The story of the mixed marriage crisis in Ezra 9–10 has generated much emotional debate as Christian interpreters have attempted to explain the narrative’s ethics and how to apply them to the church. From some contemporary perspectives, the decision to send away foreign wives appears racist or misogynistic. Important questions arise. Do Ezra and the golah community respond faithfully and proportionately to Israel’s rebellion? Or does ruling in favour of mass divorce rely on a revisionist and perhaps unethical reading of Torah? This paper develops an affective-narrative approach for reading Ezra 9–10, which illuminates its rhetorical purpose within both Ezra-Nehemiah and the canon. The communicative intention of the text includes compelling the reader to feel the narrative’s intense, tumultuous emotions. It is not by chance (or careless redaction) that Ezra 9–10 contains morally complex decisions, mixed responses, and narrative ambiguities.
An analysis of affective-narrative strategies in Ezra 9–10 considers the emotional experience of individuals in the story, such as the community leaders describing the existence of mixed marriages with language of disgust (9:1–2); Ezra’s actions and words communicating emotions of grief, shame, guilt, and humiliation (9:3–15; 10:1, 6); Ezra’s penitential prayer hinging on God’s steadfast love and anger (9:8–9, 13–15); and Shecaniah introducing the possibility of counterintuitive hope (10:2–3). However, an affective-narrative reading also examines the audience’s emotional response to the narrative artistry of Ezra 9–10, expressed in setting, plot, characterization, and point of view. Emotional engagement in the narrative persuades the implied audience to pursue holiness by inducing shame, calling for repentant action, and increasing their reliance on God’s steadfast love.