Book of Ezra Quiz: Return from Exile and Restoration

1. What prompted Cyrus king of Persia to issue the decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem?

1. Cyrus had a military need for a loyal population in the buffer region of Judah to protect against Egypt
2. The Jewish community in Persia persuaded Cyrus's advisors to petition on their behalf
3. The LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation — the decree fulfilled Jeremiah's prophecy of seventy years of exile
4. The Persian priests consulted their oracles and determined that rebuilding the Jerusalem temple would bring good fortune to the empire

2. What did Cyrus return to the Jewish community along with the decree?

1. Detailed architectural plans for the second temple drawn up by Babylonian engineers
2. Letters of introduction to the governors of every province through which the returning Jews would pass
3. The articles of the temple that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem — 5,400 gold and silver items were counted out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah
4. The sacred scrolls of the law that had been taken to Babylon along with the ark of the covenant

3. Who led the first return from Babylon to Jerusalem, approximately how many people returned, and what was their first major act?

1. Daniel led 42,360 people; their first act was to observe the Passover on the day they arrived in Jerusalem
2. Ezra led 42,360 people; their first act was to read the law before all Israel at the Water Gate
3. Nehemiah led approximately 50,000 people; they immediately began rebuilding Jerusalem's walls before anything else
4. Zerubbabel and Jeshua led 42,360 people plus servants; they rebuilt the altar before the foundations of the temple were laid and began making burnt offerings

4. What was the mixed reaction when the foundation of the second temple was laid?

1. Many of the older priests and Levites who had seen Solomon's temple wept aloud when they saw the foundation being laid — while many others shouted for joy; the two sounds could not be distinguished from each other
2. The people wept for joy — all Israel celebrated with great singing and shouts of praise
3. The people were silent in awe — no one spoke for the first hour as the enormity of the moment sank in
4. The young people celebrated loudly but the elders refused to celebrate — they said a true temple required a Davidic king to dedicate it

5. Who were the 'enemies of Judah and Benjamin' who initially offered to help build the temple, and what happened when they were refused?

1. The Edomites — who claimed Abraham as a common ancestor and argued they had a right to participate
2. The Moabites — who had lived in Judah during the exile and felt they had a legitimate stake in the restored community
3. The people of the land (Samaritans) — a mixed population including some who worshipped YHWH but also other gods. When refused, they worked to discourage the builders and hired counsellors to frustrate their plans throughout Cyrus's and Darius's reigns
4. The Philistines — remnants from the coastal cities who wanted to participate in the cultural restoration of the region

6. What letter was sent to the Persian king Artaxerxes, and what was its effect?

1. A letter claiming the Jews were rebuilding Jerusalem's walls and would stop paying tribute and rebel — Artaxerxes ordered the work to stop until he investigated
2. A request for more materials to build the temple — Artaxerxes responded by tripling the original Cyrus decree
3. A tax complaint — the Jews were exempt from Persian taxes in violation of imperial law, and Artaxerxes investigated the exemption
4. A theological dispute about which god was the true God of heaven — Artaxerxes ordered a formal religious inquiry

7. What role did the prophets Haggai and Zechariah play in the resumption of temple building?

1. They confronted the Persian governor who had stopped the work — their boldness shamed him into allowing it to continue
2. They organised the people into work teams and supervised the construction on behalf of Zerubbabel
3. They prophesied to the Jews in Judah, encouraging them to resume building; the work resumed and the prophets continued to support it
4. They wrote letters to Darius explaining the theological importance of the temple — Darius found these persuasive

8. When the governor Tattenai challenged the building project and wrote to Darius, what did Darius find and what did he decree?

1. Darius found conflicting records and ruled in favour of the Jewish community based on prophetic testimony
2. Darius found no record of Cyrus's decree and ordered a full investigation — the building was suspended for two more years
3. Darius found the decree but ordered only a smaller temple — the original plans were too ambitious for a provincial community
4. Darius found the original scroll of Cyrus's decree at Ecbatana — he not only confirmed the order to let the work proceed but commanded his treasury to fund the remaining construction costs

9. When was the second temple completed, and how was its dedication celebrated?

1. In the first year of Darius, completed after only two years of intensive construction following Haggai's prophecy
2. In the second year of Cyrus's reign, with Zerubbabel personally laying the final capstone
3. In the sixth year of Darius's reign, with the sacrifice of 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs and twelve male goats as a sin offering for all Israel
4. In the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, with Ezra leading a great reading of the law that lasted seven days

10. Who was Ezra, and what was his stated purpose in going to Jerusalem?

1. Ezra was a high priest who had lived in Babylon — the Jerusalem priesthood was in disarray and Ezra went to restore proper priestly succession
2. Ezra was a military governor sent by the Persian king to establish order in the Judean province
3. Ezra was a Persian official of Jewish descent sent to audit the temple finances
4. Ezra was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses who had devoted himself to studying, obeying and teaching the law — Artaxerxes sent him to appoint magistrates and judges and to teach the law to those who did not know it

