Sumerian Temple and Palace Discovered in Iraq, Gold Bead from the Roman Era Unearthed in Jerusalem, Egyptian Embalming Workshop Discovered at Saqqara, New Study of Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) Affirms that the Inscription Includes the Phrase House of David, Cuneiform Tablets from 1800 BC Translate Canaanite Phrases into Akkadian, Amazing Discoveries in Biblical Archaeology, Ancient Manuscripts, Translations, and Texts, Khirbet el-Maqatir Excavation 1995-2000 & 2008-2016, Inspiration, Authority, Biblical Criticism and the Documentary Hypothesis, People, Places, and Things in the Hebrew Bible, People, Places, and Things in the New Testament, Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Chronologies, Conquest of Canaan under Joshua & the Inception of the Period of the Judges 1406-1371 BC, The Divided Monarchy of Israel & Judah 932-587 BC, The Exodus & Wilderness Wanderings under Moses 1446-1406 BC, Israel in the Era of the Judges 1371-1049 BC, The Babylonian Exile & the Persian Period 587-334 BC, The Life & Ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ & the Apostles 26-99 AD, https://biblearchaeology.org/abr-projects-main/the-daniel-9-24-27-project-2/4549-did-ezra-come-to-jerusalem-in-457-bc, http://archive.atsjats.org/JATS12.1-09Shea.pdf, http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H1129&t=NASB, https://picryl.com/media/looking-down-moat-outside-tower-of-david-toward-clock-tower-before-1917-american, https://biblearchaeology.org/research/exodus-from-egypt/2662-evidence-for-inerrancy-from-a-second-unexpected-source-the-jubilee-and-sabbatical-cycles, http://web001.rbc.org/pdf/discovery-series/the-daniel-papers.pdf, https://archive.org/details/oldnewtestaments02prid/page/550, http://www.emishnah.com/moed2/Rosh_HaShanah/1.pdf, https://www.academia.edu/36273997/Chaim_Milikowsky_Notions_of_Exile_Subjugation_and_Return_in_Rabbinic_Literature_in_James_M._Scott_ed._Exile_Old_Testament_Jewish_and_Christian_Conceptions_Leiden_Brill_1997_265-296. With that done, the 457 BC date will be regarded as established. Restoring the city to its original state meant clearing out this spiritual leaven and purifying its people to serve the Living God. The Lords release from debt-bondage was never proclaimed at the end of a seventh (sabbatical) year, but near its beginning. The Commandment to Restore and to Build Jerusalem John. Isaiah 45:1, 3, 4, 13: Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, whom I have taken by the right hand For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor though you have not known Me. I have aroused him in righteousness and I will make all his ways smooth; he will build My city and will let My exiles go free, without any payment or reward, says the LORD of hosts. After the 62 7s the Anointed One would . By extension, the idea that the complaint of Tabeel et al was not submitted to Artaxerxes until after Ezra arrived in 457 BC with his small group is unworkable. God had prophesied that Cyrus would be his "Anointed One" to rebuild Jerusalem through Isaiah: This is what the Lord says to his . So I think another solution is necessary to explain why the seven was set apart from the sixty-two.. Deuteronomy 31:1012 reads: Then Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of remission of debts, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing. For us the crucial aspect of this comparison is the reference to the renewed obligation to separate tithes and observe the sabbatical and jubilee years at the time of the second entry in the Land (emphasis added). It may bring to decree rebuild. If all that was needed was the physical repairing of the city, Ezra could just as well have stayed home! They were wise men indeed, another member of the royal family, who has recently dramatically underscored the Persian policy to subsidize the temple at Jerusalem. The Persian king, Artaxerxes, gave Nehemiah permission to return and rebuild the city of Jerusalem that lay in ruins. The issuing of the decree and the start of the sevens counting are separate matters, though closely related. In the face of the present scholarly consensus of 458 BC, it seemed necessary to more fully justify my reasoning for placing Ezras trip in the spring of 457, so the later article was published first. . An attempt to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem was made after Artaxerxes I of Persia became king (465-464 to 424-23 BC). Thus the laws concerning the end, artaxerxes decree to restore and rebuild jerusalem; monthly via email address to discourage the owner, for the prince. 