Abstract:
A surface reading of Ezra 9-10 gives the impression that the Abrahamic and Mosaic
covenants’ codes concerning foreigners justify the expulsion of the so-called foreign
women by Ezra and his associates. Consequently, the story has generated various
viewpoints among Old Testament scholars. However, in this article, the author
has attempted to show that Ezra and his associates did not provide convincing
reasons for these massive expulsions. Rather, it appears, the expulsion was based
upon a partial or narrower view and interpretation of the Abrahamic and Mosaic
covenants’ codes concerning foreigners. A close reading of the story and the
purported covenants’ codes concerning foreigners reveals that first, these women
were not foreigners as presupposed by Ezra and his associates; second, had the
reformers adopted a more holistic or broader perspective and interpretation of the
Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants’ codes about foreigners, it would have yielded
a more positive, accommodating and inclusive disposition towards the so-called
foreign women.
