Overview
The book records the first return under Zerubbabel following the decree of Cyrus and the rebuilding of the temple, and then, some sixty years later, the second return led by Ezra, a scribe and priest. Ezra teaches the Torah and reforms the community by addressing intermarriage with foreign peoples.
Theme The rebuilding of the temple and the restoration of a community centered on the Torah
Historical background
After Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BC, Cyrus permitted exiled peoples to return to their homelands. Work on the temple was halted by opposition, then resumed at the urging of Haggai and Zechariah and completed in 516/515 BC under Darius. Ezra's return is dated to the seventh year of Artaxerxes I (458 BC). Ezra 4:8–6:18 and 7:12–26 are written in Aramaic, and in the Hebrew Bible Ezra and Nehemiah originally formed a single book.