Глава 3

1–3. Construction of an altar by returning Jews. 4–6. Restoration of legal worship. 7–11. The construction of the temple in Jerusalem begins. 12–13. Characteristics of the people's mood. 1Ezra 3:1. When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were already in the cities, then the people gathered together as one man in Jerusalem. The year the altar was built is not indicated. But there is no doubt that this was the same year in which the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity took place. From Art. 6 it is clear that the altar was erected before the foundation of the church, and the latter, according to Art. 8, occurred already in the second year after returning. The seventh month was chosen for the public assembly and the construction of the altar because it was primarily the month of worship and the most important holidays. The meeting on the first day of this month was appointed in the law of Moses (Numbers 29.1). 1Ezra 3:2. And Joshua the son of Jozedek, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, rose up, and they built an altar to the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. Everything necessary for the construction of the altar, no doubt, was prepared in advance; therefore, the construction could be completed in one day and in the presence of the assembled people. The brothers of Zerubbabel, who along with Jesus and the priests are called leaders of the building, should mean representatives of the community, heads of families. 1Ezra 3:3. And they built an altar on its foundation, because they were in fear of the foreign nations; and they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on it, morning and evening burnt offerings. “And they built the altar on its foundation,” i.e. in the place where he was in Solomon's temple. It is also possible that material from the previous one was put into the foundation of the newly erected altar. The immediate motive for building the altar was according to Art. 3 fear of foreign peoples. The Jews were concerned with the speedy construction of the altar in order to “gain divine help for themselves” (Keil). 1Ezra 3:4. And they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles as prescribed, with a daily burnt offering in a certain number, according to the statute of each day. 1Ezra 3:5. And after that they made a constant burnt offering, both in the new moons and on all the holidays dedicated to the Lord, and a free-will offering to the Lord from everyone who was diligent. 1Ezra 3:6. From the very first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. But the foundation of the church of the Lord had not yet been laid. With the construction of the altar, the correct administration of the divine service established in the law was restored and the celebration of festivities began. 1Ezra 3:7. And they began to give silver to the stonemasons and carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians, so that they could deliver cedar wood from Lebanon by sea to Yapha, with the permission of Cyrus, king of Persia. 1Ezra 3:8. In the second year after they came to the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jozedek, and the rest of their brothers, the priests and Levites, and all those who came from captivity to Jerusalem, laid the foundation and appointed Levites from twenty years old and upward to supervise the work of the house of the Lord. Following the construction of the altar, they began to prepare material for the construction of the church, and in the second year after their return (i.e., in 536), the foundation stone of the church was completed. This evidence from the passage in question appears to be contradicted by other biblical references. Thus, the prophet Haggai, who spoke in the 2nd year of Darius Hystaspes, mentions that in his time the church was chorev, “in desolation” (Hagg 1.4); the people said: “It is not time to build the house of the Lord” (Hagg 1.2), and the prophet himself therefore had to turn to the Jews with a call: “Come up to the mountain and carry wood, and build a church” (Hagg 1.8). Only after this speech, Zerubbabel and Jesus, according to the prophet Haggai, “came and began to do work in the house of the Lord of hosts” (Hagg 1.14). Based (mainly) on the evidence given by the prophet Haggai Schrader, (Die Dauer zweiten Tempelbaues. Theol. Stud. und Kritik. 1864. S. 460–504, and after him a number of scientists, it is believed that the foundation of the church was not carried out in the second year after his return from captivity (536 BC), but in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, when he spoke prophet Haggai) (520–519 BC). In view of the testimony of Haggai, the instructions of 1Ezra 3.7–8 are considered unreliable. However, the testimony of the prophet Haggai hardly contradicts 1Ezra 3.7–8. The word chorev, used by the prophet about the church (Hagg 1.4), does not mean that the church was absent (chorev - empty, empty). As can be concluded from the contrast of the house of the Lord with the decorated (sephunim - boarded) houses of the Jews themselves, with the word chorev the prophet only indicates the incompleteness of the building. Likewise, the saying used by the prophet’s contemporaries: the time has not yet come, it is not the time to build the house of the Lord does not have the same meaning that the Jews did not begin construction until 520, “considering themselves still under the wrath of God” (Wellhausen). With this proverb, the Jews wanted to explain the pause in the construction of the church and justify their indifference to this matter, which was a natural consequence of the obstacles that the poor and weak community had to overcome. In view of this, the invitation of the prophet Haggai: “go up the mountain and carry wood and build a house” (Hagg 1.8) should be understood as an invitation to continue the construction, and not to begin it. The Prophet in this place does not use the verb jasad to found, as in 1Ezra 3.6, but the more general banah to build. In addition, the prophet speaks of wood material (“carry wood”), which is needed to continue the building, and not of stone needed to lay the foundation. Thus, the book. The prophet Haggai does not refute the evidence of the place we are considering about the foundation of the church under Cyrus in the second year after the return of the Jews. This fact is confirmed by 1Ezra 5.15–16, where in a testimony from the time of Darius, after mentioning the decree of Cyrus regarding the construction of the church (v. 15), it is noted: “then (i.e., during the reign of Cyrus) that Sheshbazzar (Zerubbabel) came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem, and from then until now (i.e., until the time of Darius) it has been built and not yet finished." 1Ezra 3:12. However, many of the priests and Levites and heads of generations, the old men, who saw the former church, at the foundation of this church before their eyes, wept loudly, but many also shouted loudly for joy. 1Ezra 3:13. And the people could not recognize the exclamations of joy from the cries of the people's lament, because the people exclaimed loudly, and the voice was heard far away. Since only 50 years passed from the destruction of the first church (586) to the founding of the new one (536), among those who gathered for the celebration between the priests, Levites and elders, there were many people who had seen the former church. The national triumph aroused in them a feeling of deep sorrow, which could arise in some from the consciousness of the insignificance of the future church in comparison with Solomon's (Agg 2.3), in others - from the memories of the disasters experienced in captivity that spoke with particular force at the solemn hour. But many, and above all, of course, young priests, “exclaimed loudly for joy.” You might be interested in: