Moreover, I make a decree, what ye shall do to the elders
of
these Jews, for the building of this house of
God
This must be considered as an additional decree of Darius, which
was peculiarly made by him, in which more was granted in favour
of the Jews, and as an encouragement to them to go on with the
building of the temple; though Josephus F1 says
this is no other than a confirmation of the decree of Cyrus; for,
according to him, all that is here granted to them, or threatened
to others, from hence to the end of ( Ezra 6:10 ) , was
contained in the decree:
that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the
river;
what was collected out of his dominions on that side the river
Euphrates, towards the land of Israel: according to Herodotus
F2, this Darius was the first of the
kings of Persia that exacted tribute; under Cyrus and Cambyses
only presents were brought; but he imposed a tribute, and was
therefore called (kaphlov)
, an huckster, as Cambyses had the name of lord, and Cyrus that
of father: the same writer gives an account of the several
nations he received it from, and the particular sums, which in
all amounted to 14,560 Euboic talents of gold; among whom are
mentioned all Phoenicia and Syria, called Palestine, the tribute
of which parts is the tribute beyond the river he referred to:
and this king was well disposed to the Jewish nation, temple, and
worship, before he was king, if what Josephus F3 says is
true, that, while a private man, he vowed to God that, if he
should be king, he would send all the sacred vessels that were in
Babylon to the temple at Jerusalem: and out of the above tribute
it is ordered,
that forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they
be not
hindered;
from going on with the building, for want of money to buy
materials, and pay the workmen.