Ezra, Nehemiah Introduction

The Israelites Head for Jerusalem and Rebuild their Temple.

Before we get into these books, which were at one time a single book, we should look at the setting and the cast of characters involved.

As we read in 2 Kings, the Babylonian Empire invaded Judah, destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and took the more influential people into captivity where they remained for 70 years.  Over time, the Babylonian Empire declined in power and was overtaken by the Persian Empire.

The Persians, unlike the Babylonians, didn’t usually take conquered people into captivity.  They usually allowed their conquered enemies to remain in place under local leadership. They even allowed them to retain their religion rather than ransack and destroy their temples. They didn’t try to convert them to their religion or culture. They were more benign in their domination. Perhaps they were more interested in keeping the peace so they could extract resources and taxes than killing people and destroying their land. It would also be less costly for the Persians if they didn’t have to have a large military presence in these lands to keep the peace.

After their seventy years of captivity, and now under Persian control, the Jews were told by King Cyrus of Persia that they could return to their homeland.  Not only that, but the government of Persia even funded their return to Jerusalem, and provided a military escort and transportation assets.

But not all the Jews wanted to “return” and most of them didn’t. Many had never been to Jerusalem.  They were born and grew up in Babylon/Persia. The only home many had ever known was where they were. Some were too old or frail to make the journey. Others felt too settled and comfortable to endure the hardships of the journey and the arduous task of rebuilding their ancestral homeland.  Perhaps the most eager to go were the young, the strong, the adventure seekers who were attracted to the challenge.  Or maybe they just wanted to get away from Mom and Dad or to get away from relatives they never got along with.

Can you imagine the family discussions (argument) that took place when this life-changing decision had to be made? “I can’t move, I’d have to find a new hairdresser.”  “I want to go because my sweetheart’s family is going.” “We can’t leave Grandpa here alone?” Or “This is a good time to get rid of Grandpa.” Perhaps the people were offered assistance in deciding, sort of an ancient version of a 1-800 hotline for help.

Not only did they not all return, but they also didn’t return all at once. Those who did make the trek to Jerusalem did so in three waves.

The first wave was led by Sheshbazzar and Joshua who restored the altar and laid the foundation for the rebuilding of the temple.

A second wave was led by Ezra, a priest and scribe. He led the spiritual rebuilding of the Jewish community (Ezra chapters 7-10).

A third wave was led by Nehemiah who was in charge of rebuilding the walls around the city of Jerusalem (Nehemiah chapters 1-6).

With that background information and overview, now we can take a look at the cast of characters.

Here is the cast of characters:

Among the Persian kings were:

Cyrus was the one who issued the initial edict that allowed the Israelites, led by Zerubbabel, to return to Jerusalem.

Artaxerxes placed a temporary halt to the construction of the temple until legal challenges could be resolved.

Darius gave the order to resume construction and complete the temple after a legal dispute put a halt to it. 

Xerxes, also known as Ahasuerus, succeeded Darius and was the king featured in the book of Esther.

Some scholars believe that Sheshbazzar was another name for Zerubbabel. And why not? Both men were called a prince of Judah and governor (Hag. 1:1) and both were recognized for restoring the temple’s foundation (Ezra 3:8-11).

Name changes were quite common, back in the day, and even now. Abram became Abraham. Sarai became Sarah. Jacob became Israel. We find in the book of Daniel that when and his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, were taken to Babylon, they were given new names. Daniel became known as Belteshazzar, and his friends became known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These new names indicated that they were now under the authority of the Babylonians.

People still change their names today for any number of reasons. How seriously could you take a tough guy movie star named Marion Morrison? Doesn’t John Wayne sound better? And does a debonair, handsome movie star named Cary Grant sound better than his birth name of Archibald Leach.

Even members of the British royal family changed their names when they received a promotion to King. Prince Charles became King George. Children who are adopted from a foreign land might get a new name. Criminals who enter the Witness Protection Program get new identities. Children of infamous people, such as Nazi war criminals, might change their name, also. I imagine many children named after Adolf Hitler in the 1930’s also changed their names after the war.

Judas, son of James, was also known as Thaddeus. Simon was also called Peter. Barnabus was a nickname, his birth name was Joseph. Thomas was also known as Didymus.

During periods of anti-German sentiments, such as WWI and WWII, people not only changed their names, (Prince Louis of Battenberg changed his name to Mountbatten). Even animals were renamed. The German Shepherd was renamed “Alsatian” and reverted to German Shepherd in 1977. 

These new names reflected a change in a person’s character and life. And we might all be given new names. In Rev. 2:17 it says, “To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.”

Among the Jews were:

Sheshbazzar, also known as Zerubbabel by some scholars, was the “Prince of Judah” who led the first group to Jerusalem. He provided secular leadership for the group.

There is much confusion concerning the names of some of these Persian kings. Several kings went by the same name. Some kings were identified by one name in the Bible, but by other names in secular histories. I’ve given up trying to keep track of who is who.

Joshua was the high priest who accompanied Zerubbabel who served as the religious leader of the group. Today, we might call these two the commander and chaplain of the unit.

Ezra was a priest and a scribe who led the second wave of returnees. He oversaw the civil and religious affairs when the Jews returned to their homeland.

Haggai was a prophet who encouraged the Jews to resume the building of the temple when construction was halted.

Zechariah was another prophet who was a contemporary of Haggai. He provided encouragement to the people to resume the construction of the temple.

Malachi was the last of the prophets, about 85 years later, who admonished the Jews when their worship of God became lax, tithes weren’t being paid and diseased animals were being offered as sacrifices in the temple.

Nehemiah was a cup bearer to the king of Persia who was given a leave of absence so he could rebuild the walls surrounding the city of Jerusalem.

Among the enemies of Israel were: 

Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem used lies, intimidation, threats of violence, legal actions, etc. to disrupt the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

Tabeel was a Persian official in Samaria who joined with other officials in sending a letter to Artaxerxes for the purpose of hindering the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem (Ezra 4:13).

Eliashib was the high priest who was the son-in-law of Sanballat. He allowed Tobiah to take over the storerooms of the temple for his own use.

Here is a timeline of what happens during this period. It includes the drama found in the Book of Esther which will be the next book that we will study. 

Meanwhile, back in Persia, the drama found in the Book of Esther is taking place.

Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem:

Why am I including Malachi in this timeline when he wouldn’t appear on the scene until 85 years after the second temple had been dedicated? The Israelites were back to their old pre-captivity ways. Their 70 years of captivity cured them of idolatry but didn’t cure them of becoming lukewarm in their spiritual lives. Malachi would accuse them of robbing God by not paying tithes, ignoring the Sabbath, intermarrying with non-believers and tolerating a corrupt priesthood where diseased animals were offered to God.