Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The prophets Haggai and Zechariah exhort the Jews to resume the building of the temple; concerning which matter, the king's governors consult Darius as to whether this is agreeable to him.
Vulgate Text: 1 Esdrae 5:1-17
1. Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judea and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel. 2. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to build the house of God in Jerusalem, and with them were the prophets of God helping them. 3. At that time Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this wall? 4. We told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. 5. But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the matter should come to Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it. 6. The copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and his associates the governors who were in the province beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. 7. They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: To Darius the king, all peace. 8. Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is being built with hewn stone, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work is going on diligently and prospers in their hands. 9. Then we asked those elders and said to them: Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish these walls? 10. We also asked them their names, to inform you, and we wrote down the names of the men who were their leaders. 11. And thus they replied to us, saying: We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. 12. But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away to Babylon. 13. But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. 14. And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, King Cyrus took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were given to one called Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. 15. And he said to him: Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site. 16. Then that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been under construction, and it is not yet completed. 17. Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let search be made in the royal archives which are in Babylon, to determine whether King Cyrus issued a decree to build this house of God in Jerusalem, and let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.
Verse 1: Zechariah the Son of Iddo
1. Zechariah the son of Iddo — "Son" here means grandson, as is clear from Zechariah I, 1. For the Hebrews call any descendants "sons," as is clear from Matthew I, 1; Judith VIII, 1, and elsewhere.
Verse 5: The Eye of Their God
5. But the eye of their God — meaning: The divine providence, grace, and favor (for a benign eye is the sign and symbol of this, with which God looked upon the Jews) toward the Jews was at work in this, that God Himself put it into the mind of Tattenai the governor not to impede the building of the temple and city, even though he had not yet consulted Darius — indeed, to write to Darius in a manner favorable to the Jews, and that Darius upon reading his letter would grant permission for the temple to be restored. For none of the enemies opposed the Jews, and Darius was well-disposed toward the Jews through the efforts of Zerubbabel, who was a courtier of Darius, as I said. A similar expression occurs in VII, 6, and Exodus XII, 36, and Numbers VI, 25.
Note: Sacred Scripture attributes eyes, ears, arms, and feet to God, not truly and properly, as the Anthropomorphites held, who believed God had a body (which Tertullian also seems to have thought, though Pamelius excuses him), as attested by St. Epiphanius and St. Augustine regarding their heresy; but metaphorically, to accommodate Himself to human understanding and to signify the attributes of God through human actions and members — namely, through eyes, that He sees all things; through ears, that He hears all things; through arms, that He can do all things; through feet, that He is supremely stable, constant, and eternal. So says St. Eucherius, On Spiritual Formulas, chapter II.
Verse 11: A Great King of Israel
11. A great king of Israel — great in wisdom, riches, dominion, fame, and glory, namely Solomon.
Verse 15: Take These Vessels and Put Them in the Temple
15. Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built. — This is a hysteron-proteron, or reversed order: for the house of God or temple had to be built first before the vessels taken by the Chaldeans could be placed in it, as Cajetan notes. Or rather, by "temple" understand the site and the treasury near the temple already burned — for in this the vessels and gifts of the temple were placed and kept.
Verse 17: In the Royal Archives
17. In the royal archives — The Chaldean reads bebet ginzaia, that is, as the Septuagint has it, "in the house of treasures" or the royal treasury, where there was an archive — not of philosophical books, but of records and documents pertaining especially to finances, expenditures (for example, those which Cyrus had made for the temple, chapter VI, 8), revenues, and monetary affairs. So says Vatablus. Likewise, the authentic originals of royal laws and decrees were preserved there.