Zerubbabel

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(born in Babylon). He was of the family of David, and son of Shealtiel (Hag. 1:1¹In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, (Haggai 1:1)), or Salathiel (Matt. 1:12¹²And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; (Matthew 1:12)), or Pedaiah (1 Chron. 3:19¹⁹And the sons of Pedaiah were, Zerubbabel, and Shimei: and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister: (1 Chronicles 3:19)). Born at Babylon, commissioned governor of Judea by the Persian king, Cyrus (Neh. 12:47⁴⁷And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron. (Nehemiah 12:47)); leader of the first colony of captives back to Jerusalem, B. C. 536 (Ezra 2:2²Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: (Ezra 2:2); Neh. 7:7⁷Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, I say, of the men of the people of Israel was this; (Nehemiah 7:7)); laid the foundation of the new temple (Zech. 4:6-10⁶Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. ⁷Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. ⁸Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ⁹The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. ¹⁰For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth. (Zechariah 4:6‑10)); began the work of reconstruction, in which he was greatly hindered by Samaritan opposition, and petty Persian intrigue; finally succeeded in completing the structure, restored the order of priests according to the institution of David (Ezra 6:14-22¹⁴And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵And 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. ¹⁶And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, ¹⁷And 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. ¹⁸And 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. ¹⁹And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. ²⁰For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. ²¹And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat, ²²And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. (Ezra 6:14‑22); Hag. 1:12,15; 2:2-4¹²Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord. (Haggai 1:12)
¹⁵In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. (Haggai 1:15)
²Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, ³Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? ⁴Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: (Haggai 2:2‑4)). Zorobabel in N. T. (Matt. 1:12¹²And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; (Matthew 1:12)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

Probably son of Pedaiah, and nephew and heir of Salathiel, or Shealtiel, though called his son. He was a “prince of Judah,” and he apparently held some office in Persia as he is called SHESHBAZZAR (Ezra 1:8-11⁸Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. ⁹And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives, ¹⁰Thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand. ¹¹All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:8‑11)). He was head of the Jews who volunteered to return from exile, under the decree of Cyrus. To Zerubbabel was also committed the charge of 5,400 vessels of gold and silver that had been carried away from Jerusalem. An altar was erected, and sacrifices offered; but the foundation of the temple was not laid till the second year. Then the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin came and wanted to assist in the building of the temple; but Zerubbabel and those with him declined their help. This act of faithfulness drew upon them the open opposition of their enemies, who also obtained authority from Persia to stop the work, though apparently they had ceased to build before this took place.

It was not resumed for about fifteen years, till Zerubbabel’s faith was roused to renewed energy by the rebukes and appeals of the prophet Haggai, and by the glorious promises addressed to him by Zechariah.

Zerubbabel was aided by Jeshua the high priest, and at once began to build. When questioned by the Persian governors as to their authority for so doing they nobly replied, “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth.” Cyrus had made a decree that the temple should be built; but God’s word to Zerubbabel was “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts.”

Darius was now on the throne, and on the rulers writing to Persia, he ordered them to let the work alone, and directed that the expenses of the Jews should be paid out of the royal revenue. The house was finished in the sixth year of Darius, and dedicated with joy. Jehovah had said, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it” (Zech. 4:6-10⁶Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. ⁷Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. ⁸Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ⁹The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. ¹⁰For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth. (Zechariah 4:6‑10)).

Jackson’s Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names:

melted by Babylon

From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

Ezra 6:3-4³In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; ⁴With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house: (Ezra 6:3‑4). Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; with three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber.

This temple, sometimes called the second temple, and sometimes the temple of Zerubbabel, was built on the site of the first, or Solomon’s temple. We have not so definite a description given of this as we have of Solomon’s temple. The second temple was larger than the first. The “rows” of stones are supposed to refer to three stories of chambers, such as were attached to Solomon’s temple, and on these was placed an additional story of wood. The temple of Zerubbabel, though of greater size than that of Solomon, was inferior to it in magnificence. According to Jewish authorities its altar of burnt offering was of stone instead of brass, and it had but one table of show-bread and but one candlestick. It is also said that the sanctuary was entirely empty, excepting that in place of the ark of the covenant a stone was set three fingers high, on which the high priest placed the censer and sprinkled the blood of atonement. Some suppose, however, that a new ark was made and set in the sanctuary. The rabbit’s reckon five different important features of the first temple which were wanting in the second: 1. The Ark of the Covenant. 2. The Sacred Fire. 3. The Shekinah. 4. The Holy Spirit. 5. The answer by Urim and Thummim. Some of these distinctions are, however, thought by more sober writers to be a little fanciful.

Zerubbabel

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

Concise Bible Dictionary:

Jackson’s Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names:

From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

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