Ezra 6

Ezra 6 concludes the narrative of the return from exile and the rebuilding of the temple in the first half of the book of Ezra (chapters 1–6). It follows Ezra 5, in which Tattenai (KJV Tatnai), governor of the province Beyond the River, wrote to King Darius asking him to verify whether a decree of Cyrus existed. This chapter records the reply.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 At King Darius's order a search is made, and a scroll containing the decree from the first year of Cyrus is found in the palace at Achmetha in the province of Media. The decree specifies that the temple is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide, that the costs are to be paid from the royal treasury, and that the temple vessels are to be returned.
• Verses 6–12 Darius commands Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai (KJV Shetharboznai) not to hinder the work and to supply the expenses and sacrifices from the taxes of the province Beyond the River. He declares that anyone who alters the decree will be severely punished.
• Verses 13–15 Through the exhortation of Haggai and Zechariah the work prospers, and the temple is completed on the third day of the month Adar in the sixth year of King Darius.
• Verses 16–18 At the dedication, 100 bullocks, 200 rams, and 400 lambs are offered. In addition, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, are offered as a sin offering, and the priests and Levites are appointed in their divisions.
• Verses 19–22 The Passover is kept on the fourteenth day of the first month, followed by the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Key Verses

• Ezra 6:14 "And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo": This shows that the prophetic word guided the rebuilding work.
• Ezra 6:16 "kept the dedication of this house of God with joy": This is the climax of the rebuilding narrative.
• Ezra 6:22 "for the LORD had made them joyful": The king's support is likewise interpreted as the work of God.

People and Places

• Darius: The Persian king who reconfirmed the decree and permitted the rebuilding. He is commonly identified as Darius I.
• Cyrus: The Persian king who issued the decree to rebuild the temple in his first year.
• Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai: The governor of the province Beyond the River and his associate.
• Haggai and Zechariah: The prophets who encouraged the rebuilding; they left behind the books of Haggai and Zechariah, respectively.
• Artaxerxes: A later Persian king mentioned in verse 14.
• Nebuchadnezzar: The king who carried the temple vessels away to Babylon.
• Achmetha: A royal city in the region of Media, known as Ecbatana.

Notes for Readers

• Ezra 4:8 through 6:18 is written in Aramaic.
• The Artaxerxes of verse 14 reigned after the temple was completed. Many interpreters therefore understand the verse as also encompassing the support he later provided, described from Ezra 7 onward.
• The "king of Assyria" in verse 22 is generally understood to refer to the Persian king who ruled over the former territory of Assyria.
• The completion is dated to around 516–515 BC. This temple is commonly called the Second Temple. Later expanded by Herod, it was the temple of the New Testament period, and the statement in John 2:20, "Forty and six years was this temple in building," refers to this expansion.
• Reading the chapter together with Haggai 2:4–5 and Zechariah 4:9–10 gives a fuller picture of the circumstances of the rebuilding.

In the Korean Church

The dedication scene in verse 16 is frequently cited in sermons related to church dedication services and church building projects.