A careful examination of Ezra 2, which purports to contain the list of The 42,360 exiles who returned immediately after 538 B.C., quickly demonstrates that, like its duplicate in Nehemiah 7:6-69, its historical basis, if it has any outside the fertile imagination of the Chronicler, is a census of the Judean community. This census was taken, not at the beginning, but rather at the end of the Persian period. Thus in the list of the leaders appear the names not only of Joshua and Zerubbabel, but also of Nehemiah and Ezra (Azariah). Certain leaders, such as Mordecai and Bigvai, bear Persian names which clearly imply that they lived far down in the Persian period. The family of the high priest Joshua already numbers nine hundred and ninety-three. In this census are also included the inhabitants of many towns outside Jerusalem, as, for example, Jericho, Gibeon, and Bethlehem. Moreover, certain towns are mentioned, such as Lud and Ono, which were not added to the Judean community until the latter part of the Persian period. In view of these facts and the unmistakable implications in the sermons of Haggai and Zechariah that in their day there had been no general return of their kinsmen from Babylon, the prevailing popular interpretation of this period of Israel's history is clearly untenable and misleading. If there was a general return of exiles from Babylon, it certainly did not come until after the walls had been rebuilt under the inspiring leadership of Nehemiah. The Jews to whom Haggai and Zechariah preached, and who rebuilt the second temple, were the people of the land who had survived the destruction of Jerusalem, or else had returned from their temporary refuge on the borders of the land of Egypt. III. Convulsions in the Persian Empire. After a brilliant and successful reign Cyrus died in 529 B.C., leaving his vast empire to his son Cambyses. The new king lacked the wisdom and statesmanship of his father, but inherited his love of conquest. Most of his short reign was devoted to the conquest of Egypt. From their hill-tops the Jews doubtless witnessed the march of the great armies of Persia, and were forced to contribute to their support. It was a period of change and transition, when old empires went down in ruin and new forces gained the ascendancy.