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2. Was the return promised by God? If so, through which prophet? (Ezra 1:1)
3. How many Jews first returned to Jerusalem from the exile? (Ezra 2:64-65)
4. How long after their return to Jerusalem did the Jews begin to rebuild The Temple? (Ezra 3:8) (see Temples)
5. Did the Jews face any opposition to their rebuilding of The Temple? (Ezra 4:4-5)
6. When was the rebuilding of The Temple completed? (Ezra 6:15)
Note: The book of Ezra covers a period of nearly 80 years, from about 536 B.C. when the first Jews returned from the Babylonian exile (see Why Babylon?) to about 458 B.C. when Ezra arrived in Jerusalem. It marks the transition time from the fall of the Babylonians (who conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the first Temple, and took the Jews, including the prophet Daniel, away into exile) to the rise of the Persians (who conquered the Babylonian empire and allowed the Jews to return to their homeland).