Editing History of Israel (section)

===Persian period (538–332 BCE)===
{{See also|Return to Zion|Yehud (Persian province)|Cyrus Cylinder}}
[[File:YehudObverse 1.jpg|thumb|upright|Obverse of [[Yehud coinage|Yehud silver coin]]]]
[[File:JUDAEA,_Persian_Period._Anonymous._Circa_375-332_BCE.jpg|thumb|upright|Silver coin (''[[gerah]]'') minted in the Persian province of Yehud, dated <abbr>c.</abbr> 375-332 BCE. ''Obv'': Bearded head wearing crown, possibly representing the Persian Great King. ''Rev'': Falcon facing, head right, with wings spread; [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew]] ''YHD'' to right.]]
In 538 BCE, [[Cyrus the Great]] of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] conquered Babylon and took over its empire. [[Edict of Cyrus|Cyrus issued a proclamation]] granting religious freedom to all peoples subjugated by the Babylonians (see the [[Cyrus Cylinder]]). According to the Bible, Jewish exiles in Babylon, including 50,000 Judeans led by [[Zerubabel]], returned to Judah to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. The [[Second Temple]] was subsequently completed c. 515 BCE.<ref>Nodet 1999, p. 25.</ref> A second group of 5,000, led by [[Ezra]] and [[Nehemiah]], returned to Judah in 456 BCE. The first was empowered by the Persian king to enforce [[Torah|religious rules]], the second had the status of governor and a royal mission to restore the walls of the city.<ref>Soggin 1998, p. 311.</ref> The country remained a province of the Achaemenid empire called [[Yehud (Province)|Yehud]] until 332 BCE.

The final text of the [[Torah]] (the first five books of the Bible) is thought to have been written during the Persian period (probably 450–350 BCE). The text was formed by editing and unifying earlier texts.{{Sfn|Frei|2001|p=6}} The returning [[Israelites]] adopted an [[Aramaic script]] (also known as the [[Ktav Ashuri|Ashuri alphabet]]), which they brought back from Babylon; this is the current Hebrew script. The [[Hebrew calendar]] closely resembles the [[Babylonian calendar]] and probably dates from this period.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jewish religious year |website=Encyclopedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303554/Jewish-religious-year/34907/Origin-and-development |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226044744/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303554/Jewish-religious-year/34907/Origin-and-development |archive-date=26 December 2014 |access-date=25 August 2014}}</ref>

The Bible describes tension between the returnees, the elite of the First Temple period,<ref name="Pastor" /> and those who had remained in Judah.<ref>Miller 1986, p. 458.</ref> It is possible that the returnees, supported by the Persian monarchy, became large landholders at the expense of the people who had remained to work the land in Judah, whose opposition to the Second Temple would have reflected a fear that exclusion from the cult would deprive them of land rights.<ref name="Pastor" >Jack Pastor [https://books.google.com/books?id=AGeHDna_9dwC&pg=PT28 ''Land and Economy in Ancient Palestine,''] [[Routledge]] (1997) 2nd.ed 2013 {{isbn|978-1-134-72264-8}} p.14.</ref> Judah had become in practice a [[theocracy]], ruled by hereditary [[High Priest (Judaism)|High Priests]]<ref>Wylen 1996, p. 25.</ref> and a Persian-appointed governor, frequently Jewish, charged with keeping order and seeing that tribute was paid.<ref>Grabbe 2004, pp. 154–5.</ref>

A Judean military garrison was placed by the Persians on [[Elephantine Island]] near Aswan in Egypt. In the early 20th century, [[Elephantine papyri|175 papyrus documents]] recording activity in this community were discovered, including the "Passover Papyrus", a letter instructing the garrison on how to correctly conduct the [[Passover]] feast.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 3259988|title = The Passover Papyrus from Elephantine|journal = Journal of Biblical Literature|volume = 31|issue = 1|pages = 1–33|last1 = Arnold|first1 = William R.|year = 1912| doi=10.2307/3259988 }}</ref>