Bible crossword puzzle: Ezra, Nehemiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel

TL;DR: This Bible crossword puzzle page focuses on Israel’s exile and return as depicted in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. It features Gustave Doré’s 1866 engraving “Ezra Kneels in Prayer.” The puzzle reinforces lessons on prophecy, exile, and spiritual renewal drawn from Varughese’s Discovering the Bible: Story and Faith of the Biblical Communities.

Robed figure in the foreground kneeling in prayer; people in the background watching — “Ezra Kneels in Prayer” (Ezra 9:1–15), *Doré’s English Bible*, 1866 — Image Source

More classic art masterpieces used as illustrations

Scripture crossword: Israel’s exile and return in Discovering the Bible

Challenge: Can you solve this puzzle even if you do not have the textbook?

ACROSS

3 — Son of Iddo, mentioned in Ezra 6 as a prophet
6 — A prophet who lived in exile in Babylon and saw strange visions, including the valley of dry bones and the “wheel within a wheel”
7 — The man God protected in the lions’ den in Babylon; the book bearing his name contains some end-times prophecy

DOWN

1 — Persian king who allowed the Jewish exiles to return home and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem
2 — A king’s cupbearer who returned to Jerusalem, became its governor, and supervised the rebuilding of its defensive walls
4 — An Old Testament Minor Prophet mentioned in Ezra 6
5 — Jewish priest and scribe who was instrumental in aiding the return of the exiles and in reinstituting the public reading of the Book of the Law of God

This crossword puzzle was created for use in the course Introduction to Biblical Literature. The answers and clues come from Discovering the Bible: Story and Faith of the Biblical Communities, edited by Alex Varughese and published by what is now The Foundry Publishing.

Acrostic based on the name “Ezekiel”