INTRODUCTION
I am thinking about the things that God has lead us to do, commitments we have made about our spiritual disciplines, etc... that have kind of gone by the wayside.
CONTEXT
A) Old Testament
Approximate dates
2000 - Abraham leaves Ur and sacrifices to one God
- Gen 12.1 "I will make of you a great nation."
1500 - Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt to the promised land.
- Ex.20.2 "I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Thou shalt…"
1000 - David rules the unified kingdom of Israel.
- He is followed by his son, Solomon,
who builds the temple in Jerusalem.
500 - Zerrubbabel, Ezra, & Nehemiah lead Jews back to the promised land.
- The last minor prophet, Malachi, finishes the OT about 4oo years before Christ.
B) Post-Exile Timeline
p Nebuchadnezzar—Destroys the temple in 586BC
Cyrus—539BC conquers Babylon and decrees return of peoples to their lands.
Cabyses not mentioned in Ezra.
Pseudo Smerdis - An usurper who ruled less than a year. 519BC
Darius I (the Great) - The temple was completed during his reign.
p Note the overlap in the timeline with the end of Darius's reign.
There is almost 60 years between Zerubbabel and Ezra.
Ahasuerus - Esther's husband.
Artezerxes I - Ezra and Nehemiah returned during his 40+ year reign.
C) Three Returns
Three Returns to the Land
Zerubbabel – 539-515BC - Temple Rebuilt - Ezra 1-6
2. Ezra – 458BC - People Reformed – Ezra 7-10
3. Nehemiah – 444-425BC - Wall Built – Nehemiah 1-10
D) In Ezra
1. Theme of the whole book:
We need to trust, serve, and obey the sovereign God
who keeps His covenant and restores His people.
2. Chapter summaries
Ch. 1 – Cyrus Decreed 539 BC (Cyrus becomes king.)
Ch. 2 - People Return 539 BC
Ch. 3 - Foundation Laid 536 BC
Ch. 4 - Work Opposed in General
Ch. 5 - Work Resumed 520 BC (Darius I becomes king.)
Ch. 6 - Temple Finished 516 BC
OVERVIEW
The section from 4.8 thru 6.18 is in Aramaic.
All but about 15 verses in this section are rough quotations of official correspondence to and from the Persian kings. (5.1-6, 6.1-2 and 6.13-22 provide narration.)
Chapters 5 and 6 form one unit together, but its size makes it necessary to cover it in two sermons.
This week we will study the resumption of the building, and next week you will look at the completion of the Temple and the Passover celebration.
A) Outline
1. State of affairs 4.24
2. Prophets Prophesied 5.1
3. Leaders Rise and Build 5.2
4. Elders answer Tattenai 5.10-16
B) Big Idea for chapter five.
God's wants us to arise and obey His commands.
1. STATE OF AFFAIRS
The work of rebuilding the temple had been put a stop to through the intrigues of the Samaritans.
& EZRA 4
4 Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Verses 6-23 are not part of this chronology and illustrate generally the nature of the continuous opposition to the Jews.
They are part of a logical thought pattern. Verse 24 refers back to verse 5.
24 Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Note:
The contrast between
the joyous 3:10-11 and
the dower and discouraging 4:25.
Ezra 3:10-11
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD:
“For He is good,
For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”
Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
2. The repeated frustrating failures to rebuild in 4.4-5.
4 Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
3. The resignation to defeat in 4:25.
24 Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
TS: After the people were thoroughly beaten down, what was used to revive the work?
2. PROPHETS EXHORT 5.1
1 Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
The date is significant. During his first two years, Darius fought numerous battles against nine rebels, as recounted in his famous Behistun Inscription. Only after the stabilization of the Persian Empire could efforts to rebuild the temple be permitted. —Edwin Yamauchi in THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY
The extent to which this may have influenced the prophets is debated. —H.G.M. Williamson in Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 16
Haggai's ministry began August 29, 520 b.c. (Hag. 1:1), and the work on the Temple was commenced three weeks later on September 20, 520 b.c.
a) Haggai sought to reorient their priorities.
- Meaning: festive
Scarcely anything is known of his personal history.
He began his ministry about sixteen years after the Return.
He helped induce them to take advantage of the favorable opportunity that had arisen in a change in the policy of the Persian government.
1. Consider your ways.
& Haggai 1.1-3
1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.”’”
3 Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways!
also in 1.7 and "consider" in 2.15 & 18
2. Be strong and work
& Haggai 2.4-5
4 Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the LORD; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the LORD, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the LORD of hosts. 5 ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’
b) Zechariah sought to encourage them for the work.
He describes himself (1:1) as "the son of Berechiah." In Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 he is called "the son of Iddo," who was properly his grandfather.
His prophetical career began in the second year of Darius (B.C. 520), about sixteen years after the return of the first company from exile. He was contemporary with Haggai (Ezra 5:1).
His book consists of three distinct parts:
(1) It begins with a preface (1:1-6), which recalls the nation's past history, for the purpose of presenting a solemn warning to the present generation.
Then follows a series of eight visions (1:7-6:8), succeeding one another in one night, which may be regarded as a symbolical history of Israel, intended to furnish consolation to the returned exiles and stir up hope in their minds.
(2) Chapters 7 and 8, delivered two years later, are an answer to the question whether the days of mourning for the destruction of the city should be any longer kept, and an encouraging address to the people, assuring them of God's presence and blessing.
(3) The third part of the book (ch. 9-14) bears no date. It is probable that a considerable interval separates it from the first part. It consists of two burdens.
The first burden (ch. 9-11) gives an outline of the course of God's providential dealings with his people down to the time of the Advent.
The second burden (ch. 12-14) points out the glories that await Israel in “the latter day”, the final conflict and triumph of God's kingdom.
Zechariah had a more visionary forward-looking message.
1. Do not be like your fathers… 1.4
In light of the recent Babylonian captivity, this would have been a strong warning.
& Chapter 1
1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 2 “The LORD has been very angry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. 4 “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.”’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the LORD.
2. His hands shall also finish it…4.9
& Chapter 4 Vision of the lamp stand and olive trees
1 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?”
So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” 4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”
5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?”
And I said, “No, my lord.”
6 So he answered and said to me:
“ This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel:
‘ Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the LORD of hosts.
7 ‘ Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
8 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
9 “ The hands of Zerubbabel
Have laid the foundation of this temple;
His hands shall also finish it.
Then you will know
That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
10 For who has despised the day of small things?
For these seven rejoice to see
The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
They are the eyes of the LORD,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
———————————————————-
We should not miss the gentle reminder of mans' accountability and heaven's help in the expression, "God … who was over them", at the end of verse 1. —Derik Kidner in EZRA AND NEHEMIAH - TOTC
Application:
God speaks with His Word.
Let His Word
reorient your priorities
and encourage you to…
arise and obey Him.
TS: Next we see their response to the preaching of God's Word for them.
3. LEADERS RISE AND BUILD 5.2
2 So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
1. The Leaders
a.) Zerubbabel
Clearly addressed as the leader by both Haggai and Zechariah
Zerubbabel was a grandson of King Jehoiachin and therefore the legitimate heir of the Davidic throne. Matt. 1:11-13
Zerubbabel and Sheshbazzar (vrs. 1.8; 5.14) may possibly have been the same person and that the name Sheshbazzar was used by the Persian court.
It could be, however, that Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah, was governor under Cyrus and that Zerubbabel was governor under Darius. —-ISBE
b) Jeshua /Joshua
The son of Jozadak, and high priest of the Jews under Zerubbabel (Neh. 7:7; 12:1, 7, 10, 26);
Addressed along with Zerubbabel as a leader in Haggai. He was also the subject of Zechariah's third vision.
Called Joshua (Hag. 1:1, 12; 2:2, 4; Zech. 3:1, 3, 6, 8, 9).
2. They Arose
quwm (Aramaic)
The word can speak of being stirred to action.
Psalm 10:12
Arise, O LORD!
O God, lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the humble.
Jeremiah 1:17
“ Therefore prepare yourself and arise,
And speak to them all that I command you.
Do not be dismayed before their faces,
Lest I dismay you before them.
