Ezra – General
The book of Ezra is of no importance. He tells us that Cyrus, King of Persia, issued a proclamation for building a temple at Jerusalem, and that he declared Jehovah to be the real and only God. Nothing could be more absurd. Ezra tells us about the return from captivity, the building of the Temple, the dedication, a few prayers, and this is all. This book is of no importance, inspiration and of no use.
Ezra 2:5-60 - The second chapter of Ezra provides a list of the Jewish people returning to Judah after their captivity in Babylon. It makes for rather dull reading: just a list of men's names and the number of offspring that accompanied each of them. The same list is given in the seventh chapter of Nehemiah (as though once were not enough), but the two lists contradict each other in 19 places. As an example, consider the very first of these contradictions: Ezra 2:5 says "the children of Arah, seven hundred seventy and five," but Neh.7:10 contradict this saying, "the children of Arah, six hundred fifty and two." There are 18 other similar contradictions between the two accounts.
Ezra 2:63 - The Urim and Thummim were like the two sides a magic coin that could be flipped to give a yes or no answer to any question. They were also what Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon.
Ezra 2:64 - Here we are told that "the whole congregation together was forty and two thousand tree hundred and threescore [42,360]." Yet if we count up all of the numbers in the list just given in Ezra 2:3-62 we obtain a different number: 29,818.
Ezra 9:2 - The Israelites offend God by "taking" foreign wives and thereby corrupting "the holy seed."
Ezra 9:3 - When Ezra hears of the intermarriages, he tears up his clothes, plucks out his hair and beard, and sits down astonished.
Ezra 10:2-3, 10-12 - Ezra tells the men that they must abandon their wives and children if they are to avoid God's wrath.
Nehemiah – General
Nehemiah is about the same, only it tells of the building of the wall, the complaints of the people about taxes, a list of those who returned from Babylon, a catalogue of those who dwelt at Jerusalem, and the dedication of the walls. Not a word in Nehemiah worth reading.
Nehemiah 7:10-62 - Here we find the same long, boring list that is given in the second chapter of Ezra. The only interesting thing about these two lists is that they directly contradict one another. For instance, Neh.7:10 say that 652 children of Arah returned from captivity in Babylon, while Ezra 2:5 says that 775 of them returned. There are 15 similar contradictions between the two accounts.
Nehemiah 7:32 - Joshua 8:28 says that Ai was never again occupied after it was destroyed by Joshua. But this verse lists it among the cities of Israel at the time of the Babylonian captivity.
Nehemiah 7:65 - The Urim and Thummim were like the two sides a magic coin that could be flipped to give a yes or no answer to any question. They were also what Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon.
Nehemiah 7:66 - Here we are told that the whole congregation totalled 42,360. But if we just total up the numbers given in Neh.7:8-62 we come up with only 31,139.
Nehemiah 7:72 - Nehemiah says the people gave 20,000 drams of gold, 2000 pounds of silver and 67 priests’ garments. Yet in Ezra 2:29 these values are given as 1060, 5000, and 100, respectively.
Nehemiah 13:25-27 - Nehemiah rebukes the men for marrying "strange wives." To punish them he "contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair."
Esther – General
In this book we are told that King Ahasueras was intoxicated; that he sent for his Queen, Vashti, to come and show herself to him and his guests. Vashti refused to appear. This maddened the king, and he ordered that from every province the most beautiful girls should be brought before him that he might choose one in place of Vashti. Among others was brought Esther, a Jewess. She was chosen and became the wife of the king. Then a gentleman by the name of Haman wanted to have all the Jews killed, and the king, not knowing that Esther was of that race, signed a decree that all the Jews should be killed. Through the efforts of Mordecai and Esther the decree was annulled and the Jews were saved. Haman prepared a gallows on which to have Mordecai hanged, but the good Esther so managed matters that Haman and his ten sons were hanged on the gallows that Haman had built, and the Jews were allowed to murder more than seventy-five thousand of the king's subjects. This is the inspired story of Esther.
Esther 2:8-9, 12-17 - When it was Esther turn to "go in unto the king," she pleases the king the most. So, having won the sex contest, she is made queen in Vashti's place.
Esther 2:9, 12 - But since women are inherently dirty, she must be "purified" for twelve months before she can be made queen.
Esther 2:23 - Esther has two men "hanged on a tree."
Esther 6:6 - "Haman thought in his heart." Most people think with their heads, but biblical folks think with their hearts.
Esther 7:6, 10 - Esther has another man (Haman) hung.
Esther 9:13-14 - Our heroine (queen Esther) suggests that the ten sons of Haman should also be hanged (She already got Haman hung 7:10). So "they hanged Haman's ten sons.
Esther 9:16 - The Jews kill 75,000. Praise God!
