Ezra 3:7

7 They gave money to hire masons and carpenters. They gave food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians in exchange for the cedar lumber they had brought by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, a shipment authorized by Cyrus the king of Persia.

Ezra 3:7 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 3:7

They gave money also to the masons, and to the carpenters
To buy stone and timber with for the building of the temple:

and meat and drink and oil unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre;
which were more agreeable to them than money, because there was not plenty of such things in their country, as in the land of Israel:

to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa;
as they did at the first building of the temple by Solomon; they cut down cedars at Lebanon, which belonged to them, and sent them by sea to Joppa, the nearest seaport to Jerusalem, about forty miles from it: see ( 2 Chronicles 2:16 ) ,

according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia;
for Tyre and Zidon being under his dominion as well as Judea, he not only gave leave to the Jews to get cedar wood from Lebanon, but gave orders to the Zidonians and Tyrians to furnish them with it, paying a valuable consideration for it; and so some ^F1 render the word, "according to the commandment of Cyrus".

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (Nwyvrk) "juxta praeceptum", Vatablus; "juxta quod praeceperat", V. L. So Ben Melech.

Ezra 3:7 In-Context

5 And they presented the regular Whole-Burnt-Offerings for Sabbaths, New Moons, and God's Holy Festivals, as well as Freewill-Offerings for God.

6 They began offering Whole-Burnt-Offerings to God from the very first day of the seventh month, even though The Temple of God's foundation had not yet been laid.

7 They gave money to hire masons and carpenters. They gave food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians in exchange for the cedar lumber they had brought by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, a shipment authorized by Cyrus the king of Persia.

8 In the second month of the second year after their arrival at The Temple of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, in company with their brother priests and Levites and everyone else who had come back to Jerusalem from captivity, got started. They appointed the Levites twenty years of age and older to direct the rebuilding of The Temple of God.

9 Jeshua and his family joined Kadmiel, Binnui, and Hodaviah, along with the extended family of Henadad - all Levites - to direct the work crew on The Temple of God.