Jonah 1:2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
Ezra 10:4 "Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it.” Ezra to certain Jews
Neh 10.19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?”
20 So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”
Haggai 1
4 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
3. goes on diligently and prospers
It is obvious from these description that the leaders and people were working hard on the project.
diligently St#H629 ocparna s·par·nä' thoroughly, eagerly, diligently
YLT—done speedily; KJV—goeth fast;
NASB—with great care;
NKJV, ESV—diligently; NIV—with diligence;
NLT—with great energy
prospers St#H6744 tsĕlach (Aramaic) tsel·akh' prosperous, successful
YLT—prospering; KJV—prospereth; NKJV, ESV—prospers;
NASB—succeeding; NLT—success
NIV—making rapid progress;
TS; All this progress got the attention of government officials.
4. ELDERS ANSWER TATTENAI 5.3-17
3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the region beyond the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: “Who has commanded you to build this temple and finish this wall?” 4 Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. 5 But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius.
a) the eyes of Darius 5.3
1. Tattenai - tat'-e-ni
A Persian governor
during the reign of Darius I and Zerubbabel (Ezra 5:3,6; 6:6,13).
5.6
What are the details of "the province beyond the river"? a geographical term referring to southern Syria and Palestine —http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/library/ane/digest/1996/v1996.n013
2. Shethar-Boznai - The name of an official mentioned with Tattenai , possibly a secretary or investigator of some kind.
Horace J. Wolf in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
3. "These were known popularly as "the king's eye," and must have been regarded as somewhat threatening and sinister. The Biblical author knows, however of One whose care overrides even their potential menace." —H.G.M. Williamson in WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY
b) the “eye of God” 5.4
In contrast to "the hand of the Lord" in 7.6 & 26 when Ezra is returning.
We often think of God watching us in the sense of traffic police waiting to get us.
Here and in other passages it speaks of God's watchful care.
Psalm 33
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.
Psalm 34
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Job 36:7
6 He does not preserve the life of the wicked,
But gives justice to the oppressed.
7 He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;
But they are on the throne with kings,
For He has seated them forever,
And they are exalted.
& c) A good confession 5.11, 12, &16
5.11 Humility
We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth...
They were no longer preoccupied with their own houses and business, but were eagerly engaged the Lord's work for them. We are all servants, we only get to choose our master.
5.12 Confession
...our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath...
Thee are no excuses here. The exile had happened as a result of generation of disobedience to God. Yet the exiles are not blaming their forefathers in order to exonerate themselves. Rather the tone of their words show that they have taken to heart the rebuke of Haggai and include themselves in the punishment. t he recognition of guilt is the first step in their rediscovery of their identity as the people of God. —J.G. McConville in EZRA, NEHEMIAH, ESTHER - THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE SERIES
5.16 Focus
...it is not finished.
The temple foundation had sat there neglected for 14 years as a disgrace and reminder of their discouragement and skewed priorities. It was eventually ignored and "invisible." Zechariah's prophecy had given them a vision for finishing it so that it could function as the center of worship.
Application:
God wants us to
arise and obey His commands.
How is God stirring you?
Will you arise and obey?
Revive Us Again
Words: William P. Mackay, 1863.
Music: John J. Husband, 1815
We praise Thee, O God!
For the Son of Thy love,
For Jesus Who died,
And is now gone above.
Refrain
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.
We praise Thee, O God!
For Thy Spirit of light,
Who hath shown us our Savior,
And scattered our night.
Refrain
All glory and praise
To the Lamb that was slain,
Who hath borne all our sins,
And hath cleansed every stain.
Refrain
All glory and praise
To the God of all grace,
Who hast brought us, and sought us,
And guided our ways.
Refrain
Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above.
Refrain
INTRO.: A song that both asks God to revive His people and joyfully praises Him for His blessings is "Revive Us Again" (#37 in Hymns for Worship Revised, and #17 in Sacred Selections for the Church). The text was written by William Paton Mackay, who was born at Montrose, Scotland, on May 13, 1839. Educated at the University of Edinburgh, he was engaged in practicing medicine for a number of years. In addition to being a physician, he also enjoyed writing hymns. Producing this one, beginning, "We praise Thee, O God," in 1863, he revised to its present form it four years later.
In 1868, Mackay, feeling a call to the ministry, abandoned his medical practice and became a minister with the Prospect St. Presbyterian Church in Hull, Scotland. Seventeen of his hymns were published in W. Reid's 1872 Praise Book. Three years later, this one was also published under the heading, "O Lord, revive Thy work," in the 1875 Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs compiled by Philip P. Bliss and Ira D. Sankey.
The tune (Thine the Glory) had been composed by an English-born musician who migrated to Philadelphia, PA, John Jenkins Husband (1760-1825). It first appeared early in the nineteenth century, around 1815 to 1820, and seems to have been used with some other song, perhaps a secular ballad. In Bliss and Sankey's 1858 book, it was originally used with "Rejoice and Be Glad" by Horatius Bonar. Mackay's text was given as an alternate, but in later editions Bonar's hymn was discarded and Mackay's words became inseparably wedded to this music. Mackay died from an accident at Portree, Soctland, on Aug. 22, 1885.
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hymnstudies/606592/
H.G.M. Williamson in WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY
Derik Kidner in EZRA AND NEHEMIAH - TYNDAL OLD TESTAMENT COMMENTARIES
Mark A. Throntveit in EZRA-NEHEMIAH - INTERPRETATION: A BIBLE COMMENTARY FOR TEACHING AN PREACHING
F. Charles Fensham in THE BOOKS OF EARA AND NEHEMIAH - THE NEW INTERNATIONAL COMMENTARY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
C. Coleman Luck in EZRA AND NEHEMIAH - EVERYMAN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY
Edwin Yamauchi in THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY
Bruce Wilkninson and Kenneth Boa in TALK THRU THE OLD TESTAMENT
Dr. Judah J. Slotki in EANIEL-EZRA-NEHEMIAH - SONCINO BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
Thomas L. Constable in NOTES ON EZRA 2009 EDITION
J.G. McConville in EZRA, NEHEMIAH, ESTHER - THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE SERIES (Westminster Press)
THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA
WEBBIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/home.html
Matthews, Victor Harold ; Chavalas, Mark W. ; Walton, John H.: THE IVP BIBLE BACKGROUND COMMENTARY : OLD TESTAMENT.
C.F. Keil in KEIL & DELITZSCH COMMENTARY ON THE OLD TESTAMENT
Merrill F. Unger in UNGER'S COMMENTARY ON THE OLD TESTAMENT
John A. Martin in THE BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Ezra 5
5.1 I need to check the wording here. Some versions say Haggai the prophet, some the prophets H. & Z. and the KJV has both.
5.2 a couple of the versions don't have the word "rose" or "risen". I think that there is some significance to the idea of "rising up."
5.2 Is it hleping or supporting?
5.3 decree, commanded, authorized, or permission?
5.3 wall or structure? It's probably a difficult Hebrew word.
5.5 caused them to cease, stop them, make them, prevented them.
5.6 What are the details of "the province beyond the river"?
5.1 I need to check the wording here. Some versions say Haggai the prophet, some the prophets H. & Z. and the KJV has both.
5.2 a couple of the versions don't have the word "rose" or "risen". I think that there is some significance to the idea of "rising up."
5.2 Is it hleping or supporting?
5.3 decree, commanded, authorized, or permission?
5.3 wall or structure? It's probably a difficult Hebrew word.
5.5 caused them to cease, stop them, make them, prevented them.
5.6 What are the details of "the province beyond the river"?
Thurs 091112 pm Prov 5-10
Proverbs 5
5.2 lips may guard knowledge... Guard or keep. This seems to be a more active word. It seems to imply a degree of vigilence and effort.
5.6 ponder the path of life ... wander, and she does not know it ... It's interesting to see, in light of 4.26. The wicked are clueless from a moral and wisom standing.
5.19 Intoxicated always in her love... ESV has a translation note that this can also be translated "be lead astray", which makes no sense to me in this context. That is curious.
שגה shagah
1) to wonder, to go astray
2) to reel (as with wine)
3) to err, to transgress
5.21 ponders... Again another odd translation note in the esv.
