The Post-Exilic Period

Persia conquers Babylon, and Cyrus the Great issues a decree allowing captive peoples to return home. The first wave of Jews returns to rebuild the Temple, completed in 516 BCE— exactly 70 years after its destruction, as Jeremiah prophesied. But the Second Temple is smaller and less glorious; older people who remembered Solomon’s Temple weep. There is no Ark of the Covenant (lost when the Temple was destroyed). Later waves bring Ezra, who reestablishes Torah observance, and Nehemiah, who rebuilds Jerusalem’s walls despite opposition. There are no more kings—only Persian governors. Jewish identity crystallizes around Torah, Temple, and the hope of a coming Messiah who will restore David’s throne. The Hebrew Bible effectively closes with this period.