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The second return from exile - Ezra (458 BC)
After the completion of the temple in 516 BC, there is almost total silence for nearly sixty years. During this time the events recorded in the Book of Esther took place.
According to the Book of Ezra, Ezra returned in the seventh year of Artaxerxes I (Ezra 7:7-8), which would be 458 BC. He was accompanied by about 1750 people. His aim was to rebuild the religious life of Judah, "For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel" (Ezra 7:10). The ministry of the prophet Malachi was also during this period. Ezra was a very prominent figure in Jewish tradition, but is often ignored in modern Biblical studies. It was during the ministry of Ezra that the canon of Scripture was completed.
Ezra successfully led the people in a renewal of the covenant, appointed priests and brought the holy vessels into the temple (Ezra 8). He also carried out various social reforms, including ending mixed marriages. However his reforms did not last long, and had to be renewed by Nehemiah around 25 years later.
Ezra is not mentioned until the last part of the Book of Nehemiah. It is possible that he returned to Susa after 458 BC, then returned with Nehemiah in 445 BC for the dedication of the rebuilt city walls.
The prophet Malachi
Haggai and Zechariah prophesied from 520 BC. There was then silence until Malachi prophesied in 450 BC. The prophet Malachi addressed the situation that the high hopes remained unfulfilled, which led the people to become disillusioned with Yahweh, so they returned to the same sins as before the exile. Malachi addresses the same sins as Nehemiah 13. The priests are not doing their duty, offering blemished sacrifices (1:6-14), and failing to instruct the people in the law (2:1-9). The ordinary people not taking their religious activities seriously. They are questioning whether it is worth serving God (2:17). They are not paying tithes, which Levites depend on (3:6-10), and asking what the benefits are of obeying the law (3:13-18). There are also problems of adultery and divorce (2:4-16, 3:5), and marriage to foreign women (2:11).
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