3:1–3 Words and phrases function as the cohesive glue that connects the various chapters of Ezra. “Babylonia” and “Jerusalem” (1:11; 2:1) link chapters 1 and 2, while the mention of “towns” (2:70; 3:1) links chapters 2 and 3. Together they reveal the key movement from exile to return. Apart from the collection of freewill offerings (2:68–69) the text says nothing about the specific time or actions that occur between return and resettlement. However, action in chapter 3 begins specifically in the seventh month (v. 1), perhaps still within the first year of Cyrus (1:1), though this is not explicit.

Sacrifice requires an altar. The verbs “arise” (Hb. qum) and “build” (banah) summarize in part the task of the postexilic community from the start (1:5) and will do so in the future (5:2; Neh. 2:18, 20; 3:1). Jeshua, Zerubbabel, and other leaders get to work (Ezra 3:2). Arising and building in the setting of Ezra-Nehemiah not only repeats previous canonical patterns from the Solomonic temple (1 Chron. 22:19; 2 Chron. 6:10);48 these verbs likewise fulfill the prior divine promises and commands. Through Cyrus, God himself will see to it that Jerusalem is inhabited and rebuilt (Isa. 44:26–28; 58:12)—but not yet. While the security of walls around Jerusalem will bolster the sense of security required for the flourishing of the people, and a rebuilt temple will provide a place for proper worship, the returnees first rise and erect the altar “in its place” (Ezra 3:3). Setting the altar and temple on their prior foundations establishes continuity with the past, an important feature of this chapter.49 The reference to altar rebuilding and the notice that “fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands” (v. 3) seems to lack connection.50 Where previously have we seen this pattern of altar building in the context of enemies?

By rebuilding the altar as one of the first things accomplished upon entry into the land, the returnees repeat the patterns of altar constructions by Abraham (Gen. 12:6–7) and Joshua (Josh. 8:30–35; cf. Deut. 27:1–8) upon first entrance into Canaan. Each of these prior altar-building events occurred in the context of real or potential enemies (Gen. 12:6; Josh. 8:28–29; 9:1–2). Now, in Ezra, upon return to the land, setting up the altar “in its place” in the seventh month has some analogy. Gathering “as one man” typically occurs in contexts of human conflict (Judg. 6:16; 20:1, 8, 11; 1 Sam. 11:7; 2 Sam. 19:14) or the Lord’s judgment (Num. 14:15). The two “one man” gatherings found in Ezra-Nehemiah (Ezra 3:1; Neh. 7:73b–8:1) occur in the context of rejoicing and sacrifice during the seventh-month assembly. However, as with Abraham and Joshua, the context of altar construction and sacrifice foreshadows conflicts externally and distresses internally (Ezra 4:1–5, 6, 7–23; 9:1–2; 10:2; Neh. 2:10, 19; 4:1, 7; 6:1–2, 7; 13:3, 23–27). This provides a nuanced but important theological point reverberating throughout Ezra-Nehemiah and all of Scripture: in the present time God’s people must carry out their mission to worship the true and living God, but in doing so they must not only expect conflict but trust the Lord in the midst of it.

3:4–6a These events occur in the seventh month, known as Tishri (September/October)—Israel’s most holy month.51 The month included some of the most sacred festivals of the calendar year: the Feast of Trumpets on the first day of the month (Lev. 23:23–25), the Day of Atonement on the tenth day (Lev. 23:26–32), and the Feast of Booths52 on the fifteenth (Lev. 23:33–36; 39–43; Deut. 16:13–15). Both the first day of this celebratory month (Trumpets) and the twenty-second day (Lev. 23:36) called for a “holy convocation” (Lev. 23:24; Num. 29:1). The latter gathering occurred on the eighth day after the seven-day Feast of Booths,53 a celebration that receives explicit mention in Ezra and later in Nehemiah as the people gather as “one man” (Ezra 3:1, 4; Neh. 8:14). Previously, this important feast coincided with the placement of the ark in its permanent dwelling place and the dedication of the first temple (1 Kings 8:2, 65). Now Ezra 3 will bind altar reconstruction to the laying of the second temple foundation, even repeating the song of the first dedication (v. 11; cf. 2 Chron. 5:13).