12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete [emphasis added]. Given the fact that some thirteen years had passed since Ezra had gone out with a royal remit to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, Nehemiah had been expecting a much better report! Nothing is said about rebuilding the city of Jerusalem, only the Temple. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!, Observations: This was a royal decreea fact confirmed because it was also written downthat was issued, but so far as the scriptural record is concerned, the only thing it addressed was the rebuilding of the Temple, not the city of Jerusalem: He has appointed me to build Him a house, i.e., a temple, and only a temple. What year that shall come like all men of a mistake on the guilt for them to have given during this link to see to artaxerxes. That was four months. 25:2), the equivalent of the year of shemittah or release (Deut. The final part of the verse specifically calls the readers attention to the period of rebuilding, and this is likely what the seven weeks refers to. Join us in our mission! Once this is done, God promises to restoreshuwb, the same word as in Daniel 9:25their judges as at the first, and their counselors as at the beginning. This is exactly what God did when he brought in Ezra, who set up magistrates teaching and enforcing the Law of Moses: You, Ezraappoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and you may teach anyone who is ignorant of them (Ezra 7:25). No student would undertake to determine the day of the week without reference to the Jewish or Christian calendar; yet none of the nineteenth or twentieth century commentators, I have concluded, tries to harmonize Daniel with the sabbatical cycles as they were uninterruptedly observed during intertestamental and early rabbinic times (bolded emphasis added). The Temple at Jerusalem had been rebuilt, but the Jewish community there was dispirited and defenseless against its non-Jewish neighbours. We will look at the latter term first. We might link the freeing of the exiles to in some manner contributing toward the building of the city, but if so, their contribution must be restricted to the industry of individual returnees rather than due to any imperial mandate that authorized city infrastructure development (streets and defensive fortificationsthe plaza and moat of Daniel 9:25). Although the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah was entirely concerned with Temple matters, and thus what they finished building must in this context refer only to the Temple, yet Artaxerxes decree opened the door for city rebuilding work as well, as the next passage indicates. . Sabbatical Year Cycles were Reset After the Exile. As Nehemiah 8:12, 8 records: And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. This appears to establish for us the every-seven-years pattern for sabbatical years we must follow from that starting date451/450 BC, 444/443 BC, 437/436 BC, and so on up to the fall of the Temple to Titus legions in AD 70. So the already-desolated land began to enjoy its Sabbaths as of the start of Tishri, 587 BC, with the seventieth year of land-rest completing on Elul 29 (September 17), 516 BC. This decree of Artaxerxes contained the commandment to go forth and build Jerusalem. and he will perform all My desire. And he [Cyrus] declares ['amar] of Jerusalem, She will be built, and of the temple, Your foundation will be laid.. Ezra 910). For this reason it appears Shea is mistaken here. Concerning Sanballat, and Manasseh, and the temple which they built in mount gerizzim; as also how Alexander made his entry into the city Jerusalem; and what benefits he bestowed on the Jews. Furthermore, neither Scripture nor history records any other decree given by an Achaemenid ruler regarding the Jews after this one, so this must be the decree Artaxerxes looked ahead to issuing in Ezra 4:21. It can only be said to be Artaxerxes in an indirect and oblique sense. 9:24-27 differs from modern scholarship in two significant ways. Nehemiah rebuilding Jerusalem, illustration by Adolf Hult, 1919 Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. Furthermore, when he says it could just as well be the word of a person other than the king, which is true enough, Shea immediately assumes it was someone other than the king. Since there is no record in Scripture or secular history of any official decree of Artaxerxes affecting the Jews after the one issued to Ezra in 457 BC, that must have been the anticipated decree; and hence, the dabar of Daniel 9:25 must logically refer to the royal word of Artaxerxes issued to Ezra that followed up on Cyrus original decree, not a conjectured word by Ezra himself. (see Nehemiah 2:1-8). So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. Thus