T. Eskenazi, In an Age of Prose: A Literary Approach to Ezra-Nehemiah (SBL Monograph Series, 36; Atlanta: Scholars, 1988), pp. 11-14 et passim. For early criticism of Eskenazi, see J. VanderKam, “Ezra-Nehemiah or Ezra and Nehemiah?” in J. Blenkinsopp and E. Ulrich (eds.), Priests, Prophets, and Scribes: Essays on the Formation and Heritage of Second Temple Judaism in Honour of Joseph Blenkinsopp (JSOTSup, 149; Sheffield: JSOT, 1992), pp. 55-75; and D. Kraemer, “On the Relationship of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah,” JSOT 59 (1993), pp. 73-92. More recent dissenting voices include B. Becking, “Ezra on the Move … Trends and Perspectives on the Character and his Book,” in F. Martinez and E. Noort (eds.), Perspectives in the Study of the Old Testament and Early Judaism: A Symposium in Honour of Adam S. van der Woude on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday (VTSup, 73; Leiden: Brill, 1998), pp. 154-79; and J. Pakkala, “The Disunity of Ezra-Nehemiah,” in M. Boda and P. Reddit (eds.), Unity and Disunity in Ezra-Nehemiah: Redaction, Rhetoric, and Reader (Hebrew Bible Monographs, 17; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2008), pp. 200-215. Eskenazi, like most scholars, acknowledges the complex compositional processes that led to the book’s final form(s); see below (n. 9) on compositional models.

 T. Eskenazi, In an Age of Prose: A Literary Approach to Ezra-Nehemiah (SBL Monograph Series, 36; Atlanta: Scholars, 1988), pp. 11-14 et passim. For early criticism of Eskenazi, see J. VanderKam, “Ezra-Nehemiah or Ezra and Nehemiah?” in J. Blenkinsopp and E. Ulrich (eds.), Priests, Prophets, and Scribes: Essays on the Formation and Heritage of Second Temple Judaism in Honour of Joseph Blenkinsopp (JSOTSup, 149; Sheffield: JSOT, 1992), pp. 55-75; and D. Kraemer, “On the Relationship of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah,” JSOT 59 (1993), pp. 73-92. More recent dissenting voices include B. Becking, “Ezra on the Move … Trends and Perspectives on the Character and his Book,” in F. Martinez and E. Noort (eds.), Perspectives in the Study of the Old Testament and Early Judaism: A Symposium in Honour of Adam S. van der Woude on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday (VTSup, 73; Leiden: Brill, 1998), pp. 154-79; and J. Pakkala, “The Disunity of Ezra-Nehemiah,” in M. Boda and P. Reddit (eds.), Unity and Disunity in Ezra-Nehemiah: Redaction, Rhetoric, and Reader (Hebrew Bible Monographs, 17; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2008), pp. 200-215. Eskenazi, like most scholars, acknowledges the complex compositional processes that led to the book’s final form(s); see below (n. 9) on compositional models.)| false
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 L. Grabbe, Ezra-Nehemiah (Old Testament Readings; London and New York: Routledge, 1998), pp. 83-86. Grabbe argues that Josephus’s source for Ezra was likely 1 Esdras, while his source for Nehemiah may have been a version quite different from the canonical book.

 L. Grabbe, Ezra-Nehemiah (Old Testament Readings; London and New York: Routledge, 1998), pp. 83-86. Grabbe argues that Josephus’s source for Ezra was likely 1 Esdras, while his source for Nehemiah may have been a version quite different from the canonical book.)| false
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 H.K. Bhabha, The Location of Culture (London: New York: Routledge, 1994), p. 171.

 H.K. Bhabha, The Location of Culture (London: New York: Routledge, 1994), p. 171.)| false
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 R.S. Sugirtharajah, Postcolonial Criticism and Biblical Interpretation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 11-28; F. Segovia, “Mapping the Postcolonial Optic in Biblical Criticism: Meaning and Scope,” in S.D. Moore and F. Segovia (eds.), Postcolonial Biblical Criticism: Interdisciplinary Intersections (New York: T&T Clark, 2005), pp. 23-78.

 R.S. Sugirtharajah, Postcolonial Criticism and Biblical Interpretation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 11-28; F. Segovia, “Mapping the Postcolonial Optic in Biblical Criticism: Meaning and Scope,” in S.D. Moore and F. Segovia (eds.), Postcolonial Biblical Criticism: Interdisciplinary Intersections (New York: T&T Clark, 2005), pp. 23-78.)| false
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 W. Gafney, “A Prophet-Terrorist(a) and an Imperial Sympathizer: An Empire-Critical, Postcolonial Reading of the No’adyah/Nechemyah Conflict,” Black Theology: An International Journal 9 (2011), pp. 161-76; and D. Polaski, “Nehemiah: Subject of the Empire, Subject of Writing,” in I. Kalimi (ed.), New Perspectives on Ezra-Nehemiah: History and Historiography, Text, Literature, and Interpretation (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2012), pp. 37-59.

