Ezra 5
5:1 a Haggai first prophesied on August 29, 520 BC (Hag 1:1 b). Zechariah began prophesying about two months later (Zech 1:1 c). The books of Haggai and Zechariah record their messages (see also Ezra 6:14 d).5:2 e The Jewish leaders had not led by faith (see Hag 1:1 f, 12 g). Now God’s Spirit stirred them up (Hag 1:14 h), and they obeyed by getting to work.
• Zerubbabel and Jeshua figure prominently in the books of Haggai and Zechariah.
5:3 i Who gave you permission? Unlike the hostile opposition recorded in ch 4 j, this seems to have been a routine inquiry to make sure that everything was done according to official requirements.
5:5 k God was watching over them: All credit goes to God’s sovereign control of events, not to any human leader or prophet. God had promised that the ruins would be rebuilt (Isa 44:26 l).
Summary for Ezra 5:6-17: 5:6-17 m Ezra includes a copy in Aramaic of Tattenai’s letter to King Darius. Unlike the letter of 4:11-16 n, this letter was a straightforward inquiry into the validity of the Jews’ activity. 5:6 o other officials: A Persian term for inspectors or investigators.
5:8 p the great God: This title was a Persian way of referring to an important high deity; it does not indicate that the provincial authorities believed in Israel’s God.
• Following the pattern of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kgs 6:36 q), after every three rows of prepared stones, a layer of timber was laid in its walls (see Ezra 6:4 r) to reduce potential damage from earthquakes.
5:11 s the God of heaven: This title would be understood by the Persians: He was the universal high God, not an insignificant local deity.
• a great king of Israel: Solomon (see 1 Kgs 5–8 t).
5:12 u destroyed this Temple and exiled the people: See 2 Kgs 25:9-17 v.
5:13 w a decree: See 1:1-4 x.
Summary for Ezra 5:14-15: 5:14-15 y The Jews provided detailed information that the Persians could check for accuracy (see 1:7-11 z).
5:16 aa Most likely, Sheshbazzar began the work and Zerubbabel finished it (see study note on 1:8).
Ezra 6:1-12
6:2 ab The fortress at Ecbatana, the king’s summer home, was located about 300 miles northeast of Babylon. This suggests that Cyrus wrote the scroll in the summer of 538 BC.• Media was a mountainous area north of Persia and east of Assyria. This area is now inhabited by the Kurds (descendants of the Medes).
• Texts introduced by the term Memorandum tended to be summaries that listed the main facts of an event for the royal archives (cp. 1:9-10 ac).
6:3 ad This decree is recorded in Ezra 1:2-4 ae.
• The Temple’s height will be ninety feet, and its width will be ninety feet: The emendations given in the NLT textual note would make these measurements match those of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kgs 6:2 af, 17 ag, 20 ah). But the larger measurements given here might represent the maximum size that the Persians would fund.
6:4 ai All expenses will be paid by the royal treasury. Although it seems surprising that the Persians would do this, it was consistent with Persian practice elsewhere (e.g., at Sais and Elephantine in Egypt, and at Ur in Mesopotamia). Such generosity was designed to ensure loyalty to Persia.
6:8 aj You must pay the full construction costs: This command fulfilled God’s promise through Haggai (Hag 2:7 ak).
6:10 al pray for the welfare of the king and his sons: In the Cyrus Cylinder (a Persian account of Cyrus’s defeat of Babylon), King Cyrus requests, “May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities ask [the Babylonian gods] Bel and Nebo daily for a long life for me” (see 1:1-4 am).
Summary for Ezra 6:11-12: 6:11-12 an Those who violate this decree: Inscriptions and official decrees often included curses on those who opposed the will of the king (cp. Dan 2:5 ao).
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