Since well over half a century elapsed between chapters 6 and 7, the characters of the first part of the book had died by the time Ezra began his ministry in Jerusalem. Ezra is the one person who is prominent in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Both books end with prayers of confession (Ezra 9; Nehemiah 9) and a subsequent separation of the people from the sinful practices into which they had fallen.
Kwa kuwa zaidi ya nusu ya karne ilipita kati ya sura ya 6 na 7, wahusika wa sehemu ya kwanza ya kitabu walikuwa wamekufa kwa wakati Ezra alianza huduma yake katika Yerusalemu. Ezra ndiye mtu mmoja ambaye ni maarufu katika vitabu vya Ezra na Nehemia. Vitabu hivi vyote vinaisha kwa maombi ya kukiri (Ezra 9; Nehemia 9) na mfululizo wa utengano wa watu kutokana na mazoea ya dhambi ambayo walikuwa wanafanya.