Ezra 2:2

2:2 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

The number of Israelites ¹  was as follows: ² 

Ezra 3:2

3:2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak ³  and his priestly colleagues ⁴  and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues ⁵  started to build ⁶  the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by ⁷  the law of Moses the man of God.

Ezra 3:8

3:8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, ⁸  in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, ⁹  along with the rest of their associates, ¹⁰  the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed ¹¹  the Levites who were at least twenty years old ¹²  to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple.

Ezra 4:2

4:2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders ¹³  and said to them, “Let us help you build, ¹⁴  for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him ¹⁵  from the time ¹⁶  of King Esarhaddon ¹⁷  of Assyria, who brought us here.” ¹⁸ 

Ezra 5:2

5:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began ¹⁹  to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

Nehemiah 7:7

7:7 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.

The number of Israelite men ²⁰  was as follows:

Zechariah 4:6-10

4:6 Therefore he told me, “These signify the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ ²¹  says the Lord who rules over all.”

Oracle of Response

4:7 “What are you, you great mountain? ²²  Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple ²³  capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’ ²⁴  because of this.” 4:8 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me as follows: 4:9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple, ²⁵  and his hands will complete it.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you. 4:10 For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes ²⁶  will joyfully look on the tin tablet ²⁷  in Zerubbabel’s hand. (These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.)

Matthew 1:12-13

1:12 After ²⁸  the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, ²⁹  Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 1:13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,

¹ tn Heb “men of the people of Israel.”

² tn The words “was as follows” are not in the Hebrew text but are used in the translation for clarity.

³ sn Jozadak (also in 3:8) is a variant spelling of Jehozadak.

⁴ tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”

⁵ tn Heb “his brothers.”

⁶ tn Heb “arose and built.”

⁷ tn Heb “written in.” Cf. v. 4.

⁵ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁶ tn Heb “began”; the phrase “the work” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

⁷ tn Heb “their brothers.”

⁸ tn Heb “stood.”

⁹ tn Heb “from twenty years and upward.”

⁷ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.” So also in v. 3.

⁸ tn Heb “Let us build with you.”

⁹ tc The translation reads with the Qere, a Qumran MS, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Arabic version וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and him”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, וְלֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

¹⁰ tn Heb “days.”

¹¹ sn Esarhaddon was king of Assyria ca. 681-669 b.c.

¹² sn The Assyrian policy had been to resettle Samaria with peoples from other areas (cf. 2 Kgs 17:24-34). These immigrants acknowledged Yahweh as well as other deities in some cases. The Jews who returned from the Exile regarded them with suspicion and were not hospitable to their offer of help in rebuilding the temple.

⁹ tn Aram “arose and began.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

¹¹ tn Heb “the men of the people of Israel.” Some English versions translate as “the people from Israel” (NCV) or “the Israelite people” (NRSV), but “men” should be retained because the following numbers presumably include only adult males.

¹³ sn It is premature to understand the Spirit here as the Holy Spirit (the third Person of the Trinity), though the OT prepares the way for that NT revelation (cf. Gen 1:2; Exod 23:3; 31:3; Num 11:17-29; Judg 3:10; 6:34; 2 Kgs 2:9, 15, 16; Ezek 2:2; 3:12; 11:1, 5).

¹⁵ sn In context, the great mountain here must be viewed as a metaphor for the enormous task of rebuilding the temple and establishing the messianic kingdom (cf. TEV “Obstacles as great as mountains”).

¹⁶ tn The word “temple” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent (cf. NLT “final stone of the Temple”).

¹⁷ sn Grace is a fitting response to the idea that it was “not by strength and not by power” but by God’s gracious Spirit that the work could be done (cf. v. 6).

¹⁷ tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NRSV).

¹⁹ tn Heb “these seven.” Eyes are clearly intended in the ellipsis as v. 10b shows. As in 3:9 the idea is God’s omniscience. He who knows the end from the beginning rejoices at the completion of his purposes.

²⁰ tn This term is traditionally translated “plumb line” (so NASB, NIV, NLT; cf. KJV, NRSV “plummet”), but it is more likely that the Hebrew בְּדִיל (bÿdil) is to be derived not from בָּדַל (badal), “to divide,” but from a root meaning “tin.” This finds support in the ancient Near Eastern custom of placing inscriptions on tin plates in dedicatory foundation deposits.

²¹ tn Because of the difference between Greek style, which usually begins a sentence with a conjunction, and English style, which generally does not, the conjunction δέ (de) has not been translated here.

²² sn The Greek text and the KJV read Salathiel. Most modern English translations use the OT form of the name (cf. Ezra 3:2).