(4QEzra) קטעי ספר עזרא מקומראן

This short communication demonstrates three affinities between 4QEzra (4Q117) and the canonical books of Ezra-Nehemia, as compared to the parallel chapters in First Esdras. 4QEzra agrees with the MT in random variants (frg. 3), in the literary design of the introduction to the letter sent to Artaxerxes (frg. 2), and most importantly, in the structure of the book, since in the scroll (frg. 1) the letter sent to Artaxerxes obviously follows the interference of the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, like in the MT (Ezra 4). In First Esdras, on the other hand, this letter occupies a completely different position (1 Esd. 2, following Cyrus' edict).