Introduction
‘Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.’ Ezra 5:1-2
TATTENAI’S LETTER TO DARIUS
After receiving opposition from the Samaritans and the locals who lived in Judea, the building work of the temple came to a complete standstill, Ezra 4:23. It appears the Jews now turned their attention to building their own lives and houses, Haggai 1:9-10, despite God’s temple being in ruins. It was during this time that God’s prophets Haggai and Zechariah appeared, Ezra 5:1. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak encouraged the Jews to begin building God’s temple again, Haggai 1:14, and the work began, Ezra 5:2 / Haggai 1:12-15.
The Wycliff Bible Commentary, says the following.
‘The work on the temple was renewed only three weeks after Haggai began preaching, which was Sept. 20, 520 B.C.’
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Here we find three classes of men joining in the sacred work. Zerubbabel the civil governor, Jeshua the high priest or ecclesiastical governor and Haggai and Zechariah the prophets. How glorious it is when we see the civil government joining with the sacerdotal and prophetic for the establishment and extension of true religion!’
When we read the Book of Haggai it comes across as if God is only interested in the temple being built but when we read the Book of Zechariah, this tells us that God was also interested in people’s lives.
‘At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, ‘Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?’ They also asked, ‘What are the names of those who are constructing this building?’ But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.’ Ezra 5:3-5
It seems like every time the Jews get back to work on the temple, they end up getting even more opposition. This time it was the governor Tattenai, Ezra 5:3, who was a man appointed by the King of Persia to govern the province that included Judea. He and his companions wanted to know why the work of building the temple had started again, Ezra 5:3.
Tattenai asks them ‘who authorised them to rebuild the temple’, Ezra 5:3. Remember the Jews have been back from captivity for many years at this point, so it’s possible he wasn’t aware of Cyrus’ decree, Ezra 1:1-4. He also wants to know the names of those who are constructing the temple, Ezra 5:4, these were probably the names of the leaders.
He wanted to know their names in order to convict them before king Darius but despite all the questions, the Jews continued working on the temple because the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, Ezra 5:5.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The providence of God most certainly entered into this new development, however, God’s instrument of blessing Israel here was in His appointment of Tattenai, a governor who would not be controlled or manipulated by the evil Samaritans.’
‘This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. The report they sent him to read as follows: To King Darius: Cordial greetings. The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction. We questioned the elders and asked them, ‘Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?’ We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information. This is the answer they gave us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. ‘However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. He even removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon. Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, and he told him, ‘Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.’ ‘So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.’ Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.’ Ezra 5:6-17
Tattenai wrote a letter to Darius, Ezra 5:6-7, and notice he mentions that the Jews were using ‘large stones’ to build with, Ezra 5:8. It’s possible that these large stones cause Tattenai to be suspicious about what they were actually building, maybe in his mind, he thought they were building a fortress, not a temple.
He reassured the king that he had questioned the leaders concerning the building work, Ezra 5:9-10. He tells the king their reply was that they are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and they are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished, Ezra 5:11.
But because their ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon, Ezra 5:12.
He carries on and tells the king, however, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God, Ezra 5:13 / Daniel 6:15. Cyrus even removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon, Ezra 5:14.
Then Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor and he told him, to take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem and rebuild the house of God on its site, Ezra 5:15.
Notice that ‘Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations’, Ezra 5:16. Because of this, many people believe that Sheshbazzar is another name for Zerubbabel, and Tattenai used this name because it would be more likely to appear in the records that were to be searched.
Cundall, in his commentary, says the following.
‘If Sheshbazzar was the Persian appointed leader, it would account for the fact that in this official communication he would be tactfully mentioned as the one who laid the foundations of the Temple, whereas Zerubbabel, the popular leader would be given the prominence in the domestic account.’
Tattenai then asked king Darius to research the matter, to determine if the rebuilding of the temple and Jerusalem were royally sanctioned, Ezra 5:17. Because the Persians had great respect for their own laws, Daniel 6:8 / Daniel 6:12, and former kings, if the decree of King Cyrus was found, then Darius would respect the decree, Daniel 6:15. While the building works continue on the temple, I’m sure the Jews would be anxiously waiting on Darius’ reply, Ezra 5:17.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘They perhaps doubted whether proof of the decree of Cyrus remained in the archives. The Pseudo-Smerdis had had the records in his power for seven months and, when he reversed the policy of his predecessors, might have been expected to destroy their edicts. The decree was not found at Babylon, the most natural place for it, but in the provincial capital of Ecbatana, which Tattenai and his friends had not asked Darius to have searched, see Ezra 6:2.’