Esdras

Esdras is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Ezra, which means “help.” This spelling appears in English translations of the Old Testament Apocrypha, specifically in books known as 1 Esdras and 2 Esdras (also called 4 Ezra). The use of “Esdras” in Greek manuscripts comes from the transliteration of the Hebrew עזרא through the Greek Ἔσδρας, reflecting the sound changes that occurred when Hebrew names passed into Greek.

Etymology and Biblical Context

Esdras is the Greco-Latin adaptation of the Hebrew Ezra. In the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, the name of the scribe and priest Ezra appears as “Esdras,” a form that later Catholic and Orthodox traditions retained for books that modern Protestant Bibles typically separate into Ezra and Nehemiah. The text tradition includes several works:

• 1 Esdras – a Greek translation of part of the Ezra–Nehemiah story with expansions, included in the Septuagint;
• 2 Esdras – in many Protestant Bibles the English combination of Ezra and Nehemiah;
• 3 Esdras – an additional apocalyptic text (known in some Catholic Bibles as 4 Ezra).

Ezra is a key figure in the Hebrew Bible—a priest and scribe who led the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon and restored the Law of Moses according to the Book of Ezra. In the Masoretic Text, his name is ‘Ezra. The English form “Esdras” was used extensively in older Catholic and Orthodox editions and appears in the Apocrypha section of certain Protestant Bibles, such as the King James Version.

Notably, the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England follow the Vulgate naming convention, referring to 4 Ezra as “2 Esdras” (since the Vulgate groups Ezra–Nehemiah as 1 Esdras and places the Greek Ezra Apocalypse as 2 Esdras). Modern scholars prefer the plain name “Ezra” to avoid confusion among the varied enumeration systems in Latin, Greek, and Slavonic traditions.

Related forms include Ezras (Biblical Latin) and the Anglicized Ezrah. An unrelated variant in the Islamic tradition is Uzair or Uzayr, which appears in the Quran as the name of a exalted person, sometimes identified with Ezra.

Today, “Esdras” is comparatively rare as a given name but survives in religious contexts and among Hispanic or Filipino Catholic families who honor the biblical heritage of the Esdras texts.