If Ezra was the redactor of the Bible, how come the Samaritans also had a (relatively) similar Bible? Didn’t the Samaritans and the Jews have a bad relationship before Ezra?
Ordinarily I wouldn’t post this as the first response to a GQ thread, but I’m going to bed in a few minutes, and I want to get this out.
I was never under the impression that Ezra (or the Hebrew tradition in general) did much actual redacting, but mostly just put preexisting stories together. There are plenty of parts in, say, Genesis, that seem to contradict one another.
Assuming the same sources, I wouldn’t expect that many differences, even if they had a different editor. It’s not like he’s rewriting stuff.
I’m sure some of our Biblical experts will be along with more, perhaps challenging my assumptions as well.
I’m going to bump this thread, as I am interested in seeing the OP answered.