ABSTRACT
To implement their policy of repatriation, the Persians appointed Sheshbazzar as governor of Judah. Other returning exiles included Joshua the priest and Zerubbabel, the grandson of Jehoiachin, who supervised the repair and restoration of the Temple. During the early part of the reign of the Persian king, Darius I, Haggai urged the people to make the rebuilding of the Temple a major priority. By the middle of the fifth century bce, important steps were taken by Nehemiah and Ezra to reform the life of the Jewish community. Like Nehemiah, Ezra was a Persian state official who had come to Judah with royal authorization to reorganize religious affairs. The pilgrim festivals – Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot – and the New Year celebrations – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur provided a reason for the Jews who lived outside the land of Israel to visit Jerusalem regularly and regard it as their spiritual home.
