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Sixth Ezra: The Text and Origin, by Theodore A. Bergren. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Pp. xiv + 282. $49.95.
The apocalyptic work traditionally called 2 Esdras, which is included as an appendix to the Latin Vulgate (where it is entitled 4 Ezra), is of Jewish origin with some Christian additions. The core of the book (chapters 3-14) was written in Hebrew or Aramaic around 100 CE and has survived in several eastern versions, the most important of which are the Syriac and the Ethiopic. This core is designated 4 Ezra by modern scholars.
Chapters 1 and 2 of the book, generally designated by scholars as 5 Ezra, are probably of Christian origin, dating from the second or third century, "perhaps specifically between 130 and 250 CE" (Theodore A. Bergren, Fifth Ezra: The Text, Origin and Early History [Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990] 26).
The last two chapters of the book (15-16)-under review here-are a further addition, with dire warnings and...