Proverbs 6
6.1 Go to the ant... A great science project.
6.12 a worthless person ... crooked speech ... The two seem to go together.
Proverbs 7
7.7 lacking sense... A serious and difficult disease.
7.14 The hypocrisy in this verse is breath taking.
Proverbs 8
8.7 wickedness is an abomination to my lips...
8.9 straight to him who understands... So to the unwise they are crooked and difficult to follow. Hmmm
8.12 prudence, knowledge, & discretion all go with wisdom.
8.13 the fear of the Lord... is the hatred of evil. Our evil and not the evil of others.
Proverbs 9
9.9 wise man paralleled with a righteous man... That says something about the nature of wisdom and righteousness.
9.10 The parallelism in this verse is full and rich.
Proverbs 10
10.12 but love covers all offenses...
10.8 & 10 babbling fool...
10.16 The contrast between "life" and "sin" is full of meaning.
10.19 A good reminder.
10.26 A good cerebrial cartoon.
10.27 the fear of the Lord
5.2 lips may guard knowledge... Guard or keep. This seems to be a more active word. It seems to imply a degree of vigilence and effort.
5.6 ponder the path of life ... wander, and she does not know it ... It's interesting to see, in light of 4.26. The wicked are clueless from a moral and wisom standing.
5.19 Intoxicated always in her love... ESV has a translation note that this can also be translated "be lead astray", which makes no sense to me in this context. That is curious.
שגה shagah
1) to wonder, to go astray
2) to reel (as with wine)
3) to err, to transgress
5.21 ponders... Again another odd translation note in the esv.
Proverbs 6
6.1 Go to the ant... A great science project.
6.12 a worthless person ... crooked speech ... The two seem to go together.
Proverbs 7
7.7 lacking sense... A serious and difficult disease.
7.14 The hypocrisy in this verse is breath taking.
Proverbs 8
8.7 wickedness is an abomination to my lips...
8.9 straight to him who understands... So to the unwise they are crooked and difficult to follow. Hmmm
8.12 prudence, knowledge, & discretion all go with wisdom.
8.13 the fear of the Lord... is the hatred of evil. Our evil and not the evil of others.
Proverbs 9
9.9 wise man paralleled with a righteous man... That says something about the nature of wisdom and righteousness.
9.10 The parallelism in this verse is full and rich.
Proverbs 10
10.12 but love covers all offenses...
10.8 & 10 babbling fool...
10.16 The contrast between "life" and "sin" is full of meaning.
10.19 A good reminder.
10.26 A good cerebrial cartoon.
10.27 the fear of the Lord
Sun-mon 09118-9 Prov 1-4
Proverbs 1
1.7 & 29 the fear of the Lord... Notice how the fear of the Lord is paralleled with knowledge.
1.7 The fear of the Lord... compared with or equated to knowledge and instruction.
1.18 they set an ambush for their own lives... Those who hurt others are setting a course for hurting themselves.
1.29 did not chose the fear of the Lord... They hated knowledge.
Both times fear of the Lord is mention it is parallel with knowledge.
1) knowledge
a) knowledge, perception, skill
b) discernment, understanding, wisdom
Proverbs 2
2.5 Fear of the Lord... Seeking understanding & insight, will open your eyes to the fear of the Lord.
2.15 whose paths are crooked... The imagery of crookedness representing evil is good meditation material.
Proverbs 3
3.6 straight paths...
3.7 fear the Lord, and turn away from evil... Fear of the Lord will change out actions. It is interesting that it says evil, not sins or evils. It would be interesting to do some word studies to follow up on that.
3.12 tough verse, but reassuring
3.32 devious... It is instructive that this is identified as an abomination to the Lord.
Proverbs 4
4.23 Keep your heart with all vigilance...
4.26 Ponder... Thinking about what we are doing. Sometimes we don't give enough thought to what and why we do things.
1.7 & 29 the fear of the Lord... Notice how the fear of the Lord is paralleled with knowledge.
1.7 The fear of the Lord... compared with or equated to knowledge and instruction.
1.18 they set an ambush for their own lives... Those who hurt others are setting a course for hurting themselves.
1.29 did not chose the fear of the Lord... They hated knowledge.
Both times fear of the Lord is mention it is parallel with knowledge.
1) knowledge
a) knowledge, perception, skill
b) discernment, understanding, wisdom
Proverbs 2
2.5 Fear of the Lord... Seeking understanding & insight, will open your eyes to the fear of the Lord.
2.15 whose paths are crooked... The imagery of crookedness representing evil is good meditation material.
Proverbs 3
3.6 straight paths...
3.7 fear the Lord, and turn away from evil... Fear of the Lord will change out actions. It is interesting that it says evil, not sins or evils. It would be interesting to do some word studies to follow up on that.
3.12 tough verse, but reassuring
3.32 devious... It is instructive that this is identified as an abomination to the Lord.
Proverbs 4
4.23 Keep your heart with all vigilance...
4.26 Ponder... Thinking about what we are doing. Sometimes we don't give enough thought to what and why we do things.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Ezra 5
5.1
Zechariah - Meaning: Jehovah is renowned or remembered
The name of two prophets, a priest, and several other people in the Bible…
1.A prophet of Judah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets. Like Ezekiel, he was of priestly extraction. He describes himself (1:1) as "the son of Berechiah." In Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 he is called "the son of Iddo," who was properly his grandfather. His prophetical career began in the second year of Darius (B.C. 520), about sixteen years after the return of the first company from exile. He was contemporary with Haggai (Ezra 5:1).
His book consists of two distinct parts: (1) chapters 1 to 8, inclusive, and (2) chapters 9 to the end. It begins with a preface (1:1-6), which recalls the nation's past history, for the purpose of presenting a solemn warning to the present generation. Then follows a series of eight visions (1:7-6:8), succeeding one another in one night, which may be regarded as a symbolical history of Israel, intended to furnish consolation to the returned exiles and stir up hope in their minds. The symbolical action, the crowning of Joshua (6:9-15), describes how the kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of God's Christ.
Chapters 7 and 8, delivered two years later, are an answer to the question whether the days of mourning for the destruction of the city should be any longer kept, and an encouraging address to the people, assuring them of God's presence and blessing.
The second part of the book (ch. 9-14) bears no date. It is probable that a considerable interval separates it from the first part. It consists of two burdens.
The first burden (ch. 9-11) gives an outline of the course of God's providential dealings with his people down to the time of the Advent.
The second burden (ch. 12-14) points out the glories that await Israel in “the latter day”, the final conflict and triumph of God's kingdom.
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Haggai - Meaning: festive
one of the twelve so-called minor prophets
He was the first of the three (Zechariah, his contemporary, and Malachi, who was about one hundred years later, being the other two) whose ministry belonged to the period of Jewish history which began after the return from captivity in Babylon. Scarcely anything is known of his personal history. He may have been one of the captives taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. He began his ministry about sixteen years after the Return. The work of rebuilding the temple had been put a stop to through the intrigues of the Samaritans. After having been suspended for fifteen years, the work was resumed through the efforts of Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 6:14), who by their exhortations roused the people from their lethargy, and induced them to take advantage of the favorable opportunity that had arisen in a change in the policy of the Persian government. (See Darius .) Haggai's prophecies have thus been characterized:, "There is a ponderous and simple dignity in the emphatic reiteration addressed alike to every class of the community, prince, priest, and people, 'Be strong, be strong, be strong' (2:4). 'Cleave, stick fast, to the work you have to do;' or again, 'Consider your ways, consider, consider, consider' (1:5, 7;2:15, 18). It is the Hebrew phrase for the endeavour, characteristic of the gifted seers of all times, to compel their hearers to turn the inside of their hearts outwards to their own view, to take the mask from off their consciences, to 'see life steadily, and to see it wholly.'", Stanley's Jewish Church.
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Iddo - Lovely. The father of Berachiah, and grandfather of the prophet Zechariah (Zech. 1:1, 7). He returned from Babylon (Neh. 12:4).
