Investigation: Ezra, Nehemiah and the Persian Calendar
Who came first, and how the years are counted
Three kings named Artaxerxes ruled Persia: Artaxerxes I (465–424 BC), Artaxerxes II (405/404–359) and Artaxerxes III (359–338). The Bible gives regnal years but not which Artaxerxes.
The traditional order: Ezra arrives in 458 BC (Artaxerxes I year 7), Nehemiah in 445 (year 20), both active in Nehemiah 8 and 12. The alternative: Nehemiah in 445, Ezra in 398 (Artaxerxes II year 7). A middle view emends Ezra 7:7 to the 37th year (428 BC).
Arguments for each order
- Ezra first (458 BC)
- The books' own order; Nehemiah 8:9 and 12:26, 36 put them together; Ezra's mission fits Artaxerxes I's need for loyalty after the Egyptian revolt; no textual emendation needed.
- Nehemiah first (Ezra 398 BC)
- Ezra 10:6 has Ezra use the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, and a Johanan was high priest c. 407; Ezra finds a wall (Ezra 9:9, perhaps metaphorical) and a populous city; Nehemiah's memoir never mentions Ezra's reforms; the joint scenes may be editorial.
- Ezra in 428 BC (37th year)
- Keeps both under Artaxerxes I and allows overlap; requires a textual correction for which no manuscript evidence exists.
| Date (BC) | Event | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 465–424 | Artaxerxes I | Babylonian and Persian records |
| 458 | Ezra (traditional) | Ezra 7:7–8 |
| 445/444 | Nehemiah's commission (Nisan, year 20) | Nehemiah 2:1 |
| 433/432 | Nehemiah returns to the king (year 32) | Nehemiah 5:14; 13:6 |
| c. 430s–420s | Nehemiah's second term (length unknown) | Nehemiah 13:6–7 |
| 410 | Elephantine temple destroyed | Aramaic papyri |
| 407 | Petition to Bagohi; Johanan high priest | Aramaic papyri |
| 398 | Ezra (alternative) | Ezra 7:7 read as Artaxerxes II |
Chislev before Nisan
Nehemiah 1:1 places the news in Chislev (9th month) of the 20th year; 2:1 places the request in Nisan (1st month) of the 20th year. If the year began in Nisan, Chislev of year 20 would come after Nisan of year 20. Solutions: Nehemiah counted Artaxerxes' years from his accession in late 465 BC (so a regnal year ran from about December to December); Judeans used an autumn (Tishri) new year for regnal years, as some think the Judean kings did; or 1:1 originally said "nineteenth." Babylonian business documents show Persian regnal years were counted from Nisan in Babylonia, which complicates the first solution.
"Artaxerxes king of Babylon"
Nehemiah 13:6 calls the Persian king "king of Babylon," a title Persian kings did use in Babylonian documents. Ezra 6:22 calls Darius "king of Assyria." Both reflect the empire's older titles.
No consensus
Fogielman (2024) argues the 398 BC date for Ezra arises partly from theological assumptions about the order of reform; others defend it on chronological grounds. The site presents both, labels the traditional dates as traditional, and does not treat any as settled.
Then and Later
Ezra and Nehemiah remembered
- c. 180 BCBen Sira Praises Zerubbabel, Jeshua and Nehemiah, who raised the walls; does not mention Ezra.
- 2nd century BC2 Maccabees Credits Nehemiah with rebuilding the temple and altar and founding a library of the books of kings, prophets and David.
- c. AD 93Josephus Places Ezra under Xerxes and Nehemiah after him; adds Sanballat and Alexander stories.Jewish Antiquities 11
- c. AD 1004 Ezra Ezra restores the scriptures by inspiration.
- TalmudRabbinic memory Ezra founds the Great Assembly; Ezra–Nehemiah is called by Ezra's name, and the sages ask why the book is not named after Nehemiah.Bava Batra 15a; Sanhedrin 93b
What the evidence shows
- Nehemiah came in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I (445/444 BC).
- Ezra came before Nehemiah.Source: C.-A. Fogielman, "The Date of Ezra's Mission: Undoing Some Chronological Theologoumena," Biblica 105.3 (2024): 356–373 (abstract) ↗
- Persian kings used the title "king of Babylon."
- Ben Sira praises Nehemiah but does not mention Ezra.
Continue the journey
Journey of a PassageNehemiah 1:1; 2:1: Chislev, then Nisan, in the twentieth yearNehemiah hears the news in Chislev (9th month) "in the twentieth year" and speaks to the king in Nisan (1st month) "in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes." All the library's texts agree.More from this lesson
Investigations
Optional deep dives: the ancient sources, the physical evidence, and every interpretation side by side, including unconventional ones, each labeled for what it is.
The Temple at Elephantine and the Letter to BagohiPapyri: authentic originals · Temple: documented · Connection to Ezra: context only
What do the Elephantine papyri show about Jewish worship in Ezra's century?
A Jewish garrison on Elephantine island in southern Egypt kept a temple of YHW in the 5th century BC. When it was destroyed in 410 BC, the community petitioned Bagohi, governor of Judah, and the sons of Sanballat of Samaria (407 BC), mentioning an earlier unanswered letter to Johanan the high priest in Jerusalem. A memorandum permits rebuilding with meal offerings and incense. The papyri are contemporary evidence of Jewish diversity and Persian administration; they do not mention Ezra or Nehemiah.
Open the full investigation →Why this matters to the rest of Scripture
- The seventh year of Artaxerxes.
- "In the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe."
- "Nehemiah, whose renown is great, who raised up for us the walls that were fallen."