Zerubbabel
Zerubbabel or Zorobabel was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a governor of the Achaemenid Empire's province of Yehud Medinata and the grandson of Jeconiah, penultimate king of Judah. He is not documented in extra-biblical documents, and is considered by Sarah Schulz of the University of Erlangen–Nuremberg as historically plausible, but probably not an actual governor of the province, much like Nehemiah.
In the biblical narrative, Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian captivity in the first year of Cyrus the Great, the king of the Achaemenid Empire. The date is generally thought to have been between 538 and 520 BC. Zerubbabel also laid the foundation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem soon after. In the New Testament he is included in the genealogy of Jesus.
Etymology
Zerubbabel means seed of Babylon, showing how quickly the elites integrated into the Babylonian social structure.Story
In all of the accounts in the Hebrew Bible that mention Zerubbabel, he is always associated with the high priest who returned with him, Joshua, son of Jozadak. Together, these two men led the first wave of Jewish returnees from exile and began to rebuild the Temple. Old Testament theologian John Kessler describes the region of Judah as a small province that contained land extending 25 km from Jerusalem and was independently ruled prior to the Persian rule.Appointed by Darius the Great, Zerubbabel was governor of Yehud province. It was after this appointment that Zerubbabel began to rebuild the Temple. Elias Bickerman speculates that one of the reasons that Zerubbabel was able to rebuild the Temple was because of "the widespread revolts at the beginning of the reign of Darius I in 522 BC, which preoccupied him to such a degree that Zerubbabel felt he could initiate the rebuilding of the temple without repercussions".
Zerubbabel and the Davidic line
The Davidic line from Jeconiah had been cursed by Jeremiah, saying that no offspring of "Coniah" would sit on the throne. However, Zerubbabel was of the main Davidic line through Solomon and Jeconiah.The prophets Zechariah and Haggai both give unclear statements regarding Zerubbabel's authority in their oracles, in which Zerubbabel was either the subject of a false prophecy or the receiver of a divine promotion to kingship. He could also be viewed as a governor of a state within another nation and thus technically "not on the throne" of a nation. Either way, he was given the task of rebuilding the Temple in the second year of the reign of Darius I, along with the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak.
Muslim historian Ya'qubi attributed the recovery of the Torah and the Books of the Prophets to him instead of Ezra. The Seder Olam Zutta chronicle from 803 AD lists him as the Exilarch in Babylon to succeed Shealtiel. Several Old Testament texts are conflicting as to whether Zerubbabel was the son or nephew of Shealtiel. His son Meshullam succeeded him as Exilarch, and was followed by another son Hananiah. His other sons were Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah and Jushab-hesed. He also had a daughter called Shelomith.
Zerubbabel may have had a Babylonian style name because of his interaction with the Babylonian court.
Sheshbazzar
The Book of Ezra begins with Cyrus the Great entrusting the Temple vessels to Sheshbazzar ; this apparently important figure disappears from the story entirely after being named in and, and Zerubbabel is abruptly introduced as the main figure. Both are called governors of Judah and are both credited with laying the foundation of the Temple. A number of explanations have been proposed, including: the two are the same person; Sheshbazzar was in fact Shenazzar, Zerubabbel's uncle ; Sheshbazzar began the work and Zerubbabel finished it.In the Hebrew Bible
In the Prophets (''Nevi'im'')
Zerubbabel appears in the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah.The Prophecy of Haggai
This quotation from the Book of Haggai illustrates the messianic expectations that are often associated with Zerubbabel. The term, "my servant," describes Zerubbabel as God's servant. This term is often associated with King David. Walter Rose concludes that the fact that "the epithet 'servant' is hardly ever used for kings after David may be related to the fact that most of them were disappointing in their performance as kings appointed by YHVH". Rose emphasizes that the author of the Book of Haggai is associating Zerubbabel with King David.Scholars have also analyzed the phrase "I will take you." Rose associates this term with a mission, change, or protection. For Zerubbabel, this mission was likely the rebuilding of the second Temple.