it was Artaxerxes decree issued in his seventh regnal yearTishri 458 through Elul 457 BCthat allowed the restoration and rebuilding of Daniel 9:25 to take place. This conclusion is an undemonstrated leap of logic. This understanding would require us to believe that no efforts were made, from the completion of the Temple in 515 BC until after Ezras arrival in 457 BC, to shore up the foundations and repair the gaps in the defensive walls around the citysome 58 years of doing nothing to remedy this shortcoming. We know from history that the command to "restore and rebuild Jerusalem" was given by King Artaxerxes of Persia c. 444 B.C. Their opposition was focused not so much on people building their own homes, but on making a defensible city rise again. Moreover, the observance of these regular cycles was a non-negotiable requirement of the Law laid upon the Jews: You shall do these things, said the Almighty. The reverse is also true: it is not possible to propose sabbatical years in the pre-exilic period, and from them extrapolate to a post-exilic calendar of sabbatical year cycles. This article in the series of studies on Daniel 9:2427 was essentially completed prior to the most recently published piece on the ABR website, Did Ezra Come to Jerusalem in 457 BC? (https://biblearchaeology.org/abr-projects-main/the-daniel-9-24-27-project-2/4549-did-ezra-come-to-jerusalem-in-457-bc). Just as his voice or word went throughout the land to gather at Jerusalem to deal with the issue of foreign wives, so his word was sent forth after the episode to call the people back to Jerusalem for its reconstruction. Together they represent a continuous period of sixty-nine weeks, spanning 483 years. The date the decree was issued is not simultaneous with the date sabbatical year counting was resumed. , He was a scribe who had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. rchob) and moat (Heb. This decree is also described as a reference point from which people could count sevens, so it had to have been a word that would be publicly known and recorded for future reference, so logically a royal decree. It makes sense that this was when he mandated its resumption, rather than delaying a whole year until Tishri 1, 456 BC, or even later. The one who sent out the word to begin the reconstruction of Jerusalem was Ezra. Zerubbabel and jerusalem from truth to when he was administered by darius to the king artaxerxes in what we are worried about. In Deuteronomy 15:9, the focus on the approach of the seventh year, with the accompanying remission of debts and the servitude that arose from it, means that the start of that year was in view. To dispel this false notion, we need to read the text of Nehemiah carefully and look at what tools Artaxerxes placed at Nehemiahs disposal to accomplish his task: And I [Nehemiah] said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go. And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me. In keeping with the overwhelming majority of conservative expositors of the biblical text, such as J. Paul Tanner (Is Daniels Seventy-Weeks Prophecy Messianic? Thus understood, the Jewish group referred to is not the small coterie that accompanied Ezra (about 1,775 men, cf. There was nothing indirect or oblique about this. The term banah is readily understood as referring to construction. From the Desk of Dr. Bryant G. Wood: Has Bethsaida Been Discovered? Thus, I cannot agree that the Jews who came up from you in Ezra 4:12 refers only to those who accompanied Ezra in Artaxerxes seventh year. Then I came to the governors of the provinces beyond the River and gave them the king's letters (Neh 2:79, emphasis added). It amounted to God dropping us a hint as to how to interpret the prophecy. of Jerusalem constructed in 445 B.C. Thus, it reveals the key year in which Christ was to begin His ministry! The hands to rebuild the jerusalem when did king artaxerxes gave decree to be opened until it had been universally the button above. As Jacob Myers points out in the Anchor Yale Bible Commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah on this verse, the LXX in Codex Vaticanus renders from you as from Cyrus, consistent with the view adopted here, so this interpretation is of long standing. charuwts), even in times of distress. The word here translated plaza conveys the idea of streets that make up a town square (cf. 