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ZERUBBABEL
ze-rub'-a-bel (zerubbabhel, probably a transliteration of the Babylonian name Zeru-Babili, "seed of Babylon"; Zorobabel):
1. Name:
Is commonly called the son of Shealtiel (Ezra 3:2,8; 5:2; Nehemiah 12:1; Haggai 1:1,12,14; Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27); but in 1 Chronicles 3:19 he is called the son of Pedaiah, the brother apparently of Shealtiel (Salathiel) and the son or grandson of Jeconiah. It is probable that Shealtiel had no children and adopted Zerubbabel; or that Zerubbabel was his levirate son; or that, Shealtiel being childless, Zerubbabel succeeded to the rights of sonship as being the next of kin.
2. Family:
Whatever may have been his blood relationship to Jeconiah, the Scriptures teach that Zerubbabel was his legal successor, of the 3rd or 4th generation. According to 1 Chronicles 3:19, he had one daughter, Shelomith, and seven sons, Meshullam, Hananiah, Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah and Jushab-hesed. In Matthew 1:13 he is said to have been the father of Abiud (i.e. Abi-hud). As it is the custom in Arabia today to give a man a new name when his first son is born, so it may have been, in this case, that Meshullam was the father of Hud, and that his name was changed to Abiud as soon as his son was named Hud. In Luke 3:27, the son of Zerubbabel is called Rhesa. This is doubtless the title of the head of the captivity, the resh gelutha', and would be appropriate as a title of Meshullam in his capacity as the official representative of the captive Jews. That Zerubbabel is said in the New Testament to be the son of Shealtiel the son of Neri instead of Jeconiah may be accounted for on the supposition that Shealtiel was the legal heir or adopted son of Jeconiah, who according to Jeremiah 36:30 was apparently to die childless.
3. Relation to Sheshbazzar:
It has been shown in the article on Sheshbazzar that he and Zerubbabel may possibly have been the same person and that the name may have been Shamash-ban (or bun)-zer-Babili-usur. It seems more probable, however, that Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah, was governor under Cyrus and that Zerubbabel was governor under Darius. The former, according to Ezra 1:8 and 5:14-16, laid the foundations, and the latter completed the building of the temple (Ezra 2:2,68; 4:2; Haggai 1:14; Zechariah 4:9).
4. History:
All that is known certainly about Zerubbabel is found in the canonical books of Zechariah, Haggai and Ezra-Nehemiah. According to these he and Jeshua, the high priest, led up a band of captives from Babylon to Jerusalem and began rebuilding the temple in the second year of Darius Hystaspis. They first constructed the altar of burnt offerings, and afterward built a temple, usually called the Second Temple, much inferior in beauty to that of Solomon. According to Josephus and the apocryphal Book of Ezra (1 Esdras 3,4), Zerubbabel was a friend of Darius Hystaspis, having successfully competed before him in a contest whose object was to determine what was the strongest thing in the world--wine, kings, women, or truth. Zerubbabel, having demonstrated that truth was the mightiest of all, was called the king's "cousin," and was granted by him permission to go up to Jerusalem and to build the temple. Zerubbabel was also made a governor of Jerusalem, and performed also the duties of the tirshatha, an official who was probably the Persian collector of taxes.
R. Dick Wilson in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Zerubbabel - Meaning: the seed of Babylon
the son of Salathiel or Shealtiel (Hag. 1:1; Zorobabel, Matt. 1:12); called also the son of Pedaiah (1 Chr. 3:17-19), i.e., according to a frequent usage of the word “son;” the grandson or the nephew of Salathiel.
He is also known by the Persian name of Sheshbazzar (Ezra 1:8, 11). In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, he led the first band of Jews, numbering 42,360 (Ezra 2:64), exclusive of a large number of servants, who returned from captivity at the close of the seventy years. In the second year after the Return, he erected an altar and laid the foundation of the temple on the ruins of that which had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (3:8-13; ch. 4-6). All through the work he occupied a prominent place, inasmuch as he was a descendant of the royal line of David.
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What is important is that Zerubbabel was a grandson of Jehoiachin and therefore the legitimate heir of the Davidic throne. His appointment as governor allowed his Judean royal descent to coincide with his Persian political appointment. How long he served in that capacity cannot be determined, but he was still governor by 520 B.C. The recent discovery of bullae and seals bearing the names of Judean governors suggests that Zerubbabel may be dated to c. 510, Elnathan c. 510-490, Yeho ‘ezer c. 490-470, and Ahzai c. 447-445.Nehemiah, of course, commenced his governorship then and continued on to 433 B.C. ---- Eugene H. Merrill @ http://bible.org/seriespage/haggai
Shealtiel - Meaning: asked for of God
father of Zerubbabel (Ezra 3:2, 8; Neh. 12:1)
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Jeshua - The son of Jozadak, and high priest of the Jews under Zerubbabel (Neh. 7:7; 12:1, 7, 10, 26); called Joshua (Hag. 1:1, 12; 2:2, 4; Zech. 3:1, 3, 6, 8, 9).
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Jozadak - Father of Jeshua
Tattenai - tat'-e-ni (tattenay, various forms in the Septuagint; the King James Version Tatnai, tat'ni, tat'na-i'):
A Persian governor, who was the successor of Rehum in Samaria and some other provinces belonging to Judah, bordering on Samaria. He governed the provinces during the reign of Darius Hystaspis and Zerubbabel (Ezra 5:3,6; 6:6,13). He was friendly to the Jews, and when he heard adverse reports from Jerusalem he suspended judgment till he had investigated the matter on the ground, and then reported to the Persian government in a very moderate manner. In 1 Esdras 6:3,7,27; 7:1 he is called "Sisinnes."
S. L. Umbach in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates. Tattenai was a paḥat or peḥu, who served under the satrap Ushtannu. He is later appointed as a satrap in a Babylonian source dated to 502 b.c. As the local official on the scene, he took the responsibility for investigating the temple building process and asked for confirmation from Darius as to whether it was legitimate activity. Once he receives affirmation, he demonstrates that he is a good bureaucrat by diligently carrying out the king’s orders (Ezra 6:13).
According to the Old Testament Book of Ezra, Tattenai led an investigation into the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem about 519 bc. He sent a report to Darius, who responded with instructions to allow the work to proceed. Tattenai is one of the few Persian officials mentioned in the Old Testament for whom there is independent attestation; he is mentioned in a cuneiform tablet dated 502 bc.
"Tattenai." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 14 Nov. 2009.
Shethar-Boznai - SHETHAR-BOZENAI, SHETHAR-BOZNAI
she'-thar-boz'-e-ni, she'-thar-boz'-ni, -boz'-na-i, (shethar boznay, meaning uncertain):
The name of a Persian (?) official mentioned with Tattenai in connection with the correspondence with Darius relative to the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 5:3,6; 6:6,12; Codex Vaticanus Satharbouzan; Codex Alexandrinus Satharbouzanai, in Ezra 5:3; 6:13; Satharbouzanes, in Ezra 5:6; Satharbouzane, in Ezra 6:6; Lucian, throughout, Tharbouzanaios), called in 1 Esdras 6:3,7,27; 7:1 "Shathrabuzanes."
Among the conjectures as to the meaning and derivation of the name, the following may be mentioned:
(1) Shethar-boznai may be a corruption of metharboznay = Mithrobouzanes, Old Persian Mithrobauzana--i.e. "Mithra is deliverer."
(2) shathar is identical with the Old Persian Tsithra ("seed," "brilliance"); names have been found that are confounded with this word.
(3) shethar bowzenay may be a title, but sethar, must then be read for shethar.
(4) shethar boznay is equivalent to the Old Persian Sethrabuzana, "empire-delivering"; compare Encyclopedia Biblica, article "Shethar-boznai," and Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament.
