Ezra 1:5-11: The Vessels of the Temple

The biblical account sees the support for the return as coming both from the Jewish community in Babylonia as well as from the Persian ruler who returned the sacred vessels taken by the Babylonians when they sacked the Jerusalem Temple in 686 B.C.E. 5 Then the family...

Ezra 6: The Order to Rebuild

Biblical sources assert that after sacrifices were quickly restarted after the Return, the building of the Temple was delayed. Eventually, permission was obtained from the Persian officials, as well as financial support, for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem....

Ezra 9-10 Expulsion of Foreign Wives

Ezra was soon confronted with the problem of intermarriage of some Judeans with women from the neighboring nations. Reasoning that the Torah forbade such unions, Ezra forced these men to divorce their wives. 9-1 When this was over, the officers approached me, saying,...