Ezra, ‏עזרא‎—The Book of Ezra relates the first return of the Jews under Zerubbabel from Babylon to Palestine by the permission of King Cyrus (‏כורש‎) of Persia, the construction of the altar, the foundation and the building of the Temple by permission of King Darius. It also describes the second settlement of Jews from Babylon in Palestine under Ezra, the Scribe, in the reign of Artaxerxes, and his energy in purifying the community from intermarriages with heathen people. The book is written in Hebrew, with the exception of iv. 8–vii. 27, which includes several documents written in Chaldee by the Persian kings. The author of the book is probably Ezra; he speaks of himself in the first person (vii. 28; viii. 1, &c.); he is also named as the author of the book in the Babylonian Talmud; and lastly, the name of the book is Ezra, although Ezra is only mentioned in the second half of the book. The special merit of Ezra was the promotion of the study of the Law; his name is followed by the title, “A ready scribe of the Law of Moses” (‏סופר מהיר בתורת ה׳‎ vii. 6), and “Scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes for Israel” (‏ספר דברי מצות ה׳ וחקיו על ישראל‎ vii. 11); the task he set to himself was “to study the Law of God (‏לדרוש את תורת ה׳‎), and to practise it, and to teach in Israel Law and judgment” (vii. 10).