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Texts -- Ezra 6:12-22 (NET)

Context
6:12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation who reaches out to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem . I , Darius , have given orders . Let them be carried out with precision !”
The Temple Is Finally Dedicated
6:13 Then Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates , Shethar-Bozenai , and their colleagues acted accordingly – with precision , just as Darius the king had given instructions . 6:14 The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering , while at the same time Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying . They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia . 6:15 They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar , which is the sixth year of the reign of King Darius . 6:16 The people of Israel – the priests , the Levites , and the rest of the exiles – observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy . 6:17 For the dedication of this temple of God they offered one hundred bulls , two hundred rams , four hundred lambs , and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel , according to the number of the tribes of Israel . 6:18 They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem , in accord with the book of Moses . 6:19 The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month . 6:20 The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one , and they all were ceremonially pure . They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles , for their colleagues the priests , and for themselves . 6:21 The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel . 6:22 They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy , for the Lord had given them joy and had changed the opinion of the king of Assyria toward them, so that he assisted them in the work on the temple of God , the God of Israel .

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Israel

    [smith] (the prince that prevails with God). The name given, (Genesis 32:28) to Jacob after his wrestling with the angel, (Hosea 12:4) at Peniel. Gesenius interprets Israel "soldier of God." It became the national name of the twelve...
    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Darius

    [nave] DARIUS 1. The Mede, king of Persia, Dan. 5:31; 6; 9:1. 2. King of Persia. Emancipates the Jews, Ezra 5; 6; Hag. 1:1, 15; Zech. 1:1. 3. The Persian, Neh. 12:22.

  • Temple

    [nave] TEMPLE. Solomon's Called also Temple of the Lord, 2 Kin. 11:10; Holy Temple, Psa. 79:1; Holy House, 1 Chr. 29:3; House of God, 1 Chr. 29:2; 2 Chr. 23:9; House of the Lord, 2 Chr. 23:5, 12; Jer. 28:5; Father's House, John 2...

  • Liberality

    [nave] LIBERALITY. Ex. 22:29, 30 Ex. 13:2, 12. Ex. 23:15 Ex. 34:20. Ex. 25:1-8; Ex. 35:4-29; Ex. 36:3-6; Ex. 38:8; Lev. 19:5 Lev. 22:29; Num. 35:8. Deut. 12:11, 12, 17-19; Deut. 14:27-29; Deut. 15:7-18; Deut. 16:10, 17; Deut. 18:1...

  • Chaldee language

    [ebd] employed by the sacred writers in certain portions of the Old Testament, viz., Dan. 2:4-7, 28; Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Gen. 31:46; Jer. 10:11. It is the Aramaic dialect, as it is sometimes called, as distinguished from the H...

  • Backsliders

    [nave] BACKSLIDERS. Lev. 26:14-42; Deut. 4:9; Deut. 8:11-14; Deut. 28:58, 59, 63 vs. 15-68;; 1 Kin. 9:6-9; Deut. 29:18 vs. 18-28.; Deut. 32:15-30; Josh. 24:27 vs. 20-27.; 2 Chr. 15:2-4; Ezra 8:22; Job 34:26, 27; Psa. 44:20, 21; Ps...

  • Zechariah

    [ebd] Jehovah is renowned or remembered. (1.) A prophet of Judah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets. Like Ezekiel, he was of priestly extraction. He describes himself (1:1) as "the son of Berechiah." In Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 h...
    [smith] The eleventh in order of the twelve minor prophets. He is called in his prophecy the son of Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo, whereas in the book of Ezra, (Ezra 5:1; 6:14) he is said to have been the son of Iddo. It is nat...
    [nave] ZECHARIAH 1. A Reubenite, 1 Chr. 5:7. 2. Three Levites in the days of David, 1 Chr. 9:21; 15:18, 20, 24; 16:5; 26:2, 14. 3. A Benjamite, 1 Chr. 9:37. Called Zacher in 1 Chr. 8:31. 4. Two Kohathites, 1 Chr. 24:25; 2 Chr. ...

  • Pentateuch

    [ebd] the five-fold volume, consisting of the first five books of the Old Testament. This word does not occur in Scripture, nor is it certainly known when the roll was thus divided into five portions Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Nu...

  • Temple, the Second

    [ebd] After the return from captivity, under Zerubbabel (q.v.) and the high priest Jeshua, arrangements were almost immediately made to reorganize the long-desolated kingdom. The body of pilgrims, forming a band of 42,360, includi...

  • PERSIA

    [smith] (pure, splended), Per?sians. Persia proper was a tract of no very large dimensions on the Persian Gulf, which is still known as Fars or Farsistan , a corruption of the ancient appellation. This tract was bounded on the west b...

  • Haggai

    [ebd] festive, one of the twelve so-called minor prophets. He was the first of the three (Zechariah, his contemporary, and Malachi, who was about one hundred years later, being the other two) whose ministry belonged to the period ...
    [isbe] HAGGAI - hag'-a-i, hag'-a-i (chaggay, an adjective formed from chagh, "feast"): 1. Name: The word "Haggai" may mean "festal," the prophet having been born perhaps on a festival day; compare the Roman name "Festus." Hebrew pr...
    [nave] HAGGAI, one of the minor prophets. Urges the Jews to rebuild the temple, Ezra 5:1; 6:14. See the Book of Haggai.

