Ezra 4:1

1 Now when the adversaries of Yehudah and Binyamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Yisra'el;

Ezra 4:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 4:1

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin
The Samaritans, as appears from ( Ezra 4:2 Ezra 4:10 ) ,

heard that the children of the captivity;
the Jews, who had been in captivity seventy years, and were just come out of it, and still were not quite free, but under the jurisdiction and control of the king of Persia:

builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel;
that they were going about it, and had laid the foundation of it, which might soon come to their ears, the distance not being very great. Josephus ^F3 says they heard the sound of the trumpets, and came to know the meaning of it.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F3 Antiqu. l. 11. c. 4. sect. 3.

Ezra 4:1 In-Context

1 Now when the adversaries of Yehudah and Binyamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Yisra'el;

2 then they drew near to Zerubbavel, and to the heads of fathers' [houses], and said to them, Let us build with you; for we seek your God, as you do; and we sacrifice to him since the days of Esar-Haddon king of Ashshur, who brought us up here.

3 But Zerubbavel, and Yeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' [houses] of Yisra'el, said to them, You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves together will build to the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, as king Koresh the king of Paras has commanded us.

4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Yehudah, and troubled them in building,

5 and hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Koresh king of Paras, even until the reign of Daryavesh king of Paras.