Temple Completed
Overview
- Testament: Old
- Book: Ezra
- Chapters: Ezra 5-6
- Summary: After Haggai and Zechariah urged the community to resume building and Darius I confirmed Cyrus’s original decree, the second temple was completed and dedicated in 516 BC with sacrifices and the celebration of Passover.
Details
In 520 BC the prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel. Zerubbabel and Jeshua responded to their word and began to build again. The provincial governor Tattenai investigated and wrote to Darius asking whether the rebuilding had been authorized. Darius ordered a search of the archives at Ecbatana, where the original decree of Cyrus was found — confirming that the Jews had full Persian permission to rebuild. Darius not only confirmed the decree but ordered Tattenai and others to fund the work from royal revenues, provide animals for burnt offerings, wheat, salt, wine, and oil daily, and to leave the work alone. He added severe consequences for any who interfered.
The building was completed in the month Adar in the sixth year of Darius (516 BC) — approximately 70 years after the temple’s destruction in 586 BC. The dedication was celebrated with sacrifices: 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and 12 male goats as a sin offering for all Israel. The priests and Levites were installed in their divisions. The returned exiles celebrated the Passover on the 14th of the first month with great joy, together with those who had separated from the uncleanness of the nations.
Key People Involved
- Zerubbabel — Governor who oversaw the completion
- Jeshua — High priest
- Haggai — Prophet who spurred the resumption of work
- Zechariah — Prophet who spurred the resumption of work
- Darius I — Persian king who confirmed Cyrus’s decree
Key Places
Important Verses
“And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.” — Ezra 6:15
Cross-References
- Preceded by: Opposition Halts Work, Foundation Laid
- Related: Ezra’s Arrival — Ezra arrived a generation later in the seventh year of Artaxerxes
- Related books: Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah
Notes
The completion in the sixth year of Darius coincides remarkably with Jeremiah’s 70-year prophecy (Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10), depending on how the 70 years are calculated. The celebration of Passover at the dedication is theologically resonant: the second Exodus (return from Babylon) concludes with the same feast that marked the first. The number 12 for the sin offering goats (one per tribe) signals that the entire reconstituted people of Israel — not just the returnees — is represented in the dedication.