Originally the priests alone were concerned with the Law; but the Law contained, broadly speaking, two elements, the ritual and the moral; the former of these was more especially the concern of the priests; but the latter had a wider interest, and many of the _Chakamim_ as well as the priests occupied themselves with it. When the Scribes arose—it is not possible to say precisely when this was, but it was before the Exile—they did not, as a body, restrict themselves to the study of one or other aspect of the Law, but, according to their bent, some gave more particular attention to the study of the ritual Law, others to the moral Law; so that among the types of scribe there appeared the priest-scribe, such as Ezra, and the wisdom-scribe, such as was Ben-Sira in later times. But the _Chakamim_, as a class, still remained, no less than the priests, each occupying themselves with their particular study, as they had done before the Scribes came into existence. In course of time, and through Ezra’s influence, the power of the Scribes greatly increased, and they became the most influential leaders among the people; and by the time of the Maccabæan struggle their activities were wholly and exclusively absorbed in the study and teaching of the Law, both ritual and moral, written and oral. But we have anticipated, and must now turn to the evidence of the post-exilic books. In Ezra vii. the following verses are important: “Ezra ... was a ready scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given” (verse 6). “Ezra had set his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgements” (verse 10). “... Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes to Israel....” “Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven” (verses 11, 12, 21). According to vii. 25, Artaxerxes gives the following instructions to Ezra: “And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God that is in thine hand, appoint magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God, and teach ye him that knoweth them not.”