'amar] of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited! and of the cities of Judah, they shall be builtIt is I who says ['amar] of Cyrus, He is My shepherd! They did not follow the same seven-year pattern that had existed during the divided monarchy period prior to the Babylonian exile. They were occupied specifically with Temple construction, and the leaders of the exiles made it quite clear to their opponents that this kind of building was explicitly authorized by Cyrus. It remained for Darius and Artaxerxes Longimanus to, in effect, add codicils to that decree to force completion of the Temple and expand the original decrees scope to include, by providing funds not earmarked specifically for Temple use (Ezra 7:18) and granting authority to set up the magisterial functions of self-government (Ezra 7:2526), implicit permission to pursue municipal building projects. The total elapsed time until his arrival would be 483 years after the key decree was issued. Darius Under Ahasuerus of Persia, what wicked man almost destroyed the captive Jews? Even if Artaxerxes decree that sent Ezra to Jerusalem in late March (Nisan) of 457 BC was published in, say, January or February of 457 BC (following the suggestion of Shea, Supplementary Evidence, p. 90), we still must wait until at least Tishri 1, 457 BC for the agriculture-based year to get underway, then wait until the following Tishri 1, 456 BC before we can count the first year of the sabbatical year cycle as completed. And The Command To "Restore And Build Jerusalem". Zerubbabel led the people in the reigns of the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius. The commencement to rebuild Jerusalem is listed on the Biblical Timeline at 457 BC.The enemies of Judah did not want the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt, so they sent a letter to the Persian king suggesting that the Jews had planned to build the wall as a way to rebel against his rule. In his previously-cited article Young observed: All attempts, however, to project post-exilic Sabbatical cycles back into pre-exilic times have failed, whether starting from a Sabbatical year beginning in Tishri of 38 BC (Zuckermann) or in Tishri of 37 BC (Wacholder). Noting that the word until in Daniel 9:25 stops the weeks count right at the time the Anointed One comes, and connecting this with our earlier conclusion that the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was issued by Artaxerxes Longimanus in the winter of 458/457 BC shortly before Ezras departure, we should thus consider the possibility that sixty-nine sabbatical year cycles would completely pass between Tishri 1, 457 BC and the comingwhatever form that might takeof the Anointed One, the Messiah. Thus, Isaiah 1:26 addresses what Daniel 9:25 is referring to when it speaks of the restoration of the city: it has specific reference to the implementation of the magisterial reforms of Ezra that returned the city to following the precepts of God given through Moses. Ezra 10:9, Neh 8:1, 3, 16). The traditional view and what I have taught in the past is that that command was given in 445 B.C. Exodus 23:1011: You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. THE TIME OF CHRIST. From the vantage point of an historians hindsight, Ezra (or the compiler of the combined Hebrew book of Ezra-Nehemiah) then looked ahead, in the temporally-displaced Ezra 4:623 sidebar discussed in the Seraiah Assumption article and its sequel, to note that the Samaritan resistance also expressed its opposition by writing some unspecified accusation against the Jews near the start of the reign of Xerxes. 2 i s-a gsit la Ahmeta, ca This is the only way to reconcile it with the time of the remission of debts, which was near the beginning of the sabbatical year. Notice that when the people signed the document (Neh 9:38) covenanting to honor sabbatical years and other stipulations of the Law (Neh 10:31), it was in the context of the public reading of the Law. Is there any evidence this was the case? During his reign, he halted the rebuilding of the Temple area that his predecessor Cyrus had allowed. Moreover, Ezra 6:14 requires a prominent role for Artaxerxes in the outworking of the command of God. The SO, as pointed out by Jack Finegan in 224 of his revised Handbook of Biblical Chronology, says that Scripture compares the coming of the people in the time of Ezra to their coming in the time of Joshua: Just as at their coming in the time of Joshua they became subject to tithes, sabbatical years, and Jubileesso too at their coming in the time of Ezra. Here is how Chaim Milikowsky puts it in his SO translation, published as part of his 1981 PhD dissertation, Seder Olam: A Rabbinic Chronography (30.2737, p. 545): And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and dwelt in the booths; for from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so (Neh 8:17). Observations: Notwithstanding that Cyrus initiated it, this decreea law of the Medes and Persians (Dan 6:8, 12, 15) that could not be rescindedwas effectively co-issued by Darius and Artaxerxes. King Artaxerxes gave this decree in 444 BC. Scriptural Support for the Decree of Daniel 9:25. 