Horace J. Wolf in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Darius - (2.) Darius, king of Persia, was the son of Hystaspes, of the royal family of the Achaemenidae. He did not immediately succeed Cyrus on the throne. There were two intermediate kings, viz., Cambyses (the Ahasuerus of Ezra), the son of Cyrus, who reigned from B.C. 529-522, and was succeeded by a usurper named Smerdis, who occupied the throne only ten months, and was succeeded by this Darius (B.C. 521-486). Smerdis was a Margian, and therefore had no sympathy with Cyrus and Cambyses in the manner in which they had treated the Jews. He issued a decree prohibiting the restoration of the temple and of Jerusalem (Ezra 4:17-22). But soon after his death and the accession of Darius, the Jews resumed their work, thinking that the edict of Smerdis would be now null and void, as Darius was in known harmony with the religious policy of Cyrus. The enemies of the Jews lost no time in bringing the matter under the notice of Darius, who caused search to be made for the decree of Cyrus (q.v.). It was not found at Babylon, but at Achmetha (Ezra 6:2); and Darius forthwith issued a new decree, giving the Jews full liberty to prosecute their work, at the same time requiring the Syrian satrap and his subordinates to give them all needed help. It was with the army of this king that the Greeks fought the famous battle of Marathon (B.C. 490). During his reign the Jews enjoyed much peace and prosperity. He was succeeded by Ahasuerus, known to the Greeks as Xerxes, who reigned for twenty-one years.
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Nebuchadnezzar - in the Babylonian orthography Nabu-kudur-uzur, which means "Nebo, protect the crown!" or the “frontiers”
In an inscription he styles himself "Nebo's favorite." He was the son and successor of Nabopolassar, who delivered Babylon from its dependence on Assyria and laid Nineveh in ruins. He was the greatest and most powerful of all the Babylonian kings. He married the daughter of Cyaxares, and thus the Median and Babylonian dynasties were united.
Necho II., the king of Egypt, gained a victory over the Assyrians at Carchemish. This secured to Egypt the possession of the Syrian provinces of Assyria, including Palestine. The remaining provinces of the Assyrian empire were divided between Babylonia and Media. But Nabopolassar was ambitious of reconquering from Necho the western provinces of Syria, and for this purpose he sent his son with a powerful army westward (Dan. 1:1). The Egyptians met him at Carchemish, where a furious battle was fought, resulting in the complete rout of the Egyptians, who were driven back (Jer. 46:2-12), and Syria and Phoenicia brought under the sway of Babylon (B.C. 606). From that time "the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land" (2 Kings 24:7). Nebuchadnezzar also subdued the whole of Palestine, and took Jerusalem, carrying away captive a great multitude of the Jews, among whom were Daniel and his companions (Dan. 1:1, 2; Jer. 27:19; 40:1).
Three years after this, Jehoiakim, who had reigned in Jerusalem as a Babylonian vassal, rebelled against the oppressor, trusting to help from Egypt (2 Kings 24:1). This led Nebuchadnezzar to march an army again to the conquest of Jerusalem, which at once yielded to him (B.C. 598). A third time he came against it, and deposed Jehoiachin, whom he carried into Babylon, with a large portion of the population of the city, and the sacred vessels of the temple, placing Zedekiah on the throne of Judah in his stead. He also, heedless of the warnings of the prophet, entered into an Alliance with Egypt, and rebelled against Babylon. This brought about the final siege of the city, which was at length taken and utterly destroyed (B.C. 586). Zedekiah was taken captive, and had his eyes put out by order of the king of Babylon, who made him a prisoner for the remainder of his life.
An onyx cameo, now in the museum of Florence, bears on it an arrow-headed inscription, which is certainly ancient and genuine. The helmeted profile is said (Schrader) to be genuine also, but it is more probable that it is the portrait of a usurper in the time of Darius (Hystaspes), called Nidinta-Bel, who took the name of "Nebuchadrezzar." The inscription has been thus translated:, "In honor of Merodach, his lord, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in his lifetime had this made."
A clay tablet, now in the British Museum, bears the following inscription, the only one as yet found which refers to his wars: "In the thirty-seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the country of Babylon, he went to Egypt [Misr] to make war. Amasis, king of Egypt, collected [his army], and marched and spread abroad." Thus were fulfilled the words of the prophet (Jer. 46:13-26; Ezek. 29:2-20). Having completed the subjugation of Phoenicia, and inflicted chastisement on Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar now set himself to rebuild and adorn the city of Babylon (Dan. 4:30), and to add to the greatness and prosperity of his kingdom by constructing canals and aqueducts and reservoirs surpassing in grandeur and magnificence everything of the kind mentioned in history (Dan. 2:37). He is represented as a “king of kings,” ruling over a vast kingdom of many provinces, with a long list of officers and rulers under him, "princes, governors, captains," etc. (3:2, 3, 27). He may, indeed, be said to have created the mighty empire over which he ruled.
"Modern research has shown that Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest monarch that Babylon, or perhaps the East generally, ever produced. He must have possessed an enormous command of human labor, nine-tenths of Babylon itself, and nineteen-twentieths of all the other ruins that in almost countless profusion cover the land, are composed of bricks stamped with his name. He appears to have built or restored almost every city and temple in the whole country. His inscriptions give an elaborate account of the immense works which he constructed in and about Babylon itself, abundantly illustrating the boast, 'Is not this great Babylon which I have build?'" Rawlinson, Hist. Illustrations.
After the incident of the “burning fiery furnace” (Dan. 3) into which the three Hebrew confessors were cast, Nebuchadnezzar was afflicted with some peculiar mental aberration as a punishment for his pride and vanity, probably the form of madness known as lycanthropy (i.e, “the change of a man into a wolf”). A remarkable confirmation of the Scripture narrative is afforded by the recent discovery of a bronze door-step, which bears an inscription to the effect that it was presented by Nebuchadnezzar to the great temple at Borsippa as a votive offering on account of his recovery from a terrible illness.
He survived his recovery for some years, and died B.C. 562, in the eighty-third or eighty-fourth year of his age, after a reign of forty-three years, and was succeeded by his son Evil-merodach, who, after a reign of two years, was succeeded by Neriglissar (559-555), who was succeeded by Nabonadius (555-538), at the close of whose reign (less than a quarter of a century after the death of Nebuchadnezzar) Babylon fell under Cyrus at the head of the combined armies of Media and Persia.
“I have examined,” says Sir H. Rawlinson, "the bricks belonging perhaps to a hundred different towns and cities in the neighborhood of Baghdad, and I never found any other legend than that of Nebuchadnezzar, son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon." Nine-tenths of all the bricks amid the ruins of Babylon are stamped with his name.
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Cyrus - Hebrew: “Ko'resh”
This was the name of the celebrated “King of Persia” (Elam) who was conqueror of Babylon, and issued the decree of liberation to the Jews (Ezra 1:1, 2). He was the son of Cambyses, the prince of Persia, and was born about B.C. 599. In the year B.C. 559 he became king of Persia, the kingdom of Media being added to it partly by conquest. Cyrus was a great military leader, bent on universal conquest. Babylon fell before his army (B.C. 538) on the night of Belshazzar's feast (Dan. 5:30), and then the ancient dominion of Assyria was also added to his empire (cf., "Go up, O Elam", Isa.21:2).
Hitherto the great kings of the earth had only oppressed the Jews. Cyrus was to them as a “shepherd” (Isa. 44:28; 45:1). God employed him in doing service to his ancient people. He may posibly have gained, through contact with the Jews, some knowledge of their religion.
The “first year of Cyrus” (Ezra 1:1) is not the year of his elevation to power over the Medes, nor over the Persians, nor the year of the fall of Babylon, but the year succeeding the two years during which "Darius the Mede" was viceroy in Babylon after its fall. At this time only (B.C. 536) Cyrus became actual king over Palestine, which became a part of his Babylonian empire. The edict of Cyrus for the rebuilding of Jerusalem marked a great epoch in the history of the Jewish people (2 Chr. 36:22, 23; Ezra 1:1-4; 4:3; 5:13-17; 6:3-5).
