Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

3:1 According to Israel's calendar of pilgrimage feasts, the seventh month, Tishri (roughly September), was the month of the great Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:26-32), followed by the Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles; Lev. 23:33-43), which celebrated the exodus from Egypt. Thus in the first year of the return, the people make their first pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

3:2 built the altar. On this occasion, the broken altar had first to be repaired so that sacrifices could once again be made. The leading roles of Jeshua and Zerubbabel are again emphasized, with some stress on the role of the priests.

3:3 in its place. There may have been visible remains of the original altar (as perhaps implied by Jer. 41:4-5); in any case, its exact location was evidently known. The altar has absolute priority, as it had at the first entry into the land, many years before (Deut. 27:1-8). The haste to erect it is perhaps heightened by the fear of the peoples of the lands. This phrase refers to residents of Judah, and perhaps neighboring areas, who were not part of the group returning from exile. Some may have had Jewish origins, but they present themselves as a distinct group, and they would soon oppose the work. The exiles' fear is another echo of their first occupation of the land, when fear had at first overwhelmed the Israelites (Num. 14:1-3). On this occasion, despite their fear, they are resolute. Burnt offerings were to be offered daily on the altar, morning and evening, as Moses commanded in Ex. 29:38-42.

3:4-7 The people keep the Feast of Booths, with its proper sacrifices (see Num. 29:12-38).

3:6 they began to offer. The perspective shifts to the regular sacrificial worship (see 2 Chron. 2:4), since the particular acts of worship in the seventh month are essentially portrayed as a renewal and a beginning. The next task is to rebuild the temple, and the preparations recall those made by King Solomon half a millennium earlier (Ezra 3:7; cf. 1 Kings 5:13-18; 1 Chron. 22:4, 15; 2 Chronicles 2).

3:8 Work begins on the temple itself, with the laying of its foundation in the second year of the return (c. 537 b.c.). The second month, Ziv (1 Kings 6:1)--the same time of year when Solomon had begun his temple (2 Chron. 3:2)--is in the spring. The time of the return from exile is dated with the formula after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem. Even though the temple still lies in ruins, the place could be called "the house of God" because of its consecration for worship (see Jer. 41:5). The narrator stresses that it is those who have come from the captivity who do this. The priests and Levites are emphasized, and the qualifying age for Levitical service is mentioned (cf. 1 Chron. 23:24).

3:9 The names are those of "Levites," as specified in v. 8. Thus Jeshua is not the high priest of that name, nor are these Levite sons of Judah members of the tribe of Judah; this "Judah" is probably another form of "Hodaviah," named along with Kadmiel in 2:40.

3:10-11 all the people shouted with a great shout. The laying of the foundations occasions praise, which echoes the celebrations of King David when he prepared for the building of Solomon's temple (cf. 1 Chronicles 16, esp. vv. 7, 34, 37).

3:12-13 But many . . . wept with a loud voice. Sadness is mixed with this rejoicing, for some of the very old remembered the former temple and believed that this new one would not match the former temple's glory. The picture of mitigated celebration is a small symbol of the whole event of the return, which was in itself a triumph yet fell far short of the great hopes the people might have had (cf. Hag. 2:2-9).