Temple rebuilding got under way under Governor Zerubbabel’s direction and, after serious interference and the infiltration of some apathy among the returned Jews, was finally completed by March of 515*B.C.E. More exiles returned with priest-scribe Ezra in 468*B.C.E., bringing additional things “to beautify the house of God, which is in Jerusalem” (Ezr 7:27), this by authorization of King Artaxerxes (Longimanus).
About a century and a half after Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest, the walls and gates of the city were still broken down. Nehemiah obtained permission from Artaxerxes to go to Jerusalem and remedy this situation. (Ne 2:1-8) The account that follows of Nehemiah’s nighttime survey and of his apportioning the construction work to different family groups is a major source of information about the layout of the city at that time, especially of its gates. (Ne 2:11-15; 3:1-32; see GATE, GATEWAY.) This rebuilding was in fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy and established the year that marked the start of the 70 prophetic “weeks” involving the coming of the Messiah. (Da 9:24-27) Despite harassment, in the short space of 52 days, in the year 455*B.C.E., they ringed Jerusalem with a wall and gates.—Ne 4:1-23; 6:15; 7:1