Of Esdras the Lawyer.
ESdras signifies, a helper, of Asar, he helped. He is a type of our Lord Iesus Christ, who is our helper and Sauiour, which hath brought vs into that holy land, eternall life; and is the restorer of religion, and the Christian Common-wealth.
This Esdras was sent to Ierusalem, to restore the common∣wealth of the Iewes, Anno mundi 3511, before Christ, 457, in the seuenth yeare of Artaxerxes Longimanus, that good Emperour of the Persians. So he went from Babylon to Ahaeua, a certaine riuer neere Babylon; to which place he assembled a great mul∣titude of Iewes, and from thence sent to Caspia to fetch a cer∣taine number of Leuites, (this land was in Chaldea not far from Babylon.) These being here met together, celebrated a fast vnto the Lord, and with solemne prayers besought his aide and furtherance in their enterprise: then they went thence to Ierusa∣lem, which was 680 miles, and there restored the Iudaicall gouer∣ment, instituting Ecclesiasticall officers, chiefe Priests, Princes and other gouernours.