Ezra 6 is the sixth chapter of the

Book of Ezra The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible which formerly included the Book of Nehemiah in a single book, commonly distinguished in scholarship as Ezra–Nehemiah. The two became separated with the first printed Mikraot Gedolot, rabbinic bib ...

in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, or the book of

Ezra–Nehemiah Ezra–Nehemiah (, ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible found in the Ketuvim section, originally with the Hebrew title of Ezra (, ), called Esdras B (Ἔσδρας Βʹ) in the Septuagint. The book covers the period from the fall of Babylon in 539&nbs ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' book of Nehemiah The Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible largely takes the form of a first-person memoir by Nehemiah, a Hebrew prophet and high official at the Persian court, concerning the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile and the ...

as one book. Jewish tradition states that

Ezra Ezra ( fl. fifth or fourth century BCE) is the main character of the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible, he was an important Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen'') in the early Second Temple period. In the Greek Septuagint, t ...

is the author of Ezra–Nehemiah as well as the

Book of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Heb ...

, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE (the so-called "

Chronicler A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, ...

") is the final author of these books. The section comprising chapter 1 to 6 describes the history before the arrival of

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 Cyrus II of Persia ( ; 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Media ...

and this is confirmed with a new decree from

Darius the Great Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...

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 Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

" by the people, as their worship life is restored according to the

Law of Moses The Law of Moses ( ), also called the Mosaic Law, is the law said to have been revealed to Moses by God. The term primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Terminology The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Heb ...

Text

This chapter is divided into 22 verses. The original text of this chapter from 6:1 through 6:18 is in

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

, from 6:19 through is in

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

, which includes Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...

, that is, 4Q117 (4QEzra; 50 BCE) with extant verses 1–5 (= 1 Esdras 6:21–25).Dead sea scrolls - Ezra
/ref> There is also a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

known as the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the

version include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century), and

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century). An ancient Greek book called

1 Esdras 1 Esdras (), also Esdras A, Greek Esdras, Greek Ezra, or 3 Esdras, is the ancient Greek Septuagint version of the biblical Book of Ezra in use within the early church and among many modern Christians with varying degrees of canonicity. 1 Esdra ...

(Greek: ) containing some parts of

2 Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Tan ...

and

Nehemiah Nehemiah (; ''Nəḥemyā'', "Yahweh, Yah comforts") is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period as the governor of Yehud Medinata, Persian Judea under Artaxer ...

is included in most editions of the Septuagint and is placed before the single book of

(which is titled in Greek: ). 1 Esdras 6:23–7:9 is an equivalent of Ezra 6:1–18 (The temple is finished), whereas 1 Esdras 7:10–15 is equivalent to Ezra 6:19–22 (Celebration of the Passover).

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 (Ezra 5:17) but they found a scroll containing Cyrus's edict in

Ecbatana Ecbatana () was an ancient city, the capital of the Median kingdom, and the first capital in History of Iran, Iranian history. It later became the summer capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid and Parthian Empire, Parthian empires.Nardo, Do ...

(modern

Hamadan Hamadan ( ; , ) is a mountainous city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a po ...

in northern Iran, former capital of the

Median Empire Media ( Old Persian: ''Māda''; Greek: ''Mēdía''; Akkadian: '' Mādāya'') was a political entity centered in Ecbatana that existed from the 7th century BCE until the mid-6th century BCE and is believed to have dominated a significant por ...

.) Darius the king of Persia issued a decree supporting the temple building project.

Verse 1

:''Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.'' *"House of the rolls": or "house of the scrolls"

Verse 2

:''And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written:'' *"Achmetha": probably "

", 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 (while also staying in other majestic capitals: Babylon and Susa in Elam (cf. ) in each other season of the year), including during the 'first summer of his reign over the whole Empire' (538 BC). Ecbatana is believed to be located in Hagmatana Hill (Tappe-ye Hagmatāna), an archaeological mound in

Verse 3

:''In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits,'' *"Sixty

cubit The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding Noah ...

s": 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 (parallel to Ezra 1:2– 4) 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 (verse 3) and the directions about the manner of the building (verse 4) may be designed "to set limits to royal expenditure of the project".

