Zerubbabel

According to the biblical narrative, Zerubbabel, ; la, Zorobabel; Akkadian: 𒆰𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 ''Zērubābili'' was a governor of the Achaemenid Empire's province Yehud Medinata and the grandson of Jeconiah, penultimate king of Judah. 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 all of the accounts in the Hebrew Bible (Jeshua) son of Jozadak (Jehozadak). 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 I, 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 ( Jeremiah 22:30). 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 (520 BC), 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 lists him as the Exilarch in Babylon to succeed Shealtiel. The texts are conflicting as to whether Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel or his nephew. 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 (, "prince of Judah", probably from akk, 𒌓𒀜𒋀, Šamaš-abu-uṣur); 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: (1) the two are the same person; (2) Sheshbazzar was in fact Shenazzar (probably from akk, 𒂗𒍪𒋀, Sîn-uṣur), Zerubabbel's uncle (mentioned in the Books of Chronicles); (3) 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

"'On that day, says the Lord of Hosts, I will take you Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, my servant, and wear you like a signet ring; for it is you whom I have chosen. This is the word of the Lord of Hosts'" ().

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:

"Zerubbabel is to be made either the representative of YHVH, or the new king who will restore the monarchy, or the new world leader. One sometimes finds words like messianic or Messiah used to describe Zerubbabel's role".

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:

"Haggai does not explain, however, for what Zerubbabel was chosen. From what is described in the prophecy—the overthrow of the kingdoms of the nations as the first stage in the choosing of Zerubbabel—we may conclude that Haggai sees Zerubbabel as a king, whose kingdom is made possible by a change in the political structure. ... om now on, since Zerubbabel has been chosen as a 'signet,' he will be 'sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah'. All this, however, is only hinted at in the prophecy of Haggai and not stated explicitly".

A. Lemaire interprets the author of Haggai as wanting Zerubbabel to be appointed to a lesser role:

"Haggai is expressing the hope of a change in status of the province of Yehud, and of Zerubbabel's
emergence as a king of a vassal state within the Persian empire".

John Kessler's interpretation agrees with Lemaire's:

"The Promise of David…was now functioning in a new form, accommodated to the realities of the Persian period. Zerubbabel was not the ruler of a nation, but the governor of a province. Yet, such a provisional situation posed no inherent threat to the promise of the Davidic house".

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 (given by God), 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:

"The absence of any reference to the Davidic line from which Zerubbabel came, and the failure to use words like "melech" ... (related to the title of King)...point in a different direction".

Zechariah

Falling in line with the rest of the twelve prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible (the Nevi'im), 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:

"This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts. 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"' (Zech 4:6–7)

"The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. … The seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth … the two olive trees … are the two sons of oil (anointed ones) who stand by the Lord of the whole earth." (Zech 4:9–14)

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.Anthony R. Petterson, "The Shape of the Davidic Hope across the Book of the Twelve," '' Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'' 35 (2010): 225–246.

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

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