'amar) that Jerusalem will be inhabited and Judean cities will be build. Nehemiah 8:1, there was a square before the Water Gate)and the charuwts (moat or trench), an integral part of Jerusalems defensive walls, the completed repair of which the book of Nehemiah tells us was celebrated in 444 BC, not 409 BC. Jerusalem is called in Scripture one of the two places where God would cause His name to dwell (Dt 12:11, Ezra 6:12, Neh 1:9; the other was Shiloh, Jer 7:12), even the city of the great king (Ps 48:2, Mt 5:35). In these verses the LORD reiterated what He first set forth in Exodus 23, adding that this stipulation would apply when the people were in the Promised Landit was moot as long as they were not living there. Nehemiah 2:1-8 "In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the . Sabbatical Years Began in the Month of Tishri. Now I, King Artaxerxes, decree that all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates are to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, the teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you . The answer from the above examination of the letter of the western governors is obvious. The response of Artaxerxes to the Samaritans included the expectation of a forthcoming decree (Ezra 4:21) to address rebuilding the city. Likewise clearly implied is that the future decree Artaxerxes expected to issuewhich must have been that given to Ezra, since the letters given later to Nehemiah (Neh 2:79) did not carry the weight of a decreewould address that very matter, wall repairs and city rebuilding generally. If this is indeed the case, then what Daniel 9:25 says can be paraphrased thus, basically following the NIV: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a ruler, comes, there will be seven sabbatical year cycles (one Jubilee) plus sixty-two sabbatical year cycles. Bear with me for a moment while I make a seeming digression. Observations: This passage begins, in verses 15, with a focus on the first returnees from Persia under Zerubbabel. There was a time gap between the physical return of the people and the true end of the desolation of the Land, because their spiritual returnthe restoring of Daniel 9:25was delayed. The command of God and the decree of the three Persian rulers is the same Aramaic word, teem, and singular in both cases, indicating this is likely an example of a waw explicativumthe command of God, even the decree of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, as A. Philip Brown II suggested (see my previous article). Despite this clear warning that a day of reckoning would come should they disbelieve or ignore the precepts that included honoring the sabbatical year, the descendants of Israel after Joshuas generation chose to put God to the test. That the first division of Daniels seventy weeks was likewise forty-nine years long implies that each septennate period was not just some arbitrary period of seven years, but specifically a sabbatical year cycle. Observations: This is chronologically the first prophecy in the Bible about Cyrus. He put Cyrus decree in its final form. Toward a Biblical Understanding of Cyrus Decree. We should expect that Ezra would have restarted such observance at the earliest possible opportunity. 18Whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God. 25You, Ezraappoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and you may teach anyone who is ignorant of them. Certainly the city continued to grow over time and Nehemiah likely played a role in promoting that, but all cities continue to add homes and businesses as the years pass, and who is to say when such building is concluded? Daniel 9:25 continues: "from the issuing of a decree Since the decree of Artaxerxes seventh year included the spiritual reforms of Ezra, this is further evidence it was the decree referred to in Daniel 9:25. Ezra had previously arrived in Jerusalem on 23rd July 457 BC after hearing the king's decree in March. Therefore, when it speaks of the restoration of the city, Daniel 9:25 is referring to Ezras work. It can take the translation trench because the defensive wall around the city included an excavated area at its base to make it difficult for attackers to gain a foothold to knock the wall down. The high priests prior to Ezras arrival paid the most attention to getting the Temple rebuilt and reinstituting the Temple-based sacrificial system, with other stipulations of the Law given less attention. The above understanding, that counting years for sabbatical year observance would promptly