11. What was the crisis Ezra discovered when he arrived in Jerusalem?

1. A rival temple had been built outside Jerusalem by the Samaritans — some of the Jews were worshipping there instead of in Jerusalem
2. The law had been completely forgotten — Ezra found no one who knew even the basic commands of Moses
3. The leaders and people, including priests and Levites, had intermarried with the surrounding peoples — 'They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons'
4. The temple had been abandoned and the priests had stopped offering sacrifices during the period between the two returns

12. How did Ezra respond when he heard about the intermarriage crisis?

1. He immediately called the guilty parties to appear before him and issued divorce decrees on the spot
2. He preached a sermon condemning the intermarriages but gave the people one year to make a decision voluntarily
3. He tore his clothing and his cloak, pulled hair from his head and beard, and sat appalled until the evening offering. Then he fell on his knees and prayed a great confessional prayer on behalf of the people
4. He went to the Persian governor and asked for legal authority to dissolve the marriages

13. What was the resolution to the intermarriage crisis at the end of Ezra?

1. Ezra imposed a fine on those who had intermarried — the funds were used for temple maintenance
2. Ezra ruled that intermarriages were acceptable provided the foreign wives converted to Judaism formally
3. The men agreed to send away their foreign wives and children — a painful dissolution of families that was carried out over three months
4. The people agreed not to allow future intermarriages but existing ones were allowed to stand

14. What does Ezra's prayer in chapter 9 emphasise about Israel's relationship with God?

1. Despite unprecedented grace (God had not abandoned them, given a remnant, secured them in their holy place, restored them), they had sinned again — but God's grace is greater than their guilt and they throw themselves on his mercy
2. God is bound by his covenant to restore Israel regardless of their sin — the prayer appeals to legal obligation not mercy
3. God's justice must be satisfied before mercy can be extended — Israel must first demonstrate a period of perfect obedience
4. God's promise that the exile is now permanent — Israel must accept a new identity as a subject people in Persia

15. What is the theological significance of the genealogy of Ezra in chapter 7?

1. By tracing Ezra's lineage through Zadok to Aaron the first high priest, it establishes his priestly credentials and legitimises his role in reforming the post-exilic community
2. It connects Ezra to Solomon — showing that the wisdom Solomon possessed was now present in the scribe who had returned to rebuild the community
3. It establishes Ezra's right to teach — only those from the Levitical line had authority to interpret the law
4. It is primarily a historical record with no theological purpose — genealogies in Ezra are administrative, not symbolic

16. What does Ezra 7:28 reveal about Ezra's theological interpretation of his mission?

1. Ezra interpreted his mission as a divine assignment — 'the hand of the LORD his God was on me'
2. Ezra saw his mission as personally difficult but obediently undertaken — 'I had no choice but to go'
3. Ezra saw his mission as the fulfilment of Moses's command to teach the law in every generation
4. Ezra was reluctant to lead — 'I prayed for thirty days before agreeing to go'

17. What was Ezra's fast before leaving Babylon, and why?

1. He fasted as a sign of grief for the intermarriage crisis he had heard about — mourning before he even left Babylon
2. He fasted forty days as Moses had done — to prepare himself spiritually for his encounter with God at Jerusalem
3. He fasted to receive prophetic guidance about the route — God showed him in a vision the safest path through dangerous territory
4. He proclaimed a fast at the Ahava Canal to humble themselves before God and ask him for safe journey — he was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers because he had told the king that God's hand protects those who seek him

18. What does the book of Ezra demonstrate about how God works in history?

1. God works only through miraculous intervention — every key event in Ezra involves a supernatural occurrence
2. God works only through the Jewish community — the Persians were helpful but their contribution was accidental rather than divinely ordained
3. God works primarily through judgment — the exile and restoration cycle proves that prosperity follows obedience mechanically
4. God works through human rulers and official documents as well as through prophets and priests — Cyrus's decree, Darius's research, and Artaxerxes' commission are all divine instruments

19. Ezra 6:19-22 describes the Passover celebration after the temple was completed. Who was included?

1. All the returned exiles, plus all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their neighbours in order to seek the LORD God of Israel
2. Only the priests and Levites — the ordinary people observed the Passover in their homes separately
3. Only those who could prove an unbroken genealogical connection to one of the twelve tribes
4. Only those who had been alive before the exile — those born in Babylon could not yet participate in the covenant meal

20. What is the overall message of the book of Ezra for its original post-exilic readers?

1. God has not abandoned his people — exile was judgment not rejection. He is now working through the Persian empire to restore temple worship and the covenant community; the response required is humble obedience to his law and separation from idolatrous practices
2. Racial purity is the foundation of Israel's covenant identity — the intermarriage crisis shows that genealogical integrity is essential to the covenant
3. Rebuild the walls first, then the temple — physical security must precede spiritual restoration
4. The exile is not yet over spiritually — until a Davidic king sits on the throne, the restoration is incomplete