  • Tatnai

    [ebd] gift, a Persian governor (Heb. pehah, i.e., "satrap;" modern "pasha") "on this side the river", i.e., of the whole tract on the west of the Euphrates. This Hebrew title pehah is given to governors of provinces generally. It ...
    [smith] (gift), satrap of the province west of the Euphrates in the time of Darius Hystaspes. (Ezra 5:3,6; 6:6,13) (B.C. 520.) The name is thought to be Persian.
    [nave] TATNAI, a Persian governor in Samaria, Ezra 5:3, 6; 6:6, 13.

  • CAPTIVITY

    [isbe] CAPTIVITY - kap-tiv'-i-ti (galah, galuth, shebhuth, shibhyah; metoikesia): I. OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM (THE WORK OF ASSYRIA) 1. Western Campaigns of Shalmaneser II, 860-825 BC 2. Of Rimmon-nirari III, 810-781 BC 3. Of Tiglath...

  • ZECHARIAH, BOOK OF

    [isbe] ZECHARIAH, BOOK OF - 1. The Prophet 2. His Times and Mission 3. Contents and Analysis 4. The Critical Question Involved 5. The Unity of the Book 6. Conclusion LITERATURE Few books of the Old Testament are as difficult of int...

  • Church and State

    [nave] CHURCH AND STATE (Identical in the theocratic period. No particular Scripture can be cited, but the student is directed to the legislative, judicial, and administrative functions of Moses, Joshua, the Judges, and Samuel as s...

  • Passover

    [isbe] PASSOVER - pas'-o-ver (pecach, from pacach, "to pass" or "spring over" or "to spare" (Ex 12:13,23,17; compare Isa 31:5]. Other conjectures connect the word with the "passing over" into a new year, with assyr pasahu, meaning ...
    [nave] PASSOVER Institution of, Ex. 12:3-49; 23:15-18; 34:18; Lev. 23:4-8; Num. 9:2-5, 13, 14; 28:16-25; Deut. 16:1-8, 16; Psa. 81:3, 5. Design of, Ex. 12:21-28. Special passover, for those who were unclean, or on journey, to be ...

  • Dedication

    [nave] DEDICATION Law concerning dedicated things, Lev. 27; Num. 18:14; 1 Chr. 26:26, 27. Must be without blemish, Lev. 22:18-23; Mal. 1:14. Not redeemable, Lev. 27:28, 29. Offering must be voluntary, Lev. 1:3; 22:19. See: Offe...

  • Levites

    [nave] LEVITES The descendants of Levi. Set apart as ministers of religion, Num. 1:47-54; 3:6-16; 16:9; 26:57-62; Deut. 10:8; 1 Chr. 15:2. Substituted in the place of the firstborn, Num. 3:12, 41-45; 8:14, 16-18; 18:6. Religious ...

  • Fellowship

    [nave] FELLOWSHIP. Eccl. 4:9-12; Amos 3:3 See: Fraternity; Fellowship. With God Gen. 5:22, 24; Gen. 6:9; Ex. 29:45; Ex. 33:14-17; Lev. 26:12; Isa. 57:15; Zech. 2:10; Mark 9:37; John 14:23; John 17:21, 23; 2 Cor. 6:16; 2 Cor. 13:...

  • SHESHBAZZAR

    [smith] (worshipper of fire), the Chaldean or Persian name given to Zerubbabel in (Ezra 1:8,11; 6:14,18) [ZERUBBABEL]
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  • [Ezr 6:22] Strengthen For Service, Lord