This decree was discovered "at Achmetha [R.V. marg., "Ecbatana"], in the palace that is in the province of the Medes" (Ezra 6:2). A chronicle drawn up just after the conquest of Babylonia by Cyrus, gives the history of the reign of Nabonidus (Nabunahid), the last king of Babylon, and of the fall of the Babylonian empire. In B.C. 538 there was a revolt in Southern Babylonia, while the army of Cyrus entered the country from the north. In June the Babylonian army was completely defeated at Opis, and immediately afterwards Sippara opened its gates to the conqueror. Gobryas (Ugbaru), the governor of Kurdistan, was then sent to Babylon, which surrendered “without fighting,” and the daily services in the temples continued without a break. In October, Cyrus himself arrived, and proclaimed a general amnesty, which was communicated by Gobryas to “all the province of Babylon,” of which he had been made governor. Meanwhile, Nabonidus, who had concealed himself, was captured, but treated honorably; and when his wife died, Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, conducted the funeral. Cyrus now assumed the title of “king of Babylon,” claimed to be the descendant of the ancient kings, and made rich offerings to the temples. At the same time he allowed the foreign populations who had been deported to Babylonia to return to their old homes, carrying with them the images of their gods. Among these populations were the Jews, who, as they had no images, took with them the sacred vessels of the temple.
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Sheshbazzar - shesh-baz'-ar (shesh-batstsar or sheshbatstsar):
Sheshbazzar is the Hebrew or Aramaic form of the Babylonian Shamash-aba-ucur, or Shamash-bana-ucur: "Oh Shamash, protect the father." It is possible that the full name was Shamash-ban-zeri-Babili-ucur, "Oh Shamash, protect the father (builder) of the seed of Babylon." (See Zerubbabel, and Compare the Babylonian names Ashur-banaucur, Ban-ziri, Nabu-ban-ziri, Shamash-ban-apli, Shamash-apil-ucur, Shamash-ban-achi, and others in Tallquist's Neubabylonisches Namenbuch, and the Aramaic names on numbers 35, 44, 36, and 45 of Clay's Aramaic Dockets.) If this latter was the full name, there would be little doubt that Sheshbazzar may have been the same person as Zerubbabel, since the former is called in Ezra 5:14 the governor of Judah, and the latter is called by the same title in Haggai 1:1,14; 2:2,21. It is more probable, however, that Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel were different persons, and that Sheshbazzar was governor of Judah in the time of Cyrus and Zerubbabel in that of Darius. It is possible that Sheshbazzar came to Jerusalem in the time of Cyrus and laid the foundations, and that Zerubbabel came later in the time of Darius Hystaspis and completed the building of the temple (compare Ezra 2:68; 4:2; Haggai 1:14).
According to Ezra 1:8 Sheshbazzar was the prince (Hannasi) of Judah into whose hands Cyrus put the vessels of the house of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem and had put in the house of his gods. It is further said in 1:11 that Sheshbazzar brought these vessels with them of the captivity which he brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem. In Ezra 5:14 f it is said that these vessels had been delivered by Cyrus unto one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor (pechah), and that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God which was in Jerusalem.
R. Dick Wilson in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
5.1
Zechariah - Meaning: Jehovah is renowned or remembered
The name of two prophets, a priest, and several other people in the Bible…
1.A prophet of Judah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets. Like Ezekiel, he was of priestly extraction. He describes himself (1:1) as "the son of Berechiah." In Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 he is called "the son of Iddo," who was properly his grandfather. His prophetical career began in the second year of Darius (B.C. 520), about sixteen years after the return of the first company from exile. He was contemporary with Haggai (Ezra 5:1).
His book consists of two distinct parts: (1) chapters 1 to 8, inclusive, and (2) chapters 9 to the end. It begins with a preface (1:1-6), which recalls the nation's past history, for the purpose of presenting a solemn warning to the present generation. Then follows a series of eight visions (1:7-6:8), succeeding one another in one night, which may be regarded as a symbolical history of Israel, intended to furnish consolation to the returned exiles and stir up hope in their minds. The symbolical action, the crowning of Joshua (6:9-15), describes how the kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of God's Christ.
Chapters 7 and 8, delivered two years later, are an answer to the question whether the days of mourning for the destruction of the city should be any longer kept, and an encouraging address to the people, assuring them of God's presence and blessing.
The second part of the book (ch. 9-14) bears no date. It is probable that a considerable interval separates it from the first part. It consists of two burdens.
The first burden (ch. 9-11) gives an outline of the course of God's providential dealings with his people down to the time of the Advent.
The second burden (ch. 12-14) points out the glories that await Israel in “the latter day”, the final conflict and triumph of God's kingdom.
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Haggai - Meaning: festive
one of the twelve so-called minor prophets
He was the first of the three (Zechariah, his contemporary, and Malachi, who was about one hundred years later, being the other two) whose ministry belonged to the period of Jewish history which began after the return from captivity in Babylon. Scarcely anything is known of his personal history. He may have been one of the captives taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. He began his ministry about sixteen years after the Return. The work of rebuilding the temple had been put a stop to through the intrigues of the Samaritans. After having been suspended for fifteen years, the work was resumed through the efforts of Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 6:14), who by their exhortations roused the people from their lethargy, and induced them to take advantage of the favorable opportunity that had arisen in a change in the policy of the Persian government. (See Darius .) Haggai's prophecies have thus been characterized:, "There is a ponderous and simple dignity in the emphatic reiteration addressed alike to every class of the community, prince, priest, and people, 'Be strong, be strong, be strong' (2:4). 'Cleave, stick fast, to the work you have to do;' or again, 'Consider your ways, consider, consider, consider' (1:5, 7;2:15, 18). It is the Hebrew phrase for the endeavour, characteristic of the gifted seers of all times, to compel their hearers to turn the inside of their hearts outwards to their own view, to take the mask from off their consciences, to 'see life steadily, and to see it wholly.'", Stanley's Jewish Church.
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Iddo - Lovely. The father of Berachiah, and grandfather of the prophet Zechariah (Zech. 1:1, 7). He returned from Babylon (Neh. 12:4).
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ZERUBBABEL
ze-rub'-a-bel (zerubbabhel, probably a transliteration of the Babylonian name Zeru-Babili, "seed of Babylon"; Zorobabel):
1. Name:
Is commonly called the son of Shealtiel (Ezra 3:2,8; 5:2; Nehemiah 12:1; Haggai 1:1,12,14; Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27); but in 1 Chronicles 3:19 he is called the son of Pedaiah, the brother apparently of Shealtiel (Salathiel) and the son or grandson of Jeconiah. It is probable that Shealtiel had no children and adopted Zerubbabel; or that Zerubbabel was his levirate son; or that, Shealtiel being childless, Zerubbabel succeeded to the rights of sonship as being the next of kin.
2. Family:
Whatever may have been his blood relationship to Jeconiah, the Scriptures teach that Zerubbabel was his legal successor, of the 3rd or 4th generation. According to 1 Chronicles 3:19, he had one daughter, Shelomith, and seven sons, Meshullam, Hananiah, Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah and Jushab-hesed. In Matthew 1:13 he is said to have been the father of Abiud (i.e. Abi-hud). As it is the custom in Arabia today to give a man a new name when his first son is born, so it may have been, in this case, that Meshullam was the father of Hud, and that his name was changed to Abiud as soon as his son was named Hud. In Luke 3:27, the son of Zerubbabel is called Rhesa. This is doubtless the title of the head of the captivity, the resh gelutha', and would be appropriate as a title of Meshullam in his capacity as the official representative of the captive Jews. That Zerubbabel is said in the New Testament to be the son of Shealtiel the son of Neri instead of Jeconiah may be accounted for on the supposition that Shealtiel was the legal heir or adopted son of Jeconiah, who according to Jeremiah 36:30 was apparently to die childless.
3. Relation to Sheshbazzar:
It has been shown in the article on Sheshbazzar that he and Zerubbabel may possibly have been the same person and that the name may have been Shamash-ban (or bun)-zer-Babili-usur. It seems more probable, however, that Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah, was governor under Cyrus and that Zerubbabel was governor under Darius. The former, according to Ezra 1:8 and 5:14-16, laid the foundations, and the latter completed the building of the temple (Ezra 2:2,68; 4:2; Haggai 1:14; Zechariah 4:9).
