But there were many hindrances and delays to be encountered before the work was finished. The Samar- itans or Cntheans put in a claim to join with the Jews in rebuilding the Temple; and when Zerubbabel and his companions refused to admit them into partnership, they tried to hinder them from building, and hired counsellors to frustrate their purpose. They probably contrived, in the first instance, to intercept the supplies of timber and stone, and the wages of the workmen, which were paid out of the king's revenue, and then by X.-Zzz
misrepresentation to calumniate them at the court of Persia. Thus they were successful in putting a stop to the work during the seven remaining years of the reign of Cyrus, and through the eight years of Camby- ses and Smerdis. Nor docs Zerubbabel appear quite blameless for this long delay. The dilliculties in the way of building the Temple were not such as need have stopped the work; and during this long suspension of sixteen years, Zerubbabel and the rest of the people had been busy in building costly houses for themselves, and one might even suspect that the cedar-wood which had been brought for the Temple had been used to decorate private dwellings (comp. the use of "ED in Hagg. i, 4, and 1 Kings vii, 3, 7). They had, in fact, ceased to care for the desolation of the Temple (llagg. i, 2-4), and had not noticed that God was reljidiing their luke- warmness by withholding his blessing from their la- bors (ver. 5-11). But in the seconil year of Darius light dawned upon the darkness of the colony from Babylon. In that year — it was the most memorable event in Zerubbabel's life — the spirit of prophecy sud- denly blazed up with a most brilliant light among the returned captives; and the long silence which was to ensue till the ministry of John the Baptist was i)re- ceded by the stirring utterances of Ilaggai and Zecha- riah. Their words fell like sparks upon tinder. In a moment Zerubbabel, roused from his apathy, threw liis whole strength into the work, zealously seconded by Jeshua and all the people. Undeterred by a fresh at- tempt of their enemies to hinder the progress of the building, they went on with tlie work even wliile a reference was made to Darius; and when, after the original decree of Cyrus had been fomid at Ecbatana, a most gracious and favorable decree was issued by Da- rius, enjoining Tatnai and Slietharboznai to assist tiie Jews with whatsoever they had need of at the king's expense, the work advanced so rapidly that on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of Darius, the Temple was finished, and was forthwith dedicated with much pomp and rejoicing. It is (hfficult to calculate how great was the effect of tlie prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah in sustaining the courage and energy of Zerubbabel in carrying his work to completion. Ad- dressed, as many of them^jvero, directly to Zerubbabel by name ; speaking, as they did, most glorious things of the Temple which he was building; conveying to Ze- rubbaliel himself extraordinary assurances of divine fa- vor, and coupling with them magnificent and consola- tory predictions of the future glory of Jerusalem and Judah and of the conversion of the Gentiles, they nec- essarilv exercised an immense infliience upon his mind (Hagg. i, 13, 14; ii, 4-9, 21-23; Zech. iv,C-IO; viii,3- 8, 9, 18-23). It is not too much to say that these prophecies upon Zerulibabel were the immediate instru- ment by which the Church and commonwealth of Ju- dah were preserved from destruction and received a life which endured till the coming of Christ.
The only other works of Zerubbabel which we learn from the Scripture history are the restoration of the courses of priests and Levites, and of the provision for their maintenance, according to the institution of Da- vid (Ezra vi, 18; Neh. xii, 47); the registering of the returned captives according to their genealogies (vii, .">) ; and the keeping of a Passover in the seventh year of Darius, with which last event ends all that we know of the life of Zerubbaliel the son of Shealtiel — a man infe- rior to few of the great characters of Scripture, wlietli- er we consider the perilous undertaking to which he devoted himself, the importance in the economy of the divine government of his work, his courageous faith, or the singular distinction of being the object of so many and such remarkable prophetic utterances.
2. The Apocryphdl liixlo?'// of Zerubbabel, which, as usual, Josephus follows, may be summed up in a few words. The story told in 1 Ksdr. iii-vii is that on the occasion of a great feast made by Darius on his acces-
ZERUBBABEL
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ZERUIAH
sion, three young men of his body-guard had a contest ' reckoned as Salathiel's heir [Ezra iii, 2]). [Ver. 21]
who should write the wisest sentence. One of the three (Zorubbabel) writing "Women are strongest, but above all tilings Truth bearclh away the victory," and afterwards defending his sentence with much elociucnce, was declared by acclamation to be the wisest, and claim- ed for his reward at the king's hand that the king should perform his vow which he had vowed to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. Upon this the king gave him letters to all his treasurers and governors on the other side the river, with grants of money and exemp- tion from taxes, and sent him to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple, accompanied by the families of which the list is given in PLzra ii, Neh. vii ; and then follows, in utter confusion, the history of Zer.ubbabel as given in Scripture. Apparently, too, the compiler did not per- ceive that Sdiiubasar (Sheshbazzar) was the same per- son as Zcrubbabel. Josephus, indeed, seems to identify Sheshbazzar with Zerubbabel, and tries to reconcile the story in 1 Esdras by saying, " Now it so fell out that about this time Zorobabel, who had been made govern- or of the Jews that had been in captivity, came to Da- rius from Jerusalem, for there had been an old friend-