The Feast of Booths, alongside Passover / Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Weeks, is one of the three great feasts celebrated in Israel (Leviticus 23; Deut. 16:16–17; 2 Chron. 8:13). Its name comes from the use of temporary shelters or “booths” constructed and lived in during the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt (Lev. 23:43). The feast celebrates God as Creator and Redeemer. First, the people rejoice in God’s creative work as he blesses them yearly with the produce of the autumn harvest, closing one year and beginning another (Deut. 16:13–15). However, the festival also functions to provoke a redemptive memory for current and future generations. In celebrating the festival, all members of the covenantal community are reminded not only of God’s provision of food but also of his redemptive actions during the wilderness pilgrimage (Lev. 23:43).

The repetition of “burnt offerings” in nearly every verse of this first scene (Ezra 3:2, 3, 4, 5, 6) not only focuses attention on the renewal of the daily burnt offerings (Ex. 29:38–42; Num. 28:6) but also suggests the increased sacrifices required during the eight days of the Feast of Booths (cf. Num. 29:12–38). What is more, this chapter also mentions the restarting of four other types of sacrifices: daily and monthly sacrifices (Num. 28:11–15), other “appointed feasts,” and freewill offerings (Lev. 7:16–18; 22:17–23). Thus, before wall or temple begins, the Israelites must first restore the altar in order to sacrifice burnt offerings.

However, success requires another kind of restoration. God’s word, “as it is written in the Law of Moses” and “according to the rule” (Ezra 3:2, 4; 2 Chron. 23:18), provides the motivation. Mosaic instruction (Torah) must have primacy of place in the restored covenant community. As during the exodus and its aftermath, so also for the postexilic generation: God alone provides for their needs, God alone has brought them up out of exile, and God alone, through Torah, reveals how they should live as a “wise and understanding people” among the nations (Deut. 4:5–8).

3:6b–7 The abundance of biblical references cited in the comments on 3:1–6a expose the deep roots of the past as they break through the soil of the postexilic present. Altar reconstruction and reinstitution of sacrifice in the important seventh month provide only the initial steps of rebuilding and renewal. The narration now pauses (v. 6b) to introduce the next construction project, which occupies the rest of the chapter: the necessity of laying the temple foundation (vv. 8–13). Not only in Solomon’s day (1 Kings 6:37) but also for the postexilic prophets (Hag. 2:18; Zech. 8:9–13), laying the foundation becomes a significant signpost for the returning community.

The need for a temple foundation, coupled with the prior mention of “everyone who made a freewill offering” (Ezra 3:5),54 provides a natural bridge to the presentation of material offerings for construction (v. 7). The word for “made a freewill offering” in verse 5 most frequently describes either the offering of oneself for service (Judg. 5:2, 9; Neh. 11:2) or, most often and in the current context, the willingness to offer one’s resources freely for temple construction (Ezra 1:6; 2:68). Those returning do both; they uproot their lives to return to Jerusalem and once more give materially. The people have a new start, and yet their actions are in keeping with the past actions of their forefathers, whether those who gave heart-motivated offerings for the tabernacle in Moses’ day (Ex. 35:20–29) or David and others who offered freely for the first temple (1 Chron. 29:1–9). This latter comparison gains further support from the presence of “the Sidonians and the Tyrians” who bring “cedar trees” in preparation for temple building (Ezra 3:7); such a combination occurs elsewhere only in reference to work David did to prepare for the temple (1 Chron. 22:4). Certainly the work moves forward by Cyrus’s royal “grant,” a word used only here in the OT to express both authorization and empowerment; yet David’s presence is in the background and will soon break through in a more explicit expression (cf. Ezra 3:10). This forms yet one more point of continuity with the previous temple.

3:8–9 Like the first paragraph, the second begins with a temporal marker describing events in the “second year” and “second month” (v. 8), the latter the same month in which Solomon began to build the temple (1 Kings 6:1). Debate persists as to the historical referent of “second year.” Does this refer to the second year of Cyrus (537 BC) or that of Darius (520)? Some claim the latter since Haggai’s initial oracle to Zerubbabel and Jeshua (i.e., Joshua) was delivered in the second year of Darius in the sixth month (Hag. 1:1). Haggai also informs us that the temple yet “lies in ruins” (Hag. 1:4, 9) and concurs with Ezra that completion occurred under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Ezra 5:1–2; 6:15; Hag. 1:1, 12). On this basis, Haggai 2:15–18 ostensibly refers to building the temple foundation in Haggai’s day, confirmed by Zechariah 4:9. By this interpretation, the foundation laid in Ezra 3:8, 10 cannot refer to Cyrus’s second year but must refer to Darius’s second year, when the foundation was completed.55

