The question is whether the canonical Old Testament book Ezra-Nehemiah is a revision of the apocryphal 1 Esdras, or the other way around. European and US biblical and classical scholars argue against the priority of each in turn, then investigate the nature of 1 Esdras. Their topics include the lower criticism and higher criticism case for 1 Esdras, the second year of Darius, ancient composition patterns mirrored in 1 Esdras and the priority of the canonical composition type, Hellenistic Greek elements in 1 Esdras, and the rendering of 2 Chronicles 35-36 in 1 Edras. The Society of Biblical Literature publishes the paperbound edition; Brill publishes the hardbound. Annotation 2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