4. History:
All that is known certainly about Zerubbabel is found in the canonical books of Zechariah, Haggai and Ezra-Nehemiah. According to these he and Jeshua, the high priest, led up a band of captives from Babylon to Jerusalem and began rebuilding the temple in the second year of Darius Hystaspis. They first constructed the altar of burnt offerings, and afterward built a temple, usually called the Second Temple, much inferior in beauty to that of Solomon. According to Josephus and the apocryphal Book of Ezra (1 Esdras 3,4), Zerubbabel was a friend of Darius Hystaspis, having successfully competed before him in a contest whose object was to determine what was the strongest thing in the world--wine, kings, women, or truth. Zerubbabel, having demonstrated that truth was the mightiest of all, was called the king's "cousin," and was granted by him permission to go up to Jerusalem and to build the temple. Zerubbabel was also made a governor of Jerusalem, and performed also the duties of the tirshatha, an official who was probably the Persian collector of taxes.
R. Dick Wilson in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Zerubbabel - Meaning: the seed of Babylon
the son of Salathiel or Shealtiel (Hag. 1:1; Zorobabel, Matt. 1:12); called also the son of Pedaiah (1 Chr. 3:17-19), i.e., according to a frequent usage of the word “son;” the grandson or the nephew of Salathiel.
He is also known by the Persian name of Sheshbazzar (Ezra 1:8, 11). In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, he led the first band of Jews, numbering 42,360 (Ezra 2:64), exclusive of a large number of servants, who returned from captivity at the close of the seventy years. In the second year after the Return, he erected an altar and laid the foundation of the temple on the ruins of that which had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (3:8-13; ch. 4-6). All through the work he occupied a prominent place, inasmuch as he was a descendant of the royal line of David.
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What is important is that Zerubbabel was a grandson of Jehoiachin and therefore the legitimate heir of the Davidic throne. His appointment as governor allowed his Judean royal descent to coincide with his Persian political appointment. How long he served in that capacity cannot be determined, but he was still governor by 520 B.C. The recent discovery of bullae and seals bearing the names of Judean governors suggests that Zerubbabel may be dated to c. 510, Elnathan c. 510-490, Yeho ‘ezer c. 490-470, and Ahzai c. 447-445.Nehemiah, of course, commenced his governorship then and continued on to 433 B.C. ---- Eugene H. Merrill @ http://bible.org/seriespage/haggai
Shealtiel - Meaning: asked for of God
father of Zerubbabel (Ezra 3:2, 8; Neh. 12:1)
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Jeshua - The son of Jozadak, and high priest of the Jews under Zerubbabel (Neh. 7:7; 12:1, 7, 10, 26); called Joshua (Hag. 1:1, 12; 2:2, 4; Zech. 3:1, 3, 6, 8, 9).
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Jozadak - Father of Jeshua
Tattenai - tat'-e-ni (tattenay, various forms in the Septuagint; the King James Version Tatnai, tat'ni, tat'na-i'):
A Persian governor, who was the successor of Rehum in Samaria and some other provinces belonging to Judah, bordering on Samaria. He governed the provinces during the reign of Darius Hystaspis and Zerubbabel (Ezra 5:3,6; 6:6,13). He was friendly to the Jews, and when he heard adverse reports from Jerusalem he suspended judgment till he had investigated the matter on the ground, and then reported to the Persian government in a very moderate manner. In 1 Esdras 6:3,7,27; 7:1 he is called "Sisinnes."
S. L. Umbach in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates. Tattenai was a paḥat or peḥu, who served under the satrap Ushtannu. He is later appointed as a satrap in a Babylonian source dated to 502 b.c. As the local official on the scene, he took the responsibility for investigating the temple building process and asked for confirmation from Darius as to whether it was legitimate activity. Once he receives affirmation, he demonstrates that he is a good bureaucrat by diligently carrying out the king’s orders (Ezra 6:13).
According to the Old Testament Book of Ezra, Tattenai led an investigation into the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem about 519 bc. He sent a report to Darius, who responded with instructions to allow the work to proceed. Tattenai is one of the few Persian officials mentioned in the Old Testament for whom there is independent attestation; he is mentioned in a cuneiform tablet dated 502 bc.
"Tattenai." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 14 Nov. 2009
Shethar-Boznai - SHETHAR-BOZENAI, SHETHAR-BOZNAI
she'-thar-boz'-e-ni, she'-thar-boz'-ni, -boz'-na-i, (shethar boznay, meaning uncertain):
The name of a Persian (?) official mentioned with Tattenai in connection with the correspondence with Darius relative to the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 5:3,6; 6:6,12; Codex Vaticanus Satharbouzan; Codex Alexandrinus Satharbouzanai, in Ezra 5:3; 6:13; Satharbouzanes, in Ezra 5:6; Satharbouzane, in Ezra 6:6; Lucian, throughout, Tharbouzanaios), called in 1 Esdras 6:3,7,27; 7:1 "Shathrabuzanes."
Among the conjectures as to the meaning and derivation of the name, the following may be mentioned:
(1) Shethar-boznai may be a corruption of metharboznay = Mithrobouzanes, Old Persian Mithrobauzana--i.e. "Mithra is deliverer."
(2) shathar is identical with the Old Persian Tsithra ("seed," "brilliance"); names have been found that are confounded with this word.
(3) shethar bowzenay may be a title, but sethar, must then be read for shethar.
(4) shethar boznay is equivalent to the Old Persian Sethrabuzana, "empire-delivering"; compare Encyclopedia Biblica, article "Shethar-boznai," and Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament.
Horace J. Wolf in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Darius - (2.) Darius, king of Persia, was the son of Hystaspes, of the royal family of the Achaemenidae. He did not immediately succeed Cyrus on the throne. There were two intermediate kings, viz., Cambyses (the Ahasuerus of Ezra), the son of Cyrus, who reigned from B.C. 529-522, and was succeeded by a usurper named Smerdis, who occupied the throne only ten months, and was succeeded by this Darius (B.C. 521-486). Smerdis was a Margian, and therefore had no sympathy with Cyrus and Cambyses in the manner in which they had treated the Jews. He issued a decree prohibiting the restoration of the temple and of Jerusalem (Ezra 4:17-22). But soon after his death and the accession of Darius, the Jews resumed their work, thinking that the edict of Smerdis would be now null and void, as Darius was in known harmony with the religious policy of Cyrus. The enemies of the Jews lost no time in bringing the matter under the notice of Darius, who caused search to be made for the decree of Cyrus (q.v.). It was not found at Babylon, but at Achmetha (Ezra 6:2); and Darius forthwith issued a new decree, giving the Jews full liberty to prosecute their work, at the same time requiring the Syrian satrap and his subordinates to give them all needed help. It was with the army of this king that the Greeks fought the famous battle of Marathon (B.C. 490). During his reign the Jews enjoyed much peace and prosperity. He was succeeded by Ahasuerus, known to the Greeks as Xerxes, who reigned for twenty-one years.
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Nebuchadnezzar - in the Babylonian orthography Nabu-kudur-uzur, which means "Nebo, protect the crown!" or the “frontiers”
In an inscription he styles himself "Nebo's favorite." He was the son and successor of Nabopolassar, who delivered Babylon from its dependence on Assyria and laid Nineveh in ruins. He was the greatest and most powerful of all the Babylonian kings. He married the daughter of Cyaxares, and thus the Median and Babylonian dynasties were united.
Necho II., the king of Egypt, gained a victory over the Assyrians at Carchemish. This secured to Egypt the possession of the Syrian provinces of Assyria, including Palestine. The remaining provinces of the Assyrian empire were divided between Babylonia and Media. But Nabopolassar was ambitious of reconquering from Necho the western provinces of Syria, and for this purpose he sent his son with a powerful army westward (Dan. 1:1). The Egyptians met him at Carchemish, where a furious battle was fought, resulting in the complete rout of the Egyptians, who were driven back (Jer. 46:2-12), and Syria and Phoenicia brought under the sway of Babylon (B.C. 606). From that time "the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land" (2 Kings 24:7). Nebuchadnezzar also subdued the whole of Palestine, and took Jerusalem, carrying away captive a great multitude of the Jews, among whom were Daniel and his companions (Dan. 1:1, 2; Jer. 27:19; 40:1).