 W. Gafney, “A Prophet-Terrorist(a) and an Imperial Sympathizer: An Empire-Critical, Postcolonial Reading of the No’adyah/Nechemyah Conflict,” Black Theology: An International Journal 9 (2011), pp. 161-76; and D. Polaski, “Nehemiah: Subject of the Empire, Subject of Writing,” in I. Kalimi (ed.), New Perspectives on Ezra-Nehemiah: History and Historiography, Text, Literature, and Interpretation (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2012), pp. 37-59.)| false
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 E.R.M. Dusinberre, Empire, Authority, and Autonomy in Achaemenid Anatolia (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013), pp. 269-70. A. Fitzpatrick-McKinley (“Indigenous Elites in Yehud: The Inscriptional Evidence from Xanthus, Tayma and Dedan, and the Nehemiah Memoir,” in idem. [ed.], Assessing Biblical and Classical Sources for the Reconstruction of Persian Influence, History, and Culture [Classica et Orentalia, 10; Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2015], pp. 127-47 [139]) notes that Wadi Daliyeh seals contain Persian iconography, suggesting a degree of explicit Persian influence among Samarian elites, in contrast with the lack of Persian influence elsewhere in Achaemenid Palestine.

 E.R.M. Dusinberre, Empire, Authority, and Autonomy in Achaemenid Anatolia (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013), pp. 269-70. A. Fitzpatrick-McKinley (“Indigenous Elites in Yehud: The Inscriptional Evidence from Xanthus, Tayma and Dedan, and the Nehemiah Memoir,” in idem. [ed.], Assessing Biblical and Classical Sources for the Reconstruction of Persian Influence, History, and Culture [Classica et Orentalia, 10; Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2015], pp. 127-47 [139]) notes that Wadi Daliyeh seals contain Persian iconography, suggesting a degree of explicit Persian influence among Samarian elites, in contrast with the lack of Persian influence elsewhere in Achaemenid Palestine.)| false
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 D. Carr, The Formation of the Hebrew Bible: A New Reconstruction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 182.

 D. Carr, The Formation of the Hebrew Bible: A New Reconstruction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 182.)| false
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 H.K. Bhabha, “Preface to the Routledge Classics Edition,” in The Location of Culture (Abingdon: Routledge Classics, 2004), p. xiv.

 H.K. Bhabha, “Preface to the Routledge Classics Edition,” in The Location of Culture (Abingdon: Routledge Classics, 2004), p. xiv.)| false
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 P. Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire (trans. P.T. Daniels; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2002), pp. 165-254; P.J. Kosmin, The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in the Seleucid Empire (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2014), pp. 208-221.

 P. Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire (trans. P.T. Daniels; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2002), pp. 165-254; P.J. Kosmin, The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in the Seleucid Empire (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2014), pp. 208-221.)| false
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 C. Jones, “Seeking the Divine, Divining the Seekers: The Status of Outsiders who Seek Yahweh in Ezra 6:21,” JHS 15 (2015), pp. 1-23.

 C. Jones, “Seeking the Divine, Divining the Seekers: The Status of Outsiders who Seek Yahweh in Ezra 6:21,” JHS 15 (2015), pp. 1-23.)| false
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 P. Dion, “Aramaic Words for ‘Letter,’” Semeia 22 (1981), pp. 77-88 (81); quoted in Doering, Ancient Jewish Letters, p. 101. The term appears in Hebrew in Ezra 4:7 and 7:11, and in Aramaic in Ezra 4:7, 18, 23; 5:5.

 P. Dion, “Aramaic Words for ‘Letter,’” Semeia 22 (1981), pp. 77-88 (81); quoted in Doering, Ancient Jewish Letters, p. 101. The term appears in Hebrew in Ezra 4:7 and 7:11, and in Aramaic in Ezra 4:7, 18, 23; 5:5.)| false
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 For my translation, see Fried, Ezra and the Law in History and Tradition (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2014), pp. 12-21; Fried bases her translation on R. Steiner, “The MBQR at Qumran, the Episkopos in the Athenian Empire, and the Meaning of LBQR‘ in Ezra 7:14: On the Relationship of Ezra’s Mission to the Persian Legal Project,” JBL 120 (2001), pp. 623-46 (624-30).

