What Is the Background of the Book of Ezra?

The events narrated in Ezra occurred during the Persian imperial period, and opened with Cyrus II, who reigned from 550 to 530 BC. He had overthrown the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus in 539 BC and then consolidated his power throughout Mesopotamia, reinforcing the political domination of the Achaemenid dynasty (named after Achaemenes, who ruled Persia from 705 to 675 BC, and founded the royal family of whom Cyrus was a member). Cyrus reversed the forced migration policies of the Babylonians and initiated a program of repatriation. The Judeans living in Babylon, as new citizens of the Persian Empire, benefited from this change in imperial policy. In 538 BC, Cyrus issued a proclamation that allowed the Judeans to return to the province of Judah for the purpose of rebuilding the temple and reinhabiting Jerusalem (Ezr 1:1-4; 6:3-5).

Cambyses, who ruled from 530 to 522 BC, is not mentioned in the narrative, but Darius I, who reigned from 522 to 486 BC, plays a significant role. He received a letter from a provincial official concerning the rebuilding of the temple (5:6-17), and after investigating Cyrus’ original proclamation, he decreed that the construction project should continue (6:1-12). The narrative also mentions complaints made to Xerxes, who reigned from 496 to 465 BC, concerning the Judeans (4:6). Artaxerxes I, who was emperor from 465 to 424 BC, ruled during the mission of Ezra. The nature of the opposition during this period related to the building of the walls rather than the temple, which had been completed during the reign of Darius I. The arguments of Rehum and Shimshai convinced Artaxerxes I, and he ordered the rebuilding of the walls to stop (4:8-23). He eventually reversed his decision and allowed Ezra to lead another group of exiles to Jerusalem in 458 BC. Though outside the narrative of Ezra, Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem 13 years later, in 445 BC, to inspect the walls (Neh 2:1) and returned again in 433 BC (Neh 5:14; 13:6). The combined narrative time of Ezra-Nehemiah is around 105 years and covers the reign of five Persian kings (Edwin M. Yamauchi, Persia and the Bible [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1996], 395–6).