However, some temple work began before that year, since at some point it ceased and remained dormant through the reign of Cyrus and into the reign of Darius (Ezra 4:3–5, 24). Taking the description of Haggai as referring to completely new construction in his day is not demanded. The twofold mention of the people’s coming “to the house” (2:68; 3:8) need only mean they arrived at the general location of the temple, since it was not yet built. The position taken in this commentary is that 3:8 most naturally resumes 2:68 and refers to the absolute beginning of temple rebuilding, in the second month of the second year after their initial return (c. 537 BC) under Sheshbazzar (1:8; 5:16). Haggai then refers to a restart on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in 520, after a lengthy period of delay (Hag. 1:14–15; cf. Ezra 5:1–2) and with now Zerubbabel taking the lead.56

Those who have returned are one in purpose with the preexilic community not only because of the comparable task of temple building found in each period; each also gives freely to the work and each receives supplies from the Phoenicians. The mention of building construction begun in the “second month” (Ziv) adds to this presentation since it was also in Ziv that Solomon began to build the temple (1 Kings 6:1) and in Ziv that the temple foundation was established (1 Kings 6:37). This pattern is repeated here.

The burden of restoration resides not only with the leaders Jeshua and Zerubbabel; all the building projects in Ezra-Nehemiah involve all of the people of God, unified in purpose. This requires involvement of other “priests” and “kinsmen” (also translated “brothers,” Ezra 3:2, 8, 9) and indeed the whole community in altar construction and temple beginnings. Specifically, by using comparable expressions, the remainder of the paragraph functions to show the united effort of the Levites. They are not only “appointed . . . to supervise the work” (v. 8); specific men heading the Levitical families likewise “stand together . . . to supervise” the workmen (v. 9 AT). The family names mentioned (Jeshua, Kadmiel, Hodaviah [Judah?])57 occur in several lists of the Levites throughout Ezra-Nehemiah (Ezra 2:40//Neh. 7:43; 9:4–5; 10:9). All of this underscores the postexilic role of the Levites in supervising the work of the temple (1 Chron. 23:2–6; 2 Chron. 34:12–13).

3:10–11a Three nouns—builders, priests, and Levites—now summarize the important aspects of the chapter, preparing for the song of jubilant response that follows. The postexilic community does not follow the previous efforts of Hezekiah or Josiah, as vital as they were to revitalizing national devotion to the Lord. Rather, Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah present the renewed worship in the second temple as shaped according to David’s earlier instructions, especially his organization of the Levitical musicians (1 Chron. 6:31; 25:6). The pre- and postexilic community thus unify in following the lead of their ideal king in worship.58 In song, the biblical citation that follows breathes in God’s goodness and exhales his steadfast love (Ezra 3:11). Understanding the other prominent contexts where the refrain occurs only deepens its application. This song was used not only when the ark was brought into the first temple (2 Chron. 5:13); it was also sung earlier, when David brought the ark into Jerusalem with the climactic request to “gather and deliver us from among the nations” (1 Chron. 16:34–35). The returning remnant now sings the same song, rejoicing in the privilege to see this prayer answered. Perhaps most relevant, Jeremiah cites this very song as the one that will be sung when Jerusalem’s fortunes are restored and thank offerings are found once more in God’s house (Jer. 33:10–11).59

3:11b–13 The completed foundation results in a description of the communal song of praise as “shouting a great shout” (vv. 11b, 13 AT). Elsewhere, only with the ark’s presence in war contexts do we find this exact expression (Josh. 6:4–5, 20; 1 Sam. 4:5). Worship often brings varied responses, reflecting the range of human emotion. For some, the shout signals great joy at the arrival of this moment long desired. For others, haunted by past memory, the song brings out the unresolved sorrow of a temple now ruined, with no hope of attaining its former glory (cf. Hag. 2:3). So the chapter ends as it began: with the people of God gathered together, perhaps ready for conflict but also yearning for the renewed presence of the Lord in the Land of Promise.