in character and holds that the book is written by a single author; the author of 2 Esdras has also been suggested to have written the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch. In any case, the two texts may date from about the same time, and one almost certainly depends on the other. Critics have widely debated the origin of the book. Hidden under two layers of translation, determining if the author was Roman, Alexandrian, or Palestinian is impossible. The scholarly interpretation of the eagle being the Roman Empire (the eagle in the fifth vision, whose heads might be Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian if such is the case) and the destruction of the temple would indicate that the probable date of composition lies toward the end of the first century, perhaps 90–96, though some suggest a date as late as 218. Usage The book is found in the Orthodox Slavonic Bible (Ostrog Bible, Elizabeth Bible, and later consequently Russian Synodal Bible). 2 Esdras is in the Apocrypha of the King James Version, and Pope Clement VIII placed it in an appendix to the Vulgate along with 3 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh "lest they perish entirely". The chapters corresponding to 4 Ezra, i.e. 2 Esdras 3–14, make up the Book of II Izra, aka Izra Sutuel, canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church; it was also widely cited by early Fathers of the Church, particularly Ambrose of Milan, as the 'third book of Esdras'. Jerome states that it is apocryphal. It may also be found in many larger English Bibles included as part of the Biblical apocrypha, as they exist in the King James Version, the Revised Version, the Revised Standard Version, and the earliest editions of the Catholic Douay–Rheims Bible, among others. The introitus of the traditional Requiem Mass of the Extraordinary Form of the 1962 Missal in the Catholic Church is loosely based on 2:34–35: "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them." Several other liturgical prayers are taken from the book. The same chapter, verses 36 and 37, is cited in the Introit of Pentecost Tuesday, "Accipite jucunditatem gloriae vestrae, alleluia: gratias agentes Deo, alleluia: qui vos ad caelestia regna vocavit, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Ps. 77 Attendite, popule meus, legem meam: inclinate aurem vestram in verba oris mei. Gloria Patri. Accipite. – Receive the delight of your glory, alleluia, giving thanks to God,