 For my translation, see Fried, Ezra and the Law in History and Tradition (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2014), pp. 12-21; Fried bases her translation on R. Steiner, “The MBQR at Qumran, the Episkopos in the Athenian Empire, and the Meaning of LBQR‘ in Ezra 7:14: On the Relationship of Ezra’s Mission to the Persian Legal Project,” JBL 120 (2001), pp. 623-46 (624-30).)| false
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 H.G.M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah (WBC, 16; Waco: Word, 1985), pp. 103-105.

 H.G.M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah (WBC, 16; Waco: Word, 1985), pp. 103-105.)| false
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 G. Knoppers, “The Construction of Judean Diasporic Identity in Ezra-Nehemiah,” JHS 15 (2015), pp. 1-29 (12); C. Jones, ‘“The Wealth of Nations Shall Come to You’: Light, Tribute, and Implacement in Isaiah 60,” VT 64 (2014), pp. 611-22.

 G. Knoppers, “The Construction of Judean Diasporic Identity in Ezra-Nehemiah,” JHS 15 (2015), pp. 1-29 (12); C. Jones, ‘“The Wealth of Nations Shall Come to You’: Light, Tribute, and Implacement in Isaiah 60,” VT 64 (2014), pp. 611-22.)| false
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 A. Kuhrt, “The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid Imperial Policy,” JSOT 25 (1983), pp. 83-97.

 A. Kuhrt, “The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid Imperial Policy,” JSOT 25 (1983), pp. 83-97.)| false
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 L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, “אֲמָנָה,” in A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (trans. M. Richardson; Leiden: Brill, rev. edn, 1994), p. 64.

 L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, “אֲמָנָה,” in A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (trans. M. Richardson; Leiden: Brill, rev. edn, 1994), p. 64.)| false
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 L. Fried, “A Religious Association in Second Temple Judah? A Comment on Nehemiah 10,” Transeuphratène 30 (2005), pp. 77-96.

 L. Fried, “A Religious Association in Second Temple Judah? A Comment on Nehemiah 10,” Transeuphratène 30 (2005), pp. 77-96.)| false
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 T. Eskenazi, “Nehemiah 9-10: Structure and Significance,” JHS 3 (2001), §2.5. Eskenazi rightly argues that the penitential prayer and covenant renewal that follow both express the community’s growing understanding of Torah.

 T. Eskenazi, “Nehemiah 9-10: Structure and Significance,” JHS 3 (2001), §2.5. Eskenazi rightly argues that the penitential prayer and covenant renewal that follow both express the community’s growing understanding of Torah.)| false
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 D. Frankel, The Land of Canaan and the Destiny of Israel: Theologies of Territory in the Hebrew Bible (Siphrut, 4; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011), p. 14; K. Southwood, ‘“But Now … Do Not Let All This Hardship Seem Insignificant before You’: Ethnic History and Nehemiah 9,” Svensk Exegetisk Årsbok 79 (2014), pp. 1-23 (20). The liturgical prayer, in fact, completely omits the exile from its retelling of sacred history, which has led some scholars to argue that it was originally composed by those who remained in the land; see M. Boda, Praying the Tradition: The Origin and Use of Tradition in Nehemiah 9 (BZAW, 277; New York: De Gruyter, 1999), p. 190; M. Leuchter, “Inter-Levitical Polemics in the late 6th century BCE: The Evidence from Nehemiah 9,” Biblica 95 (2014), pp. 269-79. G. Kugler (“Present Affliction Affects the Representation of the Past: An Alternative Dating of the Levitical Prayer in Nehemiah 9,” VT 63 [2013], pp. 605-626) goes further, arguing that it predates the Babylonian exile. Regardless of the prayer’s origins, it has been fitted carefully to its present context.

 D. Frankel, The Land of Canaan and the Destiny of Israel: Theologies of Territory in the Hebrew Bible (Siphrut, 4; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011), p. 14; K. Southwood, ‘“But Now … Do Not Let All This Hardship Seem Insignificant before You’: Ethnic History and Nehemiah 9,” Svensk Exegetisk Årsbok 79 (2014), pp. 1-23 (20). The liturgical prayer, in fact, completely omits the exile from its retelling of sacred history, which has led some scholars to argue that it was originally composed by those who remained in the land; see M. Boda, Praying the Tradition: The Origin and Use of Tradition in Nehemiah 9 (BZAW, 277; New York: De Gruyter, 1999), p. 190; M. Leuchter, “Inter-Levitical Polemics in the late 6th century BCE: The Evidence from Nehemiah 9,” Biblica 95 (2014), pp. 269-79. G. Kugler (“Present Affliction Affects the Representation of the Past: An Alternative Dating of the Levitical Prayer in Nehemiah 9,” VT 63 [2013], pp. 605-626) goes further, arguing that it predates the Babylonian exile. Regardless of the prayer’s origins, it has been fitted carefully to its present context.)| false
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