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • Due to the ancient tradition that the same writer composed both parts of the book (chapters 1-6 and 7-10), many scholars believe Ezra produced all of it.5A passage in the Talmud credits Ezra with the authorship of Ezra-Nehemi...
  • The earliest historical reference in Ezra is to the decree of Cyrus that he issued in his first year on the throne (1:1), 538 B.C.12The latest historical reference was just prior to Nehemiah's first trip to Jerusalem (4:21-23...
  • Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther have much in common. Among other things, they all deal with God's dealings with Israel following the captivity. Jeremiah had spoken of these years before the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem (Jer. 25...
  • I. The first return under Sheshbazzar chs. 1-6A. The return from Babylon chs. 1-21. The edict of Cyrus and its consequences ch. 12. The exiles who returned ch. 2B. The rebuilding of the temple chs. 3-61. The beginning of cons...
  • "This whole section (Ezra 1-6) emphasizes God's sovereignty and his providence; God works in history to fulfill his will."15
  • "It is not strange according to the Semitic style to start a book with a waw["And"or "Now"], especially when the author intended to write a continuation of the history of his people. He connects the history which he wants to ...
  • The people celebrated God's faithfulness when they had completed phase one of the temple reconstruction."Principles of praise to be gleaned from these verses include the following: (1) Praise is the act of publicly exalting G...
  • The Assyrian government encouraged its residents to move to Israel and to settle there after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C. This was official government policy during the reigns of the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon ...
  • "When he [the writer] discussed the problems of the building of the temple in 4:1-5, it reminded him of later similar troubles with the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, and so 4:6-23 has been inserted, almost parenthetica...
  • Artaxerxes was the successor of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) who ruled the Persian Empire from 464 to 424 B.C.73Clearly the incident reported in these verses took place long after the temple was complete. It really involved the attempt...
  • Evidently Darius also saw the Jerusalem temple as a monument to his own success. He instructed Tattenai to allow the Jewish governor, Zerubbabel, and his people to proceed unobstructed. Darius seems to have viewed Zerubbabel ...
  • Several factors resulted in the completion of the temple that the writer brought together in verse 14. The reference to Artaxerxes (v. 14; cf. 4:7-23) does not mean that he had a part in completing the temple. As I pointed ou...
  • Compared with the dedication of the first temple this one was very modest. Solomon had offered more than 200 times as many animals.96The Jews offered one sin offering, which involved slaying a goat, for each of the 12 tribes ...
  • A period of 58 years separates Ezra 6 from Ezra 7 (515-458 B.C.). During this time the events in the Book of Esther took place in Persia and, in particular, Susa, one of the Persian capitals.Darius I (Hystaspes; 521-486 B.C.)...
  • "These things"(v. 1) refers to the events of the first return that the writer described in chapters 1-6.Ezra's genealogy (vv. 1-5) shows that he was a man of importance whom his fellow Jews would have respected. He was a desc...
  • The Book of Ezra records two major Jewish returns to the Promised Land from Babylon.The first of these took place in 537 B.C. under the leadership of Sheshbazzar and then Zerubbabel. About 50,000 Jews returned, rebuilt the te...
  • The events of the Book of Esther took place during the Persian period of ancient history (539-331 B.C.) and during the reign of King Ahasuerus in particular (486-464 B.C.).Chronology of the Book of Esther483Ahasuerus' militar...
  • The events of this book took place between those recorded in Ezra 6 and 7. They have nothing to do with the people who returned from exile in Babylon. They deal with those who remained behind. Remember the dates of the three ...
  • Perhaps Haman did not mention the Jews by name since Ahasuerus' predecessors, Cyrus and Darius I (Hystaspes), had issued proclamations favorable to them (Ezra 1:1-4; 6:3-5, 8-12). In any case his failure to mention them by na...
  • 11:14-15 The Lord then replied that many of the Jews in Jerusalem were saying that the Judahites who had gone into captivity were the ones that God was judging. They believed that the Jews left in Jerusalem were the remnant t...
  • 5:29 Belshazzar kept his promise (v. 16) though Daniel's honors only lasted a few hours at most, typical of the honors of this world. The king's response is surprising. We might have expected him to execute Daniel for confron...
  • "In the concluding four verses of Daniel 9, one of the most important prophecies of the Old Testament is contained. The prophecy as a whole is presented in verse 24. The first sixty-nine sevens is described in verse 25. The e...
  • The title of this prophetic book is also the name of its writer.Haggai referred to himself as simply "the prophet Haggai"(1:1; et al.) We know nothing about Haggai's parents, ancestors, or tribal origin. His name apparently m...
  • The Babylonians, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, including Solomon's temple, in 586 B.C. and took most of the Jews captive to Babylon. There the Israelites could not practice their formal worship ...
  • The title of this book comes from its traditional writer, as is true of all the prophetical books of the Old Testament. The name "Zechariah"(lit. Yahweh remembers) was a common one among the Israelites identifying as many as ...
  • Zechariah began ministering among the Jews who had returned from captivity in Babylon (i.e., the restoration community) two months after Haggai began preaching (1:1; 7:1; cf. Neh. 12:10-16; Hag. 1:1). In a sense, Zechariah's ...
  • 4:8-9 Another word from the Lord also came to Zechariah about Zerubbabel. This appears to be another oracle that the writer inserted here because it is appropriate at this point. He promised that as Zerubbabel had laid the fo...
  • 7:1 Another prophetic message came to Zechariah from the Lord in 518 B.C. The fourth day of the ninth month would have been in early December. Chislev is the Babylonian name of the month. This message, which comprises the fol...
  • "Haggai and Zechariah . . . are noteworthy for the chronological precision with which they related their lives and ministries to their historical milieu. This is not the case at all with Malachi. In fact, one of the major pro...
  • Malachi was one of the three post-exilic writing prophets along with Haggai and Zechariah, and he was quite certainly the last one chronologically, even though we cannot be dogmatic about a date for his writing.The first grou...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo: and they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and acc...
  • It took place on the fourteenth day of the first month, and probably, therefore, very soon after the dedication. They kept the feast, for the priests and Levites were purified together.' The zeal of the sacerdotal class in at...
  • They kept the feast… seven days with Joy; for the Lord had made them Joyful.'--Ezra 6:22.TWENTY years of hard work and many disappointments and dangers had at last, for the Israelites returning from the captivity, been c...
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