This book presents a unique approach to Ezra-Nehemiah in the combination of two approaches - the literary and the historical. It challenges commonly held assumptions not from radical theory, but from careful attention to the text itself.

Chapter 1 Introduction; Part 1 Literary Analysis; Chapter 2 Ezra in the Hebrew Bible; Chapter 3 Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible; Chapter 4 1 Esdras and Other Ezra and Nehemiah Traditions; Chapter 5 The Traditions from a Literary Point of View; Part 2 The Historical Question; Chapter 6 Ezra and History; Chapter 7 Nehemiah and History; Chapter 8 Summary and Conclusions;