MEYERS:n,ACHINGSECONDTEMPLEJUDAISMINlIGltTOFARCHAEOLOGY 155withouthavinga realsenseofwhatthePersiansweredoingathomeand
intheirholdings,organizedassat'Jpies.Theopportunitytobringtobear
GreekandPersianhistoricalwritingsandarchaeologyontheearlypost-
exilicageenablesone 10 appreciatemorefullyIhegrowinginfluenceof
thetempleandpriestlyestablishmentontheJewishcommunityofYehud
andhowitisreflectedintherealiaofthepcriod.l6
CharlesCarterpublishedtheresultsofhisinnovative,social-scientific
workontherecentarchaeologicalsurveysofIsraelandtheirimportancein
understandingthetwomainphasesofthePersianperiod,earlypostexilic
andmid-fifthcenturyandlater,andforestimatingIhesizeoftheJewish
population ofYehud.i7Amongthe mostsurprisingconclusionsarethe
sparsenumbersofrelurneesintheeraofZerubbabelandafter,andeven
inIhetimeofSecondZachariahCZech9--14).18Itisstrikinghowanaware-
nessofthesenewdataenablesonetoviewthebiblicalsources,andeven
theextrabiblicalwriltenevidencementioned,inanentirelynewhgluwhen
placedagainstthedemographicpicturereconstructcdfromarchaeology.
Thestruggletomaintainone'sethnicidentity,leIalonereligion,intheface
ofanunder-populationofJewsinthisperiodallowstiSbettertounder-
standthereformsofEzraandNehemiah.
Howoneintroducesthismaterialtostudentsis~lmatterfortheindivid-
ualtCHcher 10 decide.Howmuchvisualmaterialisneededtomakethese
points? Howmany articlesshouldsupplement a textorreader?At the
moment one has to pick and choose, and I have given a few new
approachestofamiliarmaterial.^19 Thesenewmaterialsareintendedtooffer
16 Grafssumm:Jryoftheperiod("P:tlestine."4:222-24),:JndGr:tbbc'sdct:Jilcdtreat-
ment(Persian(11/(1GreekPeriod~,27-146):treconvcnicmentrypointsforstudy.Similarly,
Leith's("IsmelamongtheN:nions:367-419)treatmentismoresymheticandmindfulofthe
biblicalmateri:tls,
17 ChulesE.Otrter, 71JeEmergenceoj}'eblldill/bePersianPeriotl:ASocialand
DemograpbicS//ldy(JSOTSup294;Sheffield:SheffiddAcademicl'rc~,1999).
18 Cartcr'spopul:uionfiguresforthePersian[ period(ca.515-450n.c.E.)arethirteen
thauS<lndandfartheremainderoflhePersianperiod(Per:;illll 11 ca.450-3321I.C.E.)twenty
thOllS;llld(/:."merp,ellct!r!f}'eblld,201).I-Iorerecents\lIdiesonthcpOpul:tlionofYehud,how-
ever,sugge5tthatCUler'sfigures<Iretoolow.SeenowtheessaysinOded[jpschitsand
JosephB1enkinsopp,l'(ls.,jllliabantl/bejudell/lsin/beNeo"!J(lbylollr"(/11Period(WinonaLake,
Ind.:Eiscnbr:ntns,2003),especially323-76.TIleimplicationsofC:lMer'sworkforthestudyof
thePersi:lll-periodbihlit'almaterialsisenormous111CAnchorBiblecommentaryonHagg:li
:llldZech1-8withC.L.J\leyer:;andthesucccssivevolurllt:ofZech9-14(Zechariah9-14[AB
25C;GardenCity,N.Y.:Doublt:<l:ly,1993])rdle<.1theinnueneeofCarteronourthinking,cslX"
ciallythelattervolume.Seemymostreccnt('ss:ty(I-kycrs,- JewishCultureinGreco-Roman
Palestine."13')-42)inadditiontoCarter(EmergenceojYe/)ud.294-324)
19 DClXndingUllthecourseoneistC:Jehing,oneImyturntobiblicalhandbookssuch
asCooj,pn,OxfordHistoryoj/heBiblicalWorkl,encyclopedias(OEIINEorNEAHL),orthe
scholarlyliteratureforll1:lterials.NotetheSpt:"Ci:11rt.'SOllrCeSlistedinthisvolumebyAubin.