Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. meant a twofold crisis: not only was Jerusalem destroyed and countless Judeans forced to leave their land, but also they believed that the Divine Presence--the shekhina--departed from Jerusalem. In order to bring back the Divine Presence, the people felt compelled to rebuild the Temple and publicly recite the Torah. During the exile in Babylon, the Jews attempted to return to their laws and cultural practices. It is likely that the Jewish Bible took its final shape and became the central text of the Jewish religion during this period.

In 539 B.C.E., the armies of Cyrus, king of Persia, conquered Babylon and laid claim to the territories held by the Babylonians. The barrel-shaped cylinder of Cyrus from ca. 538 B.C.E. recorded the conquest of Babylon as well as his decree to rehabilitate desolate lands, cities, and temples. The fervent revival of religious practice by the Babylonian Jews was aided by Cyrus, who decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem. More specifically, he ordered that the religious institutions of the Jewish faith be strengethened. The Bible also records the decree of Cyrus in 2 Chronicles 36:22,23; Ezra 1:1-4.

The very next year (538 B.C.E.), Zerubbabel, a Jewish high priest, led 42,000 repatriates on the "First Return" to Jerusalem. Under his leadership and then under Nehemiah, a Jewish official of the Persian court, the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. Ezra, a priest-scribe who led the "Second Return," was authorized by the Persian king, Antaxerxes I, to instruct professing Jews in the laws of Moses and the observance of Jewish laws. The Bible recounts these transformations in Ezra 8.

Despite the presence of a Persian governor in Judea, the Jews enjoyed a high degree of autonomy that is demonstrated in silver coins minted in the fourth century with the inscription, "Yahud," the Aramaic name for Judea. The right to mint coins represented the respected political status of a province. The Yehud Coins of ca. 350 B.C.E. attest to Judea's prestige, which was due to its capital, Jerusalem, and the Temple.

Nehemiah governed Judea for approximately 12 years. When he died, internal administration passed to the hereditary High Priests, who served first under the Persians and, then, after the invasions of Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.E., under Hellenistic domination.

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