Three years after this, Jehoiakim, who had reigned in Jerusalem as a Babylonian vassal, rebelled against the oppressor, trusting to help from Egypt (2 Kings 24:1). This led Nebuchadnezzar to march an army again to the conquest of Jerusalem, which at once yielded to him (B.C. 598). A third time he came against it, and deposed Jehoiachin, whom he carried into Babylon, with a large portion of the population of the city, and the sacred vessels of the temple, placing Zedekiah on the throne of Judah in his stead. He also, heedless of the warnings of the prophet, entered into an Alliance with Egypt, and rebelled against Babylon. This brought about the final siege of the city, which was at length taken and utterly destroyed (B.C. 586). Zedekiah was taken captive, and had his eyes put out by order of the king of Babylon, who made him a prisoner for the remainder of his life.
An onyx cameo, now in the museum of Florence, bears on it an arrow-headed inscription, which is certainly ancient and genuine. The helmeted profile is said (Schrader) to be genuine also, but it is more probable that it is the portrait of a usurper in the time of Darius (Hystaspes), called Nidinta-Bel, who took the name of "Nebuchadrezzar." The inscription has been thus translated:, "In honor of Merodach, his lord, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in his lifetime had this made."
A clay tablet, now in the British Museum, bears the following inscription, the only one as yet found which refers to his wars: "In the thirty-seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the country of Babylon, he went to Egypt [Misr] to make war. Amasis, king of Egypt, collected [his army], and marched and spread abroad." Thus were fulfilled the words of the prophet (Jer. 46:13-26; Ezek. 29:2-20). Having completed the subjugation of Phoenicia, and inflicted chastisement on Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar now set himself to rebuild and adorn the city of Babylon (Dan. 4:30), and to add to the greatness and prosperity of his kingdom by constructing canals and aqueducts and reservoirs surpassing in grandeur and magnificence everything of the kind mentioned in history (Dan. 2:37). He is represented as a “king of kings,” ruling over a vast kingdom of many provinces, with a long list of officers and rulers under him, "princes, governors, captains," etc. (3:2, 3, 27). He may, indeed, be said to have created the mighty empire over which he ruled.
"Modern research has shown that Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest monarch that Babylon, or perhaps the East generally, ever produced. He must have possessed an enormous command of human labor, nine-tenths of Babylon itself, and nineteen-twentieths of all the other ruins that in almost countless profusion cover the land, are composed of bricks stamped with his name. He appears to have built or restored almost every city and temple in the whole country. His inscriptions give an elaborate account of the immense works which he constructed in and about Babylon itself, abundantly illustrating the boast, 'Is not this great Babylon which I have build?'" Rawlinson, Hist. Illustrations.
After the incident of the “burning fiery furnace” (Dan. 3) into which the three Hebrew confessors were cast, Nebuchadnezzar was afflicted with some peculiar mental aberration as a punishment for his pride and vanity, probably the form of madness known as lycanthropy (i.e, “the change of a man into a wolf”). A remarkable confirmation of the Scripture narrative is afforded by the recent discovery of a bronze door-step, which bears an inscription to the effect that it was presented by Nebuchadnezzar to the great temple at Borsippa as a votive offering on account of his recovery from a terrible illness.
He survived his recovery for some years, and died B.C. 562, in the eighty-third or eighty-fourth year of his age, after a reign of forty-three years, and was succeeded by his son Evil-merodach, who, after a reign of two years, was succeeded by Neriglissar (559-555), who was succeeded by Nabonadius (555-538), at the close of whose reign (less than a quarter of a century after the death of Nebuchadnezzar) Babylon fell under Cyrus at the head of the combined armies of Media and Persia.
“I have examined,” says Sir H. Rawlinson, "the bricks belonging perhaps to a hundred different towns and cities in the neighborhood of Baghdad, and I never found any other legend than that of Nebuchadnezzar, son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon." Nine-tenths of all the bricks amid the ruins of Babylon are stamped with his name.
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Cyrus - Hebrew: “Ko'resh”
This was the name of the celebrated “King of Persia” (Elam) who was conqueror of Babylon, and issued the decree of liberation to the Jews (Ezra 1:1, 2). He was the son of Cambyses, the prince of Persia, and was born about B.C. 599. In the year B.C. 559 he became king of Persia, the kingdom of Media being added to it partly by conquest. Cyrus was a great military leader, bent on universal conquest. Babylon fell before his army (B.C. 538) on the night of Belshazzar's feast (Dan. 5:30), and then the ancient dominion of Assyria was also added to his empire (cf., "Go up, O Elam", Isa.21:2).
Hitherto the great kings of the earth had only oppressed the Jews. Cyrus was to them as a “shepherd” (Isa. 44:28; 45:1). God employed him in doing service to his ancient people. He may posibly have gained, through contact with the Jews, some knowledge of their religion.
The “first year of Cyrus” (Ezra 1:1) is not the year of his elevation to power over the Medes, nor over the Persians, nor the year of the fall of Babylon, but the year succeeding the two years during which "Darius the Mede" was viceroy in Babylon after its fall. At this time only (B.C. 536) Cyrus became actual king over Palestine, which became a part of his Babylonian empire. The edict of Cyrus for the rebuilding of Jerusalem marked a great epoch in the history of the Jewish people (2 Chr. 36:22, 23; Ezra 1:1-4; 4:3; 5:13-17; 6:3-5).
This decree was discovered "at Achmetha [R.V. marg., "Ecbatana"], in the palace that is in the province of the Medes" (Ezra 6:2). A chronicle drawn up just after the conquest of Babylonia by Cyrus, gives the history of the reign of Nabonidus (Nabunahid), the last king of Babylon, and of the fall of the Babylonian empire. In B.C. 538 there was a revolt in Southern Babylonia, while the army of Cyrus entered the country from the north. In June the Babylonian army was completely defeated at Opis, and immediately afterwards Sippara opened its gates to the conqueror. Gobryas (Ugbaru), the governor of Kurdistan, was then sent to Babylon, which surrendered “without fighting,” and the daily services in the temples continued without a break. In October, Cyrus himself arrived, and proclaimed a general amnesty, which was communicated by Gobryas to “all the province of Babylon,” of which he had been made governor. Meanwhile, Nabonidus, who had concealed himself, was captured, but treated honorably; and when his wife died, Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, conducted the funeral. Cyrus now assumed the title of “king of Babylon,” claimed to be the descendant of the ancient kings, and made rich offerings to the temples. At the same time he allowed the foreign populations who had been deported to Babylonia to return to their old homes, carrying with them the images of their gods. Among these populations were the Jews, who, as they had no images, took with them the sacred vessels of the temple.
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Sheshbazzar - shesh-baz'-ar (shesh-batstsar or sheshbatstsar):
Sheshbazzar is the Hebrew or Aramaic form of the Babylonian Shamash-aba-ucur, or Shamash-bana-ucur: "Oh Shamash, protect the father." It is possible that the full name was Shamash-ban-zeri-Babili-ucur, "Oh Shamash, protect the father (builder) of the seed of Babylon." (See Zerubbabel, and Compare the Babylonian names Ashur-banaucur, Ban-ziri, Nabu-ban-ziri, Shamash-ban-apli, Shamash-apil-ucur, Shamash-ban-achi, and others in Tallquist's Neubabylonisches Namenbuch, and the Aramaic names on numbers 35, 44, 36, and 45 of Clay's Aramaic Dockets.) If this latter was the full name, there would be little doubt that Sheshbazzar may have been the same person as Zerubbabel, since the former is called in Ezra 5:14 the governor of Judah, and the latter is called by the same title in Haggai 1:1,14; 2:2,21. It is more probable, however, that Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel were different persons, and that Sheshbazzar was governor of Judah in the time of Cyrus and Zerubbabel in that of Darius. It is possible that Sheshbazzar came to Jerusalem in the time of Cyrus and laid the foundations, and that Zerubbabel came later in the time of Darius Hystaspis and completed the building of the temple (compare Ezra 2:68; 4:2; Haggai 1:14).
According to Ezra 1:8 Sheshbazzar was the prince (Hannasi) of Judah into whose hands Cyrus put the vessels of the house of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem and had put in the house of his gods. It is further said in 1:11 that Sheshbazzar brought these vessels with them of the captivity which he brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem. In Ezra 5:14 f it is said that these vessels had been delivered by Cyrus unto one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor (pechah), and that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God which was in Jerusalem.
R. Dick Wilson in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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