Gide. I'm Gary Stevens.

And welcome to the second series of the History in the Bible podcast.

More of the history in more of the books in all the Bibles.

Episode 2.7, Farewell to the Tanakh.

In the last episode of the history in the Bible, I covered the third and final stage

of the Judean's return to Judah and to Nehemiah and Ezra.

The Jews are now in the Persian province of Yehoud.

We know almost nothing about the Persian century between Nehemiah and the conquest of Alexander the Great.

Apart from the romance recounted in the book of Esther,

we have only two incidents noted by the Jewish

historian Josephus, writing at the height of the Roman Empire more than 400 years after the

events he relates. The historian records an incident of uncertain dating, but perhaps as early

as the time of Ezra himself.

Jesua, brother to the high priest, Johanen, had plotted with the Persian governor

to gain the priesthood for himself. In a fit of fury, Johanen slaughtered his own brother

Jesua in the temple.

This would set a pattern of government villainy and venality that would persist for centuries.

Outraged that the Jews would violate their own temple,

the Persian governor imposed a temple tax on the Judeans

to atone for their desecration.

The second anecdote Josephus tells is an unsubtle snipe against the Samaritans.

The Samaritans claim to be descendants of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh,

...