Ezra 5:8
Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands. Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands.
Be it known unto the king is the honest report of the new Persian governor to King Darius asking him to have a search made to see if the Jews were telling the truth that a Persian decree for rebuilding had been given. They had gone into the province of Judea to the house of the great God, which was being built with great stones with timber laid in the walls. The work was going fast on and prospering in their hands, advancing rapidly and successfully despite resumed opposition from the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin seeking to hinder it. The report led Darius to verify the claim that Cyrus had authorized the work, and after finding Cyrus's original decree he ordered that the builders be left undisturbed and given authorization, funding, and support for the building and its offerings. Darius added nothing to Cyrus's decree, which authorized rebuilding the temple rather than restoring Jerusalem, so neither decree marks the beginning of Daniel's prophetic period, and the prospering work shows the state of Jerusalem when Haggai and Zechariah caused the Jews to resume and prosper in God's work.
Historical Setting and Wording
The word in the verse elsewhere rendered as time denotes an appointed occasion or time, and its occurrence here shows that it can designate times appointed by people or by God and is not limited to feast days. The verse stands as part of Tatnai's letter, the honest report sent to King Darius Hystaspes by the new Persian governor, the governor of Syria, after the Jews began rebuilding again. That letter reported the progress of the building and asked Darius to have a search made to see whether the Jews were telling the truth when they said a Persian decree for rebuilding the temple had been given. Darius addressed is Darius Hystaspes, son of Hystaspes.
The work reported had been stopped under a decree of the king named Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7, who was the pseudo-Smerdis who got the kingdom by fraud and was slain in 522 B.C. After messages from Haggai and Zechariah telling the Jews to go on, the work started again under the next king Darius, who succeeded in 521 B.C. The resumption came in his second year, B.C. 520, at the stirring of Haggai and Zechariah, under Zerubbabel and Joshua, while adversaries of Judah and Benjamin sought to hinder it.
The verse belongs to the history of the Jews' restoration after the exile recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah. At that time the city was dilapidated and the temple work had been languishing, but by about 520 B.C. rebuilding was underway. The temple work had been begun in 536 B.C. and was finished in the sixth year of Darius in February 515 B.C., twenty years later, with nearly nothing done for about fifteen years because of the opposition of enemies and the discouragement of the Jews.
What was seen was that they went into the province of Judea to the house of the great God. That house was being built with great or large stones, with timber laid or set in the walls. Chapter five records this renewed work together with Tatnai's letter and reply.
Outcome and Prophetic Significance
The work was going fast on and prospering in the builders' hands, advancing rapidly and successfully. It was progressing in this manner even after Samaritan opposition resumed and while the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin were seeking to hinder it.
The report caused Darius to verify the Jews' claim that Cyrus had authorized the work. After the search found Cyrus's original decree, he ordered that the builders be left undisturbed and be given authorization, funding, and support for the building and its offerings. That support was not only permission for the work at Jerusalem to go on but a command for speedy help from the king's tribute, with money and with bullocks, rams, and lambs, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, all that was needed at Jerusalem.
His action added nothing to Cyrus's decree, which authorized rebuilding the temple rather than restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem, so neither decree marks the beginning of Daniel's prophetic period. The prospering condition of the temple work shows the state of affairs in Jerusalem when Zechariah spoke, after Israel resumed God's work in response to Haggai and Zechariah. Zechariah began prophesying between Haggai's second and third messages to confirm Haggai and reveal additional truth, and the Zechariah 3 prophecy was spoken the following year in March 519 B.C. at Jerusalem, with their joint prophesying causing the Jews to prosper. The difficulties surrounding the rebuilding form the setting in which God promised Jerusalem protection and peace.