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establish his own glory, and reinstate his faithful servant still more firmly in the confidence of his sovereign: for then it was that Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwelt in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the

power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus, the Persian.*

THE RESTORATION.

UPON the deaths of Cambyses, and of Darius, or Cyaxares II., which happened about the same time, Cyrus succeeded to the dominions of both those princes, thereby laying the foundation of the Medo-Persian empire; and the seventy years of the captivity foretold by Jeremiah,† having now just expired, Jehovah, most probably by the instrumentality of Daniel, stirred up the spirit of this mighty monarch, who, no doubt, had been so elevated for that express purpose, and who issued a proclamation throughout all his kingdom. Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia ;§ Jehovah, the God of Heaven, hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth;|| and

• Dan. vi, 4-28. + Jer. xxix. 10. Prid. i. 170. See p. 267. "Of all the nations around Judea, the Persians alone, who restored them from the Babylonish captivity, yet remain a kingdom." KEITH, 96. Is. Ix. 12. Zech. i. 15.

He might well say so; for not only may we reasonably suppose he had been shewn the prophecy of Isaiah, xliv. and xlv. 1. by Daniel;

he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, the God of Israel, (he is the God), which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.*

In consequence of this proclamation, 42,360 of the captives of Judah, with 7,537 attendants, and a multitude of camels, horses, and cattle, were soon assembled together;† to whom the noble minded monarch gave the vessels of the house of Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and placed in the house of his gods; to which great treasures were added by the voluntary contribution of those of the captives who, from local connections, or other motives, were to remain behind.§

Zerubbabel, or Sheshbazzar, ¶ the son of Salathiel,* was appointed Tirshatha, governor†† or leader,‡‡

of

but in point of fact, according to Xenophon," he had conquered the Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, both the Phrygians, Lydians, Carians, Phoenicians, and Babylonians. Moreover he reigned over the Bactrians, Indians, Cilicians, the Saca, Paphlagones, and Mariandyni." A. CLARKE,

Ezra, i. 1-4. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23. Besides this proclamation, Josephus gives a letter from Cyrus to Sisinnes and Sathrabuzanes, the governors of Syria, which Whiston thinks both genuine and important to the right understanding of the history. Vol. ii. 89. § Ezra, i. 6.

† Ezra, i. 5. ii. 1-67.

|| Ezra, ii. 2.

Ezra, i. 7-11.
¶ Ezra, i. 8.

**"And grandson of Jehoiachin, and thus heir of the house of David; and as such regarded by the conquerors." SCOTT.

++ Ezra, ii. 63. v. 14. Prid. i. 74.

‡‡ Ezra, iii. 2.

this interesting assembly, with Jeshua, the hereditary high priest.*

What befel them on their journey we are not informed, but on their arrival in Jerusalem they resorted to their own cities and tribes,† for several of the ten tribes always continued with and followed the good and bad fortune of the tribe of Judah; and applied themselves to the rebuilding of their dwellings and the cultivation of their lands,§ which had now had the benefit of the sabbatical years,|| of which the sins of her latter monarchs had deprived her, and which was one great cause of her captivity.¶

On the feast of trumpets** they all assembled at Jerusalem, and when they came to the house of Jehovah, they offered freely++ for the house of God, to set it up in his place: they gave after their ability into the treasure of the work, threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests' garments;++ and there observed the great day of expiation;§§ and kept the feast of tabernacles, and other festivals.¶¶

Of this general assembly of the people, Jeshua and Zerubbabel availed themselves to rebuild the altar of burnt offerings, which they set upon his bases, and offered burnt offerings thereon, as the best precaution they could take to protect them from their surrounding enemies.***

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** Lev. xxiii. 24 Numb. xxix. 1. Prid. i. 179.

+ To the value of £75,500.; a prodigious sum in their circum

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*** Ezra, iii. 2, 3. 6. The altar stood in the middle of the inner court of the temple, exactly before the porch leading to the holy

Having made considerable preparations during the first year* for laying the foundation of the temple, they performed that ceremony in the second year, with great solemnity; the priests and Levites, after the ordinance of David,† singing together by course, in praising and giving thanks unto Jehovah, because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Jehovah, because the foundation of the house of Jehovah was laid.‡

But there were amongst the assemblage some of the ancient fathers who still remembered the splendour of the former temple; and joyful as they were to see the work of Jehovah now reviving, they could not refrain from exhibiting great

place; and hereon were made the daily offerings of the morning and evening service, and all other offerings, ordinary and extraordinary, which were offered up to God by fire. It had been beaten down and destroyed by the Babylonians at the burning of the temple, and in the same place was it now again restored. Prid. i. 181.; where see large extracts from Lightfoot, as to its dimensions, use, &c.

* Ezra, iii. 7. "For the Tyrians and Zidonians, being wholly given to traffic and navigation, did very little addict themselves to the planting of olive-yards or vineyards, or to the tillage of the ground; neither had they indeed any territory for either; for their gain being very great by sea, they did not set themselves to make any enlargements by land; but were in a manner pent up within the narrow precincts of the cities in which they dwelt; and, therefore, having very little corn, wine, or oil, of their own, they depended mostly on their neighbours for these provisions; from whom they had them, either for their money, or by way of barter and exchange, for other commodities which they supplied them with, and they were mostly furnished this way out of the Jews' country; and therefore they readily assisted them with their labour and shipping, to be supplied with these necessaries in exchange for it. So that as it was by their help that Solomon built the first temple, so also was it by their help that the Jews were enabled to build the second." Prid. i. 209, 210. 1 Kings, v. 11.

+1 Chron. xxiii. xxiv.

Ezra, iii. 10. 11.

sorrow, when they saw how far the erection, of which the foundation was now laid, was likely to fall short of the original.*

When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, that is, the Samaritans,† heard that the children of the captivity were rebuilding the temple unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel, saying; Let us build with you, for we seek your God as ye do: and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon, king of Assur, which brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them; Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us.‡

In consequence of this refusal, or from other motives equally culpable, the people of the land, that is, the same

* Ezra, iii. 12. There were six material and important things, in respect of which the second temple fell short of the glory of the first; viz.

1. The ark of the covenant, with the mercy seat and cherubim. 2. The shechinah, or divine presence

3. Urim and thummim, or the breastplate of twelve precious

stones.

4. The holy fire.

5. The spirit of prophecy.

6. The holy anointing oil.

As to all which, and their specific uses, see Prid. i. 185. 202. Unless, therefore, the Jews admit that Jesus of Nazareth was the true Messiah, the prophecy of Haggai (ii. 9.) has never been fulfilled. See also Gill on the Messiah, p. 41-51.

+ Prid. i. 204.

Ezra, iv. 1-3. "The Jews, who were exclusively the worshippers of the true God, could not admit the Samaritans to assist them in this work; for the Samaritans were not true worshippers, inasmuch as they only worshipped Jehovah, in common with the gods of the nations." Prid. i. 205.

See Gray's Key, 129. 207.

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