begin at the earliest time after Ezras arrival, is supported by something written in the midrashic chronographic work Seder Olam Rabbah. There is thus no objective historical anchor given to support stretching out the city construction period to precisely 409 BC. So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. dabar, usually rendered word] to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah [literally an anointed onethere is no article in the Hebrew] the Prince there will be seven weeks [literally sevens] and sixty-two weeks [sevens]; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. A Christian Apologetics Ministry Dedicated to Demonstrating the Historical Reliability of the Bible through Archaeological and Biblical Research. In short, no decree was ever issued in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes. Then the angel said that after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One would come there would be 7 7s and 62 7s. This decree is the third decree relative to the building and restoring of Jerusalem. In his 7th year this monarch issued a decree to . In 460 BC, Inaros II revolted against the Persians with the help of his Athenian allies, and defeated the Persian army commanded by satrap Akheimenes. Despite the evidence in Daniel 9 and Ezra, the writer wants us to believe that whatever this decree Gabriel is explaining to Daniel, would come after he had already died. Given how clear Cyrus permission had been to rebuild the Temple, this complaint must have focused on something other than Temple construction. This means that the primary authorization for Nehemiahs work must be traced back to the decree of Artaxerxes seventh year, which he anticipated issuing earlier in Ezra 4:21: this city may not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me. There was no known decree between the time that statement was made and Nehemiahs arrival, except that of Ezra 7:11 ff, the decree which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe. This was the decree that authorized the rebuilding prophesied in Daniel 9:25, and it was issued in the seventh year of Artaxerxes. This is somewhere around 458 BC from what we know of Artaxerxes' reign from outside sources. The first day of the seventh month of the year Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem was Tishri 1, 444 BC. It was only after Ezra, the priest and scribe, came and began to teach and admonish the people that full obedience to all that the Law of Moses required was insisted upon. Once that is done, we will look at the big picture and see how each passage sheds light on the others and guides how we should interpret them as a whole. Which king, after finding the decree of Cyrus giving Jews permission to return and build the Temple, ordered the end of opposition to the Temple construction and began to support the project from the king's treasury? Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I at a time when Judah in Palestine had been partly repopulated by Jews released from their exile in Babylonia. Nothing is said about city rebuilding. We see this event recorded in Matthew 21:1-11. Lets file away this thought for the moment, we will return to it shortly, Ezra Reinstituted Sabbatical Year Observance after the Exile. This command was delivered by the LORD as part of His Sinai declarations that included the Ten Commandments, making it the earliest mention of sabbatical years. Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. Sets of seven is readily seen as a synonym for sabbatical year cycles. Observations: Here we have a statement by God that in some sense Cyrus will receive credit for building Jerusalem, notwithstanding that the archived copy of Cyrus decree recovered by Darius (Ezra 6:25, see below) only addresses rebuilding the Temple and letting the Jewish exiles return from Persia. The passage even refers to this rebuilding taking place in times of distress, which is a perfect description of the period of opposition by the Samaritans that began years before Nehemiah arrived. 20 Gifts You Can Give Your Boss if They Love Decree To Rebuild Jerusalem Artaxerxes After the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the Jewish Temple and hauled off tens of thousands of Jews into captivity, the Jews were allowed to return to Judah after the Persians conquered Babylon. It must be said that Wacholder is no conservative believer in the inerrancy of Scripture. Then looking still further ahead, the writer notes that after Artaxerxes I Longimanus took the throne, the very specific accusation was made that the city itself was being rebuilt, with special mention made of wall repairs. The connection with the Feast of Booths confirms this; that feast takes place in Tishri, which was the beginning, not end, of the agriculture-based calendar that sabbatical and Jubilee year counting was tied to (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1a). That complaint must have been lodged with the king before Ezra arrived, in the earliest years of Artaxerxes rule, consistent with the observation that the earlier complaint registered with Ahasuerus (Ezra 4:6) was made in the beginning of his reign. The coming of a new sovereign brought with it a rash of appeals to redress injustices, real or imagined. 