B. Problem of Mixed Marriages (9:1-10:44)
A recurring problem among the postexilic Jews was intermarriage with the non-Jewish population of Palestine. Ezra dealt with it upon his return, Nehemiah during his second tenure as governor (Ne 13:23-28), and Malachi prophesied against it (Mal 2:11). Legislation prohibiting intermarriage appears in Ex 34:11-16 and Dt 7:1-4. (The book of Ruth stands as a notable exception.) In the legal passages this prohibition is part of a larger command. God forbade his covenant people from making covenants with the peoples of the land because of the corrupting influence of their idolatrous religions. Intermarriage is a subset of this larger concern.
The metaphor of marriage describes the believer’s relationship with God. This is because marriage is a covenant, the most intimate union of two individuals. Therefore, marriage serves as an appropriate symbol for one’s relationship to God. The prohibition of intermarriage is not a reflection of Jewish racial bigotry, but rather symbolizes their need to maintain religious identity. This concern is forcefully expressed in the words of the Jewish leaders who confessed that the Jews had mingled the holy race with the peoples around them (9:2).
Ezra’s activities during the months between his arrival in Jerusalem and the surfacing of this problem are not specified (cf. 7:8 with 10:9). It may be that his teaching the Torah aroused a sensibility in the leaders to their transgression, prompting them to approach Ezra (9:1-2).
When Ezra received news of the problem (9:1-2), his reaction was dramatic and effective. His actions (v.3) are well known symbols of mourning. Ezra verbalized this symbolic message in a prayer. The dominant theme is confession, the acknowledgement of sin, and the justness of God’s punishment. As is also true of Nehemiah, Ezra identified himself with his people’s sins, using the first-person “we.” The covenant is not merely an individual relationship with God; it is a communal one, a fact that the contemporary church has largely forgotten.
A secondary theme in the prayer is that the returnees constitute the remnant of which the prophets spoke. God, through his unmerited favor, has left them as a remnant (Heb. p'lêt̠āh), anchored literally by a “tent peg” in his sanctuary (9:8, niv “firm place”). God has granted them new life to reestablish their lives in Judah. Yet Ezra knew that intermarriage posed a grave threat to the covenant. Even this remnant might be subject to God’s wrath, leaving no remnant or survivor (9:14).
Ezra’s actions and prayer produced a decisive response from the people (10:1-4). Their spokesman, Shecaniah, acknowledged their sin and proposed a covenant with Yahweh to divorce their foreign wives. The proposal is a call for covenant renewal. The sin of intermarriage had broken the covenant, necessitating renewal. Covenantal renewal involves two steps: (1) a public renewal ceremony and (2) elimination of the offense that vitiated the covenant.
The public assembly was held in the ninth month (10:9), corresponding to December, the rainy season in Palestine. The people were uncomfortable because of the wet weather and the weight of their guilt. In his speech Ezra presented both the problem and the solution (vv.10-11). Because they had transgressed the law, they must first make confession (Heb. todah), and then separate themselves from their foreign wives. God hates divorce (Mal 2:16), but in this instance it is the lesser of two evils.
The congregation strongly affirmed Ezra’s proposal (10:12). In order to expedite the process (and get the crowd in out of the rain) the people suggested that the officials of the community consider each case separately. This procedure was adopted; in three months all cases were resolved (vv.16-17).
The book of Ezra closes with a list of those guilty of intermarriage (10:18-44). The list begins with the priests, led by the family of the high priest of the first return, Jeshua ben Jozadak. In all there were about 110 cases, indicating the extent of the problem.