Ezra 6


Ezra 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Ezra in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the book of Ezra–Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra–Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. The section comprising chapter 1 to 6 describes the history before the arrival of Ezra in the land of Judah in 468 BCE. This chapter records the response of the Persian court to the report from Tattenai in the previous chapter: a search is made for the original decree by Cyrus the Great and this is confirmed with a new decree from Darius the Great allowing the temple to be built. This chapter closes this first part of the book in a "glorious conclusion with the completion of the new temple and the celebration of Passover" by the people, as their worship life is restored according to the Law of Moses.

Text

22 verses. The original text of this chapter from 6:1 through 6:18 is in Aramaic, from 6:19 through is in Hebrew language.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew/Aramaic are of the Masoretic Text, which includes Codex Leningradensis. Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is, 4Q117 with extant verses 1–5.
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 6:23–7:9 is an equivalent of Ezra 6:1–18, whereas 1 Esdras 7:10–15 is equivalent to Ezra 6:19–22.

The Persian response to the Temple (6:1–12)

The Persian court searched the royal archive to investigate the historical claim of the Jews for rebuilding the temple, first in Babylon, according to Tattenai's suggestion but they found a scroll containing Cyrus's edict in Ecbatana Darius the king of Persia issued a decree supporting the temple building project.

Verse 1

  • "House of the rolls": or "house of the scrolls"

Verse 2

  • "Achmetha": probably "Ecbatana", the ancient capital of Media. The discovery of the Aramaic version of the edict in this city is consistent with a non-biblical information that Cyrus regularly spent the summer period in this city, where he first rose to power, including during the 'first summer of his reign over the whole Empire'. Ecbatana is believed to be located in Hagmatana Hill, an archaeological mound in Hamadan.

Verse 3

  • "Sixty cubits": about 90 feet, or 27 meters. A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man's arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters. The dimension here could refer to the measurement for Solomon's Temple in.
The Aramaic memorandum of the decree provides evidence that Cyrus's edict is real and it may span to a number of different documents according to their functions, such as the edict in verses 2b–5, which could be the treasury record to certify that the vessels from the temple in Jerusalem have been returned to the Jews, as it contains extra information compared to the version of the decree in chapter 1. The measurement of the temple and the directions about the manner of the building may be designed "to set limits to royal expenditure of the project".

Verse 8

  • "House": refers to "Temple".
The reply letter of Darius to Tattenai opens with the cited words of Cyrus, but immediately follows with his own decree, confirming entirely the measures of his predecessor and reapply them to the new situation.

Verse [|13]

  • "Tattenai, 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.
  • "Diligently": or "with all diligence", is translated from the term osparna in the sense of "exactly, perfectly" as in the language of obedience, which can also rendered 'without delay', 'in full', 'with all diligence', giving a clear message that 'a powerful authority has spoken'.

Completion and dedication of the Temple (6:13–18)

Following the command of God and the decrees issued by Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia, the Jews worked diligently, so the Temple was finally completed and the people could celebrate the dedication of it.

Verse 14

  • "Command" : or "Decree".
The prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah are recorded in the Hebrew Bible under the name of 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 15

The date corresponds to February 21, 515 B.C.
Haggai writes that the building project was recommenced on the 24th day of the month Elul in the second year of Darius, so it took nearly 4.5 years to finish, although the foundations had been laid some twenty years earlier. Therefore, it was completed around 70 years after its destruction in 587–586 BC, close to Jeremiah's prediction.

Verse 17

  • "A sin offering": from Hebrew written word לחטיא, lə-ḥaṭ-ṭā-yā, to be read as לְחַטָּאָ֤ה, lə-ḥaṭ-ṭā-’āh.
  • "He goats": "male goats" from Hebrew עִזִּ֜ין, ‘iz-zîn, a plural word only used here in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Verse 18

This verse refers to ‘the organization of the priests and Levites described in ’, which distributes the service of the Temple by periods, of a week each, among the courses and divisions of priests and Levites.

Celebrating Passover (6:19–22)

In keeping with the law of Moses, Passover is celebrated following the dedication of the temple, and this marks the ‘renewal of religious life’ of the people.

Verse 19

The Hebrew language resumes in verse 19 and continues through. The Passover on the 14th of the first month was commanded in, but since then only few celebrations are recorded in Hebrew Bible, as follows:
  • under Moses on the second year after the Exodus
  • under Joshua at Gilgal after the circumcision of the people
  • in the reign of Hezekiah, after the purification of the Temple
  • in the reign of Josiah, after the religious reformation
  • under Zerubbabel and Jeshua.
The celebration of the Passover on each of these occasions marks “a new or a restored order of worship, and the solemn rededication by the people of their Covenant relation with God”.