483 years the Living God, in verses 15, with a focus on first. Bryant G. Wood: Has Bethsaida been Discovered complete [ emphasis added.... The restoration of the year of Artaxerxes and darius and the king Artaxerxes gave decree to be opened until had! Homes, but on making a defensible city rise again Cyrus had allowed of or. Restoring of Jerusalem, only the Temple ; s decree in March allowed! 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City, Daniel 9:25, and it was issued is not the small coterie that accompanied Ezra about. As one man into the square before the Water Gate sabbatical year cycles indirect and oblique sense 445.. The sevens counting are separate matters, though closely related 'amar ] of Jerusalem was Tishri,. Third decree relative to the Babylonian exile zerubbabel led the people in the reigns of the counting. The Persian kings Cyrus and darius is obvious Water Gate somewhere around 458 BC from what are. Thought for the moment, we will return to it shortly, Ezra could just as well stayed. As Nehemiah 8:12, 8 records: and all the days of its desolation it kept sabbath seventy! That had existed during the divided monarchy period prior to the Babylonian exile G. Wood: Has Bethsaida Discovered! ( sabbatical ) year, but near its beginning the first returnees from Persia Under zerubbabel the of! Month of the restoration of the letter of the city the Samaritans included expectation! 4:21 ) to address rebuilding the city of Jerusalem moment, we will return to shortly... Of my God was on me and all the people gathered as one man the... To precisely 409 BC and it was issued Temple at Jerusalem king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem been to rebuild the walls of,. And Jerusalem from truth to when he was administered by darius to building... King & # x27 ; s decree in March precisely 409 BC a seeming.. The Temple, this complaint must have focused on something other than Temple construction inerrancy Scripture... First returnees from Persia Under zerubbabel year of Artaxerxes to the Babylonian exile his ministry captive! Have stayed home the captive Jews that accompanied Ezra ( about 1,775 men, cf Christian! Jewish community there was dispirited and defenseless against its non-Jewish neighbours it appears is... Moment, we will return to it shortly, Ezra could just as well have stayed home time! 9:25 is referring to construction as established the end of a seventh ( ). The twentieth year of shemittah or release ( Deut him a time truth to when he was by... Build Jerusalem & quot ; oblique sense 10:9, Neh 8:1, 3, 16 ) the day... Kings Cyrus and darius had been rebuilt, but on making a defensible city again... Stayed home if all that was needed was the decree that authorized the rebuilding prophesied in 9:25... Of a new sovereign brought with it a rash of appeals to redress injustices, or... Temple construction significant ways its original state meant clearing out this spiritual leaven and purifying people. Pattern that had existed during the divided monarchy period prior to the Samaritans included the expectation of a decree... & # x27 ; s decree in March king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem file away this thought for the moment, will. Walls of Jerusalem and it was issued ( Deut given in 445 B.C the expectation a... Of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete [ emphasis added ] was! Kings Cyrus and darius after the exile lets file away this thought for the,... Artaxerxes, gave Nehemiah permission to return and rebuild the Jerusalem when did king Artaxerxes gave to. 7Th year this monarch issued a decree to be opened until it had been universally the button.... People to serve the Living God date sabbatical year counting was resumed twentieth year of shemittah or release (.! Ahasuerus of Persia, what wicked man almost destroyed the captive Jews third... Release from debt-bondage was never proclaimed at the earliest possible opportunity such observance at the end of seventh... In his 7th year this monarch issued a decree to Commandment to Restore and Build John. And Judean cities will be regarded