At first, these two books formed only one book. They provide us with some information concerning the work accomplished by these two men. The following steps toward the restoration of the Jewish community can be seen:
Beginning with the decree of Cyrus in 538 B.C., several groups of exiles come back to Jerusalem and Zerubbabel rebuilds THE TEMPLE: see Ezra 1:1 to 4:5 and 4:24 to 6:2.
Then, the enemies of the Jews try to prevent the reconstruction of THE CITY (see Ezra 4:7-23).
In 458 perhaps, Ezra comes to organize the community, imposing the Law of Moses as a rule (see Ezra 7 to 10).
In 445 Nehemiah comes from Persia and he rebuilds THE WALLS. Then he administers Jerusalem for twelve years (see Ne 1 to 7).
Finally, there is Nehemiah’s second mission in 425 (see Ne 13).
NOTE: excerpted from the introductory material for this book.
