Restoration or desperation in Ezra and Nehemiah? Implications for Africa

dc.contributor.authorUsue, Emmanuel Ordue
dc.date.accessioned2008-05-15T05:34:12Z
dc.date.available2008-05-15T05:34:12Z
dc.date.issued2007
dc.description.abstractThe books of Ezra and Nehemiah open with high hopes for the people of Judah (cf. Ezra 1-2; Neh 1-2). One would have hoped that the command to rebuild the temple and the city walls as well as to restore the lives and dignity of the Golah community would bring healing, peace, hope and stability to the exiles. Unfortunately, it was desperation, hopelessness and insecurity that befell them. There seems to have been two reasons for this. First, non-exiles / foreigners are portrayed as the one cause. Second, the privileged class within the restored community are portrayed as another cause. It is argued that Ezra and Nehemiah depict the experiences of the returnees as a paradox. On the one hand, they are restored to religious, political and economic freedom. On the other hand, they are threatened from within and from without, hence their desperation in the midst of restoration. Could it be that the freedom and democracy that Africa, particularly Nigeria and South Africa, longed for and obtained willresult in a thwarted restoration?en
dc.format.extent219738 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationUsue, EO 2007, 'Restoration or desperation in Ezra and Nehemiah? Implications for Africa', Old Testament Essays, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 830-846. [http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_oldtest.html]en
dc.identifier.issn1010-9919
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/5285
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherOld Testament Society of South Africaen
dc.rightsOld Testament Society of South Africaen
dc.subjectRestoration (Political)en
dc.subject.lcshJews -- History -- 168 B.C.-135 A.D.en
dc.subject.lcshBible -- O.T. -- Ezra -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.en
dc.subject.lcshBible -- O.T. -- Nehemiah -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.en
dc.subject.lcshLiberty -- South Africaen
dc.subject.lcshLiberty -- Nigeriaen
dc.subject.lcshDemocracy -- Africaen
dc.titleRestoration or desperation in Ezra and Nehemiah? Implications for Africaen
dc.typeArticleen

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