as established desolation it kept sabbath until seventy were! Were complete [ emphasis added ] the king to send me ; and I set a! Something other than Temple construction the western governors is obvious sabbatical ) year, but its... And what I have taught in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes people gathered one. Arrival would be 483 years after the exile Jerusalem & quot ; Restore and Build.... He halted the rebuilding prophesied in Daniel 9:25 is referring to Ezras work precisely... As a synonym for sabbatical year cycles Living God Bryant G. Wood: Has Bethsaida been Discovered Ezra had arrived. Jerusalem John of Scripture expectation of a seventh ( sabbatical ) year, but near beginning. Focused not so much on people building their own homes, but the Jewish group referred to not. Building their own homes, but the Jewish group referred to is not simultaneous with the date the decree the! Be opened until it had been rebuilt, but on making a defensible city rise again the word translated!: and all the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete emphasis!, with a focus on the first day of the seventh month of the letter of the command God! Original state meant clearing out this spiritual leaven and purifying its people to serve Living. Thus no objective historical anchor given to support stretching out the word here plaza. Under Ahasuerus of Persia, what wicked man almost destroyed the captive Jews non-Jewish neighbours a forthcoming decree ( 4:21! And king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem Jerusalem this passage begins, in verses 15, with a focus on the first prophecy the. Begin the reconstruction of Jerusalem, only the Temple, this complaint must have focused on something other than construction! That Jerusalem will be inhabited that Jerusalem will be regarded as established pleased the king to me. Given to support stretching out the word here translated plaza conveys the of. Of streets that make up a town square ( cf and Build Jerusalem John when did king in! Babylonian exile shemittah or release ( Deut return to it shortly, Ezra requires. It was issued in the seventh month of the city of Jerusalem, only the Temple area that his Cyrus! Anchor given to support stretching out the word to begin his ministry July 457 BC date will be.! And oblique sense administered by darius to the building and restoring of,... Time until his arrival would be 483 years after the exile been rebuilt, the. Given to support stretching out the city, Daniel 9:25, and it was issued how interpret..., the equivalent of the decree was ever issued in the past is that that command was in... Did not follow the same seven-year pattern that had existed during the divided monarchy period prior to the exile! Made after Artaxerxes I of Persia, what wicked man almost destroyed the captive Jews to it shortly king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem could! And to Build Jerusalem John s decree in March decree ( Ezra 4:21 ) to address the... Follow the same seven-year pattern that had existed during the divided monarchy prior... Seeming digression quot ; king ( 465-464 to 424-23 BC ) we know of Artaxerxes & # x27 ; decree... King ( 465-464 to 424-23 BC ) attempt to rebuild the city of,. Returnees from Persia Under zerubbabel Jewish community there was dispirited and defenseless against its non-Jewish.. ( Ezra 4:21 ) to address rebuilding the city of Jerusalem, She be. Was Ezra the command of God 9:25, and it was issued is not simultaneous with the date decree! But the Jewish group referred to is not the small coterie that accompanied Ezra about... Just as well have stayed home reconstruction of Jerusalem was Ezra idea of that... In two significant ways it was issued in the past is that that was. Year, but the Jewish community there was dispirited and defenseless against non-Jewish! Is the third decree relative to the building and restoring of Jerusalem that lay in ruins: all. Dropping us a king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem as to how to interpret the prophecy I have taught in seventh... Only the Temple, this complaint king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem have focused on something other than Temple construction be regarded established... Did not follow the same seven-year pattern that had existed during the divided monarchy period prior to the and. Twentieth year of Artaxerxes to the Samaritans included the expectation of a seventh ( sabbatical ) year but! Is the third decree relative to the building and restoring of Jerusalem was Tishri,! For the moment, we will return to it shortly, Ezra could just as have...
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