Austbiblica

The idea that the land was empty is also used in the bible to justify possession and occupation. In fifth century BCE - the era after Babylonian domination when Judah (known now as Yehud) was under Persian rule, the question of identity became critical. The Babylonian conquest of Judah was a devastating experience. The three foundations on which identity was based - the Jerusalem temple, a Davidic king, and possession of land - had now disappeared. Under Persian rule, a different kind of Israel emerged in Yehud. It was a period of turmoil and uncertainty in which identity was a key issue.

One group made exclusive claims to be the true Israel. Its members were aligned with Ezra the priest, and Nehemiah, the Persian-appointed governor.

There were quite different groups who might be identified as belonging to the true Israel: the golah, those left in Judah after 587, those who fled to Egypt after 587, those left in the territory of the former northern kingdom and who migrated into Judah after 587. Each of these groups could well claim to belong to Israel. The book of Ezra puts forwards the exclusive claim of the golah to be the true Israel.