Then ceased the work of the house of God, which is
at
Jerusalem
How far they had proceeded is not said, whether any further than
laying the foundation of it; though probably, by this time, it
might be carried to some little height; however, upon this it was
discontinued:
so it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius
king of
Persia;
not Darius Nothun, as some think, for from the first of Cyrus to
the sixth of his reign, when the temple was finished, was upwards
of one hundred years; yea, according to some, about one hundred
and forty; which would carry the age of Zerubbabel, who both laid
the foundation of the temple, and finished it, and the age of
those who saw the first temple, to a length that is not probable;
but this was Darius Hystaspis, who succeeded Cambyses the son of
Cyrus, there being only, between, the short usurpation of Smerdis
for seven months.
