The adversaries of Judah and Benjamin—peoples settled in the land by the Assyrian kings—approached Zerubbabel offering to help build the temple since they had been sacrificing to Israel's God, but the Jewish leaders refused, stating that they alone would build as Cyrus had commanded. The enemies then hired counselors to frustrate the work throughout the reigns of Cyrus and Darius, and during the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) and Artaxerxes they wrote accusations against the Jews. The chapter records a letter from Rehum and Shimshai to Artaxerxes warning that Jerusalem's reconstruction would lead to rebellion and loss of revenue, prompting Artaxerxes to order the work stopped by force; the narrative then returns to note that temple construction had ceased until the second year of Darius king of Persia.
Read Ezra Chapter 4 Summary
Characters in This Chapter
Priest and scribe who led the second return and addressed intermarriage
Leader of the first return who oversaw temple rebuilding
Persian king who decreed the Jews could return and rebuild the temple
Son of Jacob, Ancestor of David and Christ
Youngest Son of Jacob
King who Cast Daniel into the Lions' Den
Places in This Chapter
The Temple in Jerusalem was the permanent house of worship built by Solomon on Mount Moriah. Destroyed by Babylon, it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel and later greatly expanded by Herod. Jesus taught in the Temple courts, cleared it of merchants, and predicted its destruction, which occurred in 70 AD.
Persia (modern Iran) was a major empire that conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem. King Cyrus issued the decree permitting the temple's reconstruction. The books of Esther and Daniel are set partly in the Persian court. Nehemiah served as cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes before returning to rebuild Jerusalem's walls.
Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel and later became the name for the entire region between Judea and Galilee. After the Assyrian conquest, the population became mixed, and the Samaritans developed their own form of worship. Jews and Samaritans had deep hostility. Jesus broke social barriers by speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well and telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Position in Book
Altar rebuilt, temple foundation laid, opposition faced, work completed under Darius.