Verse 8

:''Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered.'' *"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

:''Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent.'' *" Tattenai, the governor beyond the River": that is, "Persian governor of the province west of the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

River” (Hebrews: ''eber nāri''; Aramaic: , ''-''; "across or beyond the river") during the reign of Darius I" (522–486 BCE). 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 In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets (Akkadian language, Akkadian ) were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. Cuneiform characters were imprinted on a wet clay t ...

can be dated accurately to June 5, 502

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the o ...

(the 20th year of Darius I). *"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' (; 6:8, , 13; , , ; cf ; ; ).

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

:''So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.'' *"Command" (KJV: "commandment"): or "Decree". The prophecies of

Haggai Haggai or Aggeus (; – ''Ḥaggay''; ; Koine Greek: Ἀγγαῖος; ) was a Hebrew prophet active during the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the author or subject of the ...

and Zechariah are recorded in the Hebrew Bible under the name of the

Book of Haggai The Book of Haggai (; ) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and is the third-to-last of the Twelve Minor Prophets. It is a short book, consisting of only two chapters. The historical setting dates around 520 BC, before the Temple in Je ...

and

Book of Zechariah The Book of Zechariah is a Jewish text attributed to Zechariah, a Hebrew prophet of the late 6th century BC. In the Hebrew Bible, the text is included as part of the Twelve Minor Prophets, itself a part of the second division of that work. In ...

, respectively. Haggai's prophecy period completely covers the time mentioned here ( Ezra 4:24; 520 BC), whereas Zechariah's only partly.

Verse 15

:''And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.'' The date corresponds to February 21, 515 B.C.Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, Andrew Robert; Brown, David. '' Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible''
"Ezra 6"
1871. Haggai ( Haggai 1:15) writes that the building project was recommenced on the 24th day of the month

Elul Elul (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard , Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ) is the twelfth month of the civil year and the sixth month of the Jewish religious year, religious year in the Hebrew calendar. It is a m ...

(the 6th month; September) in the second year of Darius (September 21, 520 BCThe Nelson Study Bible. Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1997. . pp. 1514-5.), so it took nearly 4.5 years to finish, although the foundations had been laid some twenty years earlier (April 536 BC; cf. ).

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges is a biblical commentary set published in 56 volumes by Cambridge University Press between 1878 and 1918. Many volumes went through multiple reprintings, while some volumes were also revised, usually by ...

Ezra 6
Accessed 28 April 2019. Therefore, it was completed around 70 years after its destruction in 587–586 BC, close to

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

's prediction.

Verse 17

:''And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.'' *"A sin offering": from Hebrew written word , ''lə-ḥaṭ-ṭā-yā'', to be read as , ''lə-ḥaṭ-ṭā-’āh''. *"He goats": "male goats" from Hebrew , ''‘iz-zîn'', a plural word only used here in the whole Hebrew Bible.Ezra 6:17 Hebrew Text Analysis
Biblehub

Verse 18

:''And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.'' 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 (cf. ; ).

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

:''And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.'' The Hebrew language resumes in verse 19 and continues through .Notes on Ezra 6:19 in NKJV The Passover on the 14th of the first month (Nisan) was commanded in , but since then only few celebrations are recorded in Hebrew Bible, as follows: * (1) under Moses on the second year after the Exodus () * (2) under Joshua at Gilgal after the circumcision of the people () * (3) in the reign of Hezekiah, after the purification of the Temple (ff.) * (4) in the reign of Josiah, after the religious reformation (; ) * (5) under Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Ezra 6). 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”.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

translations: *
Ezra - Chapter 6 (Judaica Press)
translation ith Rashi's commentary">Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentaryat Chabad.org *

translations: *
''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) *
Book of Ezra Chapter 6. Bible Gateway
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