The Pulpit Commentary — Ezra — Section 83

whereO,S this Artaxerxes should, by the unknown to the first temple. The Lord position of his name, be one of the successors himself, the Messenger of the covenant, of Darius. It has been suggested that Xerxes so long sought by his people, suddenly is intended, and that he may have been associated with his father during the building came to this temple (Mal. iii. I)-came to it, of the temple. But M Xerxes was the son and frequented it, and taught in it, and gave of Atossa, whom Darius did not marrr. until it a dignity and a majesty far beyond the he had ascended the throne (Herod., Iii. 88), first temple, which possessed indeed the he cannot have been more than five years old Shechinah, but was once, and once only, when the temple was finished. Nor was he vouchsafed a brief manifestation of the actual ever associated on the throne by his father. Xerxes, therefore, cannot be meant. The next Divine presence (2 Chron. vii. 1). king to Xerxes, however, who really bore the name of Artaxerxes was a favourer of the Jews, Ver. 16.-The children of Israel. Again and did give commandment to "beautify," the writer is careful to lresent the returnee! and in that sense " finish," the house of the exiles to us as " Israe , " and not merely Lord (see eh. vii. 20, 27). We must suppose, "Judah" (comp. ii. 70; iii. 1, 10, 11; iv. therefore, that he is the person intended. 3; v. I). This is especially fitting when The objection that the name is not spelt the he is about to explain why the number of same, but has a sameah, in one place instead the he-goats offered was twelve (see the next of a schin, is too minute to require con- verse). Kept the dedication of this house sicleration. The Persians themselves spelt of God. The primary dedication seems to the name of Artaxerxes in more ways than be glanced at in the words, "the dedication one (Rawlinson, ' Cuneiform Inscriptions of of this house," an expression repeated in the Persia,' vol. i. p. 348). next verse. It is one of the great objects of Ver. 15.-The house was finished on the Ezra to link the present with the past, the third day of the month Adar. Haggai (i. new temple with the old, the rest<ired 15) gives the exact day of the recommence- religion with that of former times. ment of the work as the twenty-fourth ofElul Ver. 17.-And offered . . . an hundred in Darius's second year. Ezra. here gives the bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred exact day of the completion. From Zerub- lambs. A poor offering, if it be compared, babel's laying of the foundation (Ezra iii. 10), not alone with Solomon's (1 Kings viii. 63), the time that had elapsed was twenty-one but even with Hezekiah's (2 Chron. XL'C. 2-!), years. From the recommencement under or Josiah's (ibid. xxxv. 7). Hundreds now the inspiriting influence of the two prophets, take the place of the thousands offered under the time was only four years, five months, the old monarchy. A sin offering for all and ten days. Israel. See comment on ver. 16. We may assume that some of every tribe had returne,l DEDICATION OF THE SECOND TEMPLE (eh. with Zerubbabel, and that consequently it vi. 16 -18). Following the example of was possible to regard the re-establishecl Solomon, who had solemnly "dedicated" people as· " Israel " (comp. N eh. xi. 20 ; the first temple (1 Kings viii. 63), and had Zech. viii. 13 ; Mal i. 1) ; though, since the great majority were Jews, they were offered on the occasion a sacrifice unexampled more commonly spoken of as " Judah " for its magnitude in the whole of Jewish (Ezra iv. 1, 6, 23; v. 1, 5; vi. 7, 14; Zech. history (ibid.), Zerubbabel now, under the viii. 15, &c.). Zerubbabel, desirous of 11dvice of two prophets, inaugurated the new emphasising the nobler and grander view, building with a similar ceremony. In "the made this solemn sin offering of twelve he- goats, one for each of the tribes. Ezra acted d11y of small things" it was not possible for similarly when ho brought the second colony him to emulate Solomon's magnificence in (infra, eh. viii. 35). respect of the number of victims. Solomon Ver. 18.-They set the priests in their had sacrificed 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheop. divisions, and the Levites in their courses. Zerubb11bel's means only enabled him to The completion of the new temple wns naturally followed by an arrangement of make an offering of 712 animals, more than the ministers corresponding to that which half of them lambs. He did, however, ac- had been originally made by David, aml cording to his 11bility:; and God, who accepts afterwards adopted by Solomon, for tho all our endeavours according to that we service of the old temple (see 1 Chron. xxiii. have, o.nd not according to that we have 6-23; xxiv. 1-19). This arrangement was based upon the ordinances of the law not, was content to receive graciously the with respect to the respective offices of the humble offering made to him, and to bless two orders, ns given in tho Book of Numbers the building thus in11uguratell with 11 glory (iii. 6-10; viii. 6-26), ancl, ,o far, was  88 THE BOOK OF EZRA. [cB. VI. 13-22.