Possibly the single most important development in the post-Exilic period was the promotion and eventual dominance of the idea and practice of Jewish exclusivity, the idea that the Jews, meaning followers of the god of Israel and of the law of Moses, were, or should be, a race apart from all others. This was a new idea, originating with the party of the golah, those who returned from the Babylonian exile;[14] behind the biblical narrative of Nehemiah and Ezra lies the fact that relations with the Samaritans and other neighbours were in fact close and cordial:[14] comparison between Ezra–Nehemiah and the Books of Chronicles bears this out: Chronicles opens participation in Yahweh-worship to all twelve tribes and even to foreigners, but for Ezra–Nehemiah "Israel" means Judah and Benjamin alone, plus the holy tribe of Levi.[15]