Esra 6:14

14 Und die Ältesten der Juden bauten; und es ging vonstatten durch die Weissagung der Propheten Haggai und Sacharja, des Sohnes Iddos, und sie bauten und richteten auf nach dem Befehl des Gottes Israels und nach dem Befehl des Kores, Darius und Arthahsastha, der Könige in Persien,

Esra 6:14 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 6:14

And the elders of the Jews builded
Went on with the building of the temple:

and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and
Zechariah the son of Iddo;
or grandson, as before; being animated and encouraged by them; and as they foretold and promised it would, be, so it was; they had success in their work, the Lord overruling the heart of Darius the king and his council in their favour:

and they builded and finished it;
that is, the temple:

according to the commandment of the God of Israel;
by the above prophets, who spoke to them, and prophesied in his name:

and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes
king of Persia;
the commandment of Cyrus is in ( Ezra 1:1 ) that of Darius in this, ( Ezra 6:8 ) , but who Artaxerxes is, and his commandment, is not easy to say; he cannot be the Artaxerxes between Cyrus and Darius, but one that followed the latter; besides, he was a hinderer of the building, ( Ezra 4:21-24 ) , some think this was Xerxes the son and successor of Darius, and who might be partner with his father in the empire at this time, and so is joined with him in this commandment; which is more probable than that he should be his grandson Artaxerxes Longimamus, in whose reign the temple, it is supposed, was beautified and ornamented, though the exterior building of it was before finished; and so he is spoken of by anticipation; and still more plausible than that he should be, with others, Artaxerxes Mnemon, the son of Darius Nothus; but, after all, I am most inclined to think, with Aben Ezra, that he is Darius himself; and the words to be read, Darius, that is, Artaxerxes, king of Persia; Artaxerxes being, as he observes, a common name of the kings of Persia, as Pharaoh was of the kings of Egypt; though this is by some rejected ^F8; and who goes by this name in the continuance of this history, in whose seventh year, the year after this, Ezra went up to Jerusalem, and, in the twentieth of his reign, Nehemiah, ( Ezra 7:1-7 ) ( Nehemiah 2:1 ) , and I find Dr. Lightfoot ^F9 was of the same mind; and, according to Diodorus Siculus ^F11, the kings of Persia were called by the name of Artaxerxes after Mnemon; and so they might before; Cambyses is so called in ( Ezra 4:7 ) . Herodotus ^F12 says the name signifies "a mighty warrior".

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 Vid. Rainold de Lib. Apocryph. praelect. 31. p. 271.
F9 Works, vol. 1. p. 139.
F11 Bibliothec. l. 15. p. 400.
F12 Erato, sive, l. 6. c. 98.

Esra 6:14 In-Context

12 Der Gott aber, der seinen Namen daselbst wohnen läßt, bringe um alle Könige und jegliches Volk, das seine Hand ausreckt, daran zu ändern und zu brechen das Haus Gottes in Jerusalem. Ich, Darius, habe dies befohlen, daß es mit Fleiß getan werde.

13 Das taten mit Fleiß Thathnai, der Landpfleger jenseits des Wassers, und Sethar-Bosnai mit ihrem Rat, zu welchem der König Darius gesandt hatte. {~}

14 Und die Ältesten der Juden bauten; und es ging vonstatten durch die Weissagung der Propheten Haggai und Sacharja, des Sohnes Iddos, und sie bauten und richteten auf nach dem Befehl des Gottes Israels und nach dem Befehl des Kores, Darius und Arthahsastha, der Könige in Persien,

15 und vollendeten das Haus bis an den dritten Tag des Monats Adar, das war das sechste Jahr des Königreichs des Königs Darius.

16 Und die Kinder Israel, die Priester, die Leviten und die andern Kinder der Gefangenschaft hielten Einweihung des Hauses Gotte mit Freuden