Blurb:

Traditionally, the Books of Haggai and Zechariah (1–8) are connected with the rebuilding of the temple in the reign of Darius I. This rebuilding would have taken place in the reign of Darius I i.e. around 520–515 BCE. In her magnificent monograph on the 'Origins of the Second Temple', Diana Edelman has challenged the chronology of the events that took place in Persian period Yehud. As far as I can see, she does not draw any conclusions as to the fate of Haggai (or Zechariah). In this paper, I would like to elaborate on the idea that the Darius mentioned in the Book of Haggai should be identified with Darius II.