creatures, and from whom come all of us and the people You have chosen. 3Ezra 6:55 I have said all this before You, O Lord, because You created this age for us. 55. 3 Ezra VI:59; VII:11; Rom IV:13. The ideals of ancient Israel went no further than Canaan; Post-exilic Judaism already dreamed of dominion over the whole world. 3Ezra 6:56 But about the rest of the nations that came from Adam, You said that they were nothing, but like spittle, and You likened all their multitude to drops dripping from a vessel. 56. The comparison of other nations to drops falling from a bucket, and to a speck of dust on a scale, is found in the prophet Isaiah (XL: 15, 17). Here this view of the pagan world is expressed only with greater sharpness. 3Ezra 6:57 And now, Lord, behold, these nations, whom You have recognized as nothing, began to rule over us and devour us. 3Ezra 6:58 But we, Your people, whom You called Your firstborn, Your only begotten, Your beloved, have been delivered into their hands. 58. The people of Israel are called the firstborn in the Psalter (LXXXVIII:28). The author points out in a gradually ascending order the advantages that Israel enjoys over other nations. In the Latin text he is also called a zealot of God (aemulatorem). According to Gunkel, this expression represents an inaccurate translation of the Greek ζηλωτός. The meaning here is about God's relationship with His people, and not vice versa. Jehovah calls himself a zealot (Exodus XXXIV:14) to designate the close bonds of love that bind him to Israel. The author of the prophetic book of Ezra notes that his native people were the subject of God's most ardent love, coupled with jealousy. 3Ezra 6:59 If this age was created for us, then why do we not receive an inheritance throughout the age? And how long is this?