Ezra 5 Study Notes

5:1-6:22 After the thematic presentation of local opposition in chap. 4, the author returns to the situation in Darius’s day when construction was resumed and completed (chaps. 5-6). The rebuilt temple and the fully restored sacrificial system not only demonstrated their continuity with the people of God before the exile but also served as a visible sign of God’s restoration of what had been lost.

5:1 The impetus for a renewed attempt at construction began when Haggai and Zechariah brought their prophetic oracles to the Jews. In his first oracle, God asked the Jewish community, “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?” (Hg 1:4). That same year Zechariah encouraged the people to respond to God’s promise of future glory for Jerusalem. In this present verse Zechariah is said to be the son of Iddo while in Zch 1:1 he is the “son of Berechiah, son of Iddo.” This is no contradiction. The term son (Aramaic bar) and its Hebrew equivalent (ben) can refer to a descendant such as “grandson.” Thus Zch 1:1 and Ezr 5:1 are both correct.

5:2 Haggai and Zechariah also pointed to Zerubbabel and Jeshua the priest as those who led the people (2:2; 3:2,8; 4:3) in the renewed construction. Helping them did not imply manual labor but encouragement and moral support for those doing the work.

5:3-5 Tattenai is called governor (Aramaic pechah) of “Beyond the River,” the Trans-Euphrates region, even though he probably served as “sub-governor” under Ushtanu, a new governor appointed by Darius in 520 BC, the year when construction on the temple resumed. Zerubbabel is also called “governor” (Hb pechah, Hg 1:14; 2:2,21), although he answered to Tattenai and was responsible solely for the region of Yehud (Judah).

Tattenai’s question about the source of the order may have been a genuine concern for the legal authorization of the construction. The word structure translates an Aramaic term (’usharna) that could refer to wood used in the furnishings or, more probably, to the wood used in the construction of the walls (v. 8) and the roof. While Tattenai wanted to confirm the legality of the construction, he did not forbid it while waiting for written instructions.

5:5 The phrase God was watching is literally “the eye of their God was on” the elders. The idiom “the eye(s) of the Lord” occurs elsewhere in the OT (Ps 33:18; 34:15). In Ezra’s Memoir (see “Structure” in the Introduction) a common idiom for God’s providential care is “the hand of the Lord was with us” (see Ezr 7:6,9; 8:18). This verse contains the first mention of the Jewish elders in the postexilic era. In the Persian period, real power was in the hands of the Persian-appointed authorities, while the elders more often were called together to witness important events and judicial decisions.

5:6 D.J. Clines describes the officials as “imperial troubleshooters, armed with powers of punishment.”

5:7 All greetings means literally “all peace.”

5:8 Previously some scholars dismissed as implausible the use of the description house of the great God by a Persian official. However, the same term has been found in inscriptions at Persepolis, the great city of Darius and Xerxes.

5:9-10 These verses testify to the accuracy of the information given in narrative in vv. 3-4.

5:11 While the title “God of heaven” is used twelve times in Ezra-Nehemiah, this is the only use of the title God of the heavens and earth in the Bible. The apostle Paul used a similar description in Athens, referring to God as “Lord of heaven and earth” (Ac 17:24). Solomon’s name is not used here, only an oblique reference to a great king of Israel.

5:12 The phrase our fathers angered the God of the heavens makes clear that the cause of their nation’s destruction and exile was their forefathers’ failure to keep the covenant (2Ch 36:15-21; Neh 1:5-11; 9:5-37; Jr 4-6).

5:13 Although Cyrus was king of Persia, he also referred to himself as “King of Babylon” after he conquered Babylon in 539 BC. Here the central claim of the Jewish leaders is put forth: Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild the house of God. This decree, if found, would verify their right to rebuild the temple.

5:14-15 The Neo-Babylonian kings who preceded Darius also showed great concern that fallen temples should be restored exactly on their original locations, strengthening the sense of continuity and legitimacy of the rebuilt temples.

5:16 The Jewish elders’ claim that Sheshbazzar . . . laid the foundation of God’s house has been the subject of debate (see note at 3:8-9). The claim that it had been under construction from that time until now is also difficult since both Haggai and Zechariah, as well as Ezra (4:5,23), say that construction had ceased for nearly twenty years. The claim about ceaseless building appears to be a prevarication on the part of the Jewish elders, borne out of fear that any mention of a long halt of construction would weaken their case that their rebuilding efforts were sanctioned.

5:17 Tattenai suggested that a search be undertaken of the royal archives (lit “treasure house”) in Babylon for Cyrus’s decree allowing the Jewish exiles to return to their homeland. The record of the decree in fact was found in the Persian summer capital of Ecbatana (6:2). It appears that neither Sheshbazzar nor Zerubbabel had an official copy, since none was shown to their early opponents (4:1-5) or to Tattenai.