Seeking the Divine, Divining the Seekers: The Status of Outsiders Who Seek Yahweh in Ezra 6:21

Abstract

This article argues, pace Thiessen, that the boundaries of restored Israel in Ezra 1–6 are porous: the texts that establish the community's exclusivism do so only provisionally, in place of a working temple cult. This is shown especially in Ezra 2:61–63, where priests who cannot find written proof of their ancestry must wait for Urim and Thummim. Thus, during the Passover in Ezra 6:19–21, the cult (rather than written documents) ultimately establishes boundaries, permitting the inclusion of outsiders.