The most widely debated part of this prophecy is the phrase, "wear you like a signet ring." A signet ring is an authoritative symbol that is associated with power. Rose interprets this passage by comparing it to the passage in Jeremiah 22:24, in through which he concludes that the King is a signet ring on God's hand. John Kessler interprets the idea of the nature of the Signet ring as such that "the real true figure of speech at issue is a personification of which the simile or metaphor is only a part. The real trope consists of the personification of Yahweh, who is likened to the owner of a signet". However, this word when in Hebrew has been translated as meaning both seal and signet ring.
It is unclear whether Haggai's prophecy claims that Zerubbabel is going to be the King of the Land of Judah or if he is just to build the second Temple. Many scholars have interpreted the following passage from Haggai as identifying Zerubbabel as a king of the land of Judah, a continuation of the Davidic line:
According to Peter Ackroyd, Zerubbabel was "'a royal representative of God'". Both historians' interpretations of the prophecy of Haggai appear to understand the term of the "signet ring" as being a metaphor for Zerubbabel attaining God's authority on earth.
Not all biblical scholars interpret Zerubbabel's authority in the same manner. Other scholars see it as a prophecy proclaiming that Zerubbabel will become king. According to Sara Japhet:
A. Lemaire interprets the author of Haggai as wanting Zerubbabel to be appointed to a lesser role:
John Kessler's interpretation agrees with Lemaire's:
Some historians claim that Haggai's prophecy does not claim that Zerubbabel will become the King of Judah. Rose's concludes that the imagery itself does not claim that Zerubbabel will be King of Judea. Rose also claims that "in Haggai's passage, one does not find a statement about Zerubbabel being YHVH's anointed, or about his autonomous rule, present or future, and there is no explicit promise that God will make the nations submit to his chosen one. One reads only about a mutual destruction of political and military forces masterminded by God. On the basis of these observations, I think it is safe to conclude that there is no reason to assume that divine intervention which does not mention autonomous rule or submission of the nations to Zerubbabel would necessarily imply a change of his position".
Furthermore, Rose makes this claim because the prophecy does not claim that Zerubbabel will become king:
Zechariah
Falling in line with the rest of the twelve prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible, the book of Zechariah describes a hope for a future king, beyond the current leader Zerubbabel, and further establishes a portrayal of this future king. Anthony Petterson argues that the standard explanation of Haggai and Zechariah's prophecies, in which Zerubbabel was supposed to be the restorer of the Davidic dynasty but never fulfilled these expectations, does not actually stand as an explanation of the final form of these texts.Zerubbabel's name is mentioned four times throughout Zechariah 1–8, and all of these instances occur in one short oracle written in chapter 4. Any other references to Zerubbabel throughout this book are guesses or theories as to his significance. Zechariah 4:1–3 gives a vision that was had by Zechariah of a lampstand with a bowl on it. Upon that are seven lamps, each with seven lips. There are two olive trees, one to the right of the bowl and one to the left. The explanation, told by the angel that Zechariah is conversing with, is as follows:
There is a debate in the biblical scholarly community as to who the "sons of oil" is referencing. Though conventional wisdom often understood it to be Zerubbabel and Joshua, Boda argues that, because of the important role that prophets were said to play in the reconstruction of the Temple in Zech 8:9, Haggai and Zechariah are the sons of oil.
The controversy regarding the prophesies about Zerubbabel relate back to this quote about Zerubbabel laying the foundation of the temple and eventually completing it. Zech 3:8 and 6:12 refer to a man called "The Branch." In Zechariah 6, the Lord tells Zechariah to gather silver and gold from the returned exiles, and to go to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Then Zechariah is told to fashion a crown out of the silver and gold, set it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, and tell him the following:
It is unclear whether or not "the Branch" refers to Zerubbabel. Should this have been the intention of the author, then the restoration of the Davidic line of kings would be imminent, as Zerubbabel is a member of the line of David. There is some evidence for this link, namely that Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah at the time of Zechariah, he was frequently associated with Joshua, and he is also described as the Temple builder. However, there are several reasons that complicate this association. The first is that Joshua is the one crowned, not the Branch. The next is that Zerubbabel is not mentioned. The third is that the references to Zemah appear to anticipate a future event, while Zerubbabel existed in the present. Zechariah neither proclaims that Zerubbabel will restore the monarchy, nor does he contradict the previous hopes for a Davidic king. Rather, Zechariah maintains hope for a Davidic king in the future, without tying down the prophecy directly to Zerubbabel.