46 Cornelis Bennema 11,2), and will exercise judgment on the wicked and bring “salvation” to the righteous (e.g., 45,3; 46,4-6; 48,7; 49,4; 51,1-5; 52,4-9; 53,3-7; 55,4; 61,8-9; 62,2-3.7-16; 69,27-29). Again, the issue is how the messiah is envisaged to carry out his liberating task. He will judge the wicked by the word of his mouth [62,2 (34); cf. 61,9; 69,29], which reflects Isa 11,4 (LXX). This word is characterized by wisdom (“the word of his mouth” in 62,2 corresponds to “the wisdom of his mouth” in 51,3) and liberating power (69,29; cf. 52,4-9). We suggest, then, that this messianic figure is able to judge and liberate through his words of wisdom and power precisely because the Spirit has endowed him with these qualities (49,3). To conclude, in reaction to the oppression of Rome and the Jewish aristocracy, the author of the Similitudes also draws on Isaiah 11 (and possibly Isa 42) to envisage the future liberation of his community through a messiah who will sift the wicked and the righteous by means of his Spirit-imbued word of wisdom and power. 4. 4 Ezra The apocalypse of 4 Ezra (2 Esdras 3–14) was written in Palestine at the end of the first century C.E., and although its fictional setting is the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile in the sixth century B.C.E., the real historical setting is the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. by the Romans (3,1) (35). Hence, the Babylonian exile becomes the literary occasion for exploring the theological issues, especially that of divine justice, raised by the recent tragedy (e.g., 3,20-36; 4,22-25; 5,28-30; 6,55-59). Although Ezra’s hardest questions are not explicitly answered, the comfort offered is that God has created two worlds (7,50) and will bring the new age in which his justice will be fully manifested (36). 4 Ezra also depicts a sifting between the righteous and the wicked (e.g., 7,35-36.47.60-61.76-99), and, again, the liberation or “salvation” (by the messiah) is not for the entire Jewish nation; instead, merely a remnant will be saved, which (34) Although all MSS have “and the Lord of Spirits sat on the throne of his glory”, it is often emended to “and the Lord of Spirits set him on the throne of his glory”, which fits the direct context (61,8-9; 62,3.5.8-9) (cf. CHARLES, “1 Enoch”, II, 227). (35) M.E. STONE, Fourth Ezra. A Commentary on the Book of Fourth Ezra (Minneapolis 1990) 10; COLLINS, Imagination, 195-196. The text of 4 Ezra is most widely preserved in Latin. (36) Cf. STONE, Fourth Ezra, 35-36; COLLINS, Imagination, 201-205.