Judaism · Origins & people
Ezra’s return is placed in the Persian period
458 or 398 BCE (disputed)
The biblical account places Ezra’s return to Jerusalem under a king named Artaxerxes. Identifying that ruler as Artaxerxes I or II produces different dates. Scholars continue to examine how the narrative was assembled and how its chronology relates to Persian rule.
Why it matters
Ezra offers a useful introduction to the difference between a scriptural narrative, its later editing, and the historical chronology scholars try to reconstruct.
About the date
Alternative datings, not a sixty-year journey or continuous event.
Jerusalem
Destination of the return discussed in the source; the date remains disputed.
city orientation
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