(fl. 5th cent BCE)
Israelite prophet. He served as a scribe in the Persian government. Later he received permission from Artaxerxes I to lead the Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem. Together with Nehemiah, he persuaded the people to return to the Torah, observe the Sabbath and sabbatical year, pay Temple dues, and refrain from intermarriage. The story of Ezra is contained in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Dictionary of Jewish Biography. Dan Cohn-Sherbok.