Ezra 5


Ezra 5 is the fifth chapter of the Book of Ezra in the Christian Old Testament and Ezra–Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, the latter of which combines the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Jewish tradition posits that Ezra is the author of Ezra–Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally claim that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of the books. The section comprising Ezra 1 to 6 describes Jewish history before the arrival of Ezra to the land of Judah in 468 BCE. Ezra 5 records the contribution of the Hebrew prophets Haggai and Zechariah to the building project of the Second Temple and an investigation by Persian officials.

Text

17 verses. The original text of this chapter is written in Aramaic.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Aramaic are of the Masoretic Text, which includes Codex Leningradensis. A fragment containing a part of this chapter in Hebrew was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is, 4Q117 with the extant verse 17.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Alexandrinus.
An ancient Greek book called 1 Esdras containing some parts of 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah is included in most editions of the Septuagint and is placed before the single book of Ezra–Nehemiah. 1 Esdras 6:1–22 is an equivalent of Ezra 5.

Renewed effort (5:1–2)

Through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, God sent the message of inspiration so the people began the repair of temple again

Verse 1

The prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah are recorded in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Haggai and Book of Zechariah respectively. Haggai's prophecy period completely covers the time mentioned here, whereas Zechariah's only partly.

Verse 2

  • "Zerubbabel": is the leader of the group and of Davidic line, so he is associated with the messianic hope in the book of Zechariah, although none of it is mentioned in this book. His office is not named in this book, but he is identified as the “governor of Judah” in Haggai 1:1, ;.
  • "Jeshua": or "Joshua". His office is not named in this book, but he is identified as the “high priest” in Haggai 1:1,, ; ;.
  • "Jozadak": or "Jehozadak".

The investigation (5:3–17)

Based on the complaint of the non-Jews, the governor of the area began an investigation into the building project, interviewing the Jewish leaders and sending an inquiry to Darius, the king of Persia.

Verse 3

  • Tattenai was the governor beyond the River, that is, "Persian governor of the province west of the Euphrates River during the reign of Darius I". A number of cuneiform tablets bearing the name Tattenai have survived as part of what may have been a family archive, with one tablet functioning as a promissory note bearing a witness to the transaction involving a servant of "Tattannu, governor of Across-the-River". The clay tablet can be dated accurately to June 5, 502 BCE.
  • ”House”: refers to "Temple".

Verse 6

  • "The Apharsachites": is considered the same as "Apharsites" and "Apharsathchites" as the three forms of provincial variants of the word "Parsaya" in, which is the Chaldaean equivalent of "Persian", so these people as the "companions" of Tatnai and Shethar-boznai are possibly the Persians who became their body-guard and their soldiers.

Verse 8

  • "House": refers to "Temple".
  • "Great stones": lit. "stones of rolling", that is, "stones too heavy to be carried", which were therefore moved on rollers.

Verse 11

The "great king of Israel" was Solomon. The conventional dates of Solomon's reign are about 970 to 931 BCE. The Jewish historian Josephus says that "the temple was burnt four hundred and seventy years, six months, and ten days after it was built".