7. For they neither could nor mighr proceed in that work againſt their Kings Prohibition, without a ſpecia! Command from the King of Heaven; which they had chap 5+ 1, 2+» 2 To wit. Darius the Son of HyFaſper; Sucgefor of Cambyſes: nor, as ſome would have it Dart- us Nthus, the Son of fr axcrxes Lorgimanus, who was not Emperour till above 100 years after Cyrus, and conſequently from the begins ning of the building of the Temple to the finiſhing of it muſt be about 130 years; which is not credible to any one that coniiders ; 1. Thar rhe ſame Zerubbabel did both lay rhe Foundations and finiſh the work, Zcc'. 4. 9. 2. Thar ſome of the ſame perſons who ſaw the fini. fhing of this ſecond houſe had ſeen the glory of the firſt houſe, Hag. 2,3.
CHAP. V.
Zerubbabel bring encourag'd by Haggai and Zechariah the Prophets, ſetteth fer vard the werk, 1, 2. Their adverſarics epfaſe 'em again, 3—=5* Toe ry Later 10 Darius concerning this mattrrg 6 I7,
Prophets ® Haggai the prophet, and*Ze- Rs NF Hen the Prophets ® Haggai the prophet, an e
Zech. r. Jews that were in Judah and Jeruſalem, in the name of s the God of Ifrael b, even to them. s i. e. Tado's Grand child; for he was the ſon of Barachia. 6 Com- minding them from God to return to tle work of building the Temple, with promiſe of his fayeur and afliſt.nce, '2 Then roſe up Zecubbabel the ſon of Shealtiel, and Jeſhua the ſon of Jozadak,and began to bui!d the houſe of God which is at Jeruſtem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them c. | c Encouraging the Peop'e to work by their preſencey and affurz
ance of ſucceſs. | . '2 Act the fame time cams to them Tatnai, gover-
nour ot! this fide the river, and Shethar-boznai 4, and their companions, and faid thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this houſe, and co make up this wall 2? * @ Not Rebum and Shimſhar, &c. who were either dead, or removy- | ed from their Officzs by tne new Emperour Dariws, as is very uſual. * Ver. wo. 4 * Then faid we e unto chem afier this manner. T C-ald.. What are the names of che men 7 that make this buiid- eharbud ing? oy builds e Either r. We Tatnai and Shethar-boznai. And ſo this is an addi-
tional and more expreſs enquiry concerning the names of the Build-
EX 23 £4
chariah the ſon of Iddo #4, prophecied unto the |
Ir And they returned us anſwer, fujirg, We are the ſervants of the God of heaven ard earth, and build the houſe that was built many years 3go, which a gicar king of Urael built, * and ſet up. Kio
12 But after that our fathers had provoked the God 6. 1. © of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the land of, _ * Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon the Chal* . : King dean, who deſtroyed this houſe, and carried the pecpie Ig 7 away into Babylon. Sy
13 But in the ficſt year of *Cyrus the king of Baby- lon, the ſame king Cyrus made a decree to build this houſe of God.
14 And * the veſle!s alſo of gold ard filver of the * Ch. r:7; houſe of God, Which Nebuchadriiczzar took out of the 3: 6.5, temple that was in Jeruſalem, and brouyht them into the temple of Babylan, thoſe did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, ard they were delivered unto one, Whoſe name was Sheſhbazzar, whom he had made || governour. h O. J«
15 And faid unto him, Take theſe veſſels, go carty 2% them into the temple that 7s in Jeruſalem, and ler the houſe of God be built in his place.
16 Then came the ſame Sheſhbazzar , and laid the foundation of che houſe of God which 1s in Jeruſalem.
And ſince that time even until now &, hath ic been in building, and yet is not finiſhed.
k Allowing for ſome innterruptionse
I7 Now therefore, if it ſeem good to the king, let there be ſearch made in the kings treaſure houſe, which is there art Babylon, whether it be /o, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king, to build this houſe of God at Jeruſalem, and let the king {end his pleaſure to us con» cerning this matter,
CHAP VL
| Davius anſwereth the former letter, 1 7» and maketh a new decree, 8 12. By ths help of the Ad'virſaries, and the direRions of the Pr-phots the Temple is fined, 13——15« The Feaſts of the Dedicae tion, I6———18, and of the paſſover, are kept, 19 22. Hen Darius the king made a deeree s, and ſearch was made in the houſe of the + rolls, where the treaſures + were laid up in Pabylon 6. + Chald 4 Either 1. To ſearch the Rolls. Or rather 2. To' permit and 4%. promote the building of the Templ:, And ſo rhe following words T Chalt may be rendred. after fearch' was mad?, &c, the Hebrew Particle v3u 74de ts being ofc fo uſed, as hattr been noted before. & Either, 1. In the, 4: cend, Kingdom or Empire of Babylon, which he now poſſ-ſſed : Or 'rae |) Or, & ther, 2, In the City of Babylon where ſearch was firſt made. ſup- #491. of poſing that this Edit which was made preſently after Cyrus had in 4 af; taken Babylin, was kept there, bur not finding it there, they ſearchy ed in Ackmecha, and found it there» ; 2 And there was found «c at || Achmetha 4, in the
mY
© Ct.r.r,
ers, And tiis ſenſc is favoured by comparing v. 9,' 10. where the ſame qu=ſfions here ſeverally made, v. 3+ and 4- are in like manrier diſtinguiſli2d. And fo the 1zered Writer ſpeaks this 1n their Per- - ſoa. Such variation ef perſons being frequent in the Hebrew Lan. guage, as the Learned know. Or, 2.2: Jews; and fo the Tranf- Jatzon muſt be alittle varied,and the words read without an Interro» tiov1 thus, Then we rold them accordingly, ( 3. e. according to what they aslted ) what were the names of the men that maae this building, 7. e. viho were the chief Undercakers and Encouragers of this Work : For although the Hebrew Particle, 4h, - rendered what, ſeems always to be uſed interrogatively, yet the Chaldee Particle, man hzre rendeted what, is uſed otherwiſe, as is manifeſt from Dan.
I7,
D « But the eye' of their God was upon the elders'of
the Jews, that they could* not: cauſe them to ceaſe f,
dll the: matter came to Darius : and then-they return-
ed anſwer by letter concerning this matter.
- f Becauſe God over ruled their Hearts and Hands, that they did
nor hind:r them by force, as they could have done,
6 The copy of the letter that Latnai, governour on this ſid the river, and Shethar-boznai, and his compa- nions the Apharſachites g, which were on this ſide che
_ river h, ſent unto Darius the- king. :