EzraChapter 3

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When the seventh month came, and the Israelites were settled in their towns, the people gathered as one in Jerusalem.

Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests, together with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his kinsmen, set to work and rebuilt the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it as prescribed in the Law of Moses, the man of God.

They set the altar on its foundations, for they were in dread of the peoples of the surrounding lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both morning and evening offerings.

They celebrated the Festival of Booths as it is written, offering the daily burnt offerings by number, as the ordinance required for each day,

and after that the regular daily offerings, the offerings for the new moons and for all the appointed festivals of the LORD, as well as the freewill offerings brought to the LORD.

From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD's temple had not yet been laid.

They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would ship cedar logs from Lebanon by sea to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak, along with the rest of their kinsmen—the priests and the Levites and all who had come back from captivity to Jerusalem—began the work, and they appointed Levites twenty years old and upward to supervise the building of the house of the LORD.

So Jeshua with his sons and kinsmen, and Kadmiel with his sons, the descendants of Judah, stood together to oversee those working on the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad with their sons and kinsmen, the Levites.

When the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests took their places in their vestments with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD according to the directions of David king of Israel.

And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: "He is good; his steadfast love toward Israel endures forever." Then all the people raised a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD had been laid.

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of families, the old men who had seen the first house, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, while many others shouted for joy.

No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, for the people raised such a great shout that the noise was heard far away.

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Summary2

Chapter 3

Main Theme: The restoration of worship in Jerusalem through the building of the altar, offerings, and laying the foundation of the new temple.

Content: When the seventh month arrived, the people gathered in Jerusalem, where Joshua and Zerubbabel built the altar and resumed sacrifices, including the Feast of Tabernacles. In the second year, the foundation of the temple was laid, and priests and Levites led worship with trumpets and cymbals. While many shouted for joy, older people who remembered the first temple wept, so that the sound of rejoicing and weeping mingled and could be heard far away.

Key Words/Images:

The Altar: The first thing to be rebuilt, symbolizing the restoration of the relationship between God and His people through sacrifice.
The Seventh Month: The time of gathering, connected to the Feast of Tabernacles and other holy festivals.
The Temple Foundation: Its laying marks the beginning of the new temple and stirs strong emotions.
Weeping and Rejoicing: The weeping of the elders mixed with the shouts of joy from the younger generation—an image of the tension between loss and hope.

Historical context

Historical and Cultural Context for Ezra 3

People

Jeshua (Joshua) son of Jozadak was the high priest and belonged to the Zadokite priestly line. His father, Jozadak, had been taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar (1 Chron 5:41). Jeshua represented the restoration of the legitimate priesthood and is also mentioned in the books of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah as a central figure in the rebuilding effort.

Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel was of Davidic descent (1 Chron 3:17–19). His name is Babylonian (Zēr-Bābili, "Offspring of Babylon"), indicating that he was born during the exile. Together with Jeshua, he represented the dual leadership—political and religious—that characterized this period.

Kadmiel and the sons of Judah, as well as the sons of Henadad, are mentioned as Levites who oversaw the temple work (v. 9). They formed a unified Levitical workforce.

Events and Customs

The seventh month (Tishri) was the most important festival month in the Jewish calendar. It included the New Year’s feast (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). The fact that the people gathered specifically during this month underscores their religious priorities—they resumed sacrifices before the temple was built, showing that continuity in worship was more important than having a completed building.

The Feast of Tabernacles (חַג הַסֻּכּוֹת) was celebrated according to the regulations in Num 29:12–38, with specific daily offerings. This feast held special significance as a pilgrimage festival and recalled the wilderness wanderings, which resonated deeply with a people who had just returned from exile.

The foundation-laying ceremony included elements reminiscent of Solomon’s temple dedication (2 Chron 5–7), with priests in their official garments, trumpets, and Levites from the line of Asaph playing cymbals. The praise "For he is good; his steadfast love endures forever over Israel" (כִּי טוֹב כִּי־לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל) was a liturgical formula known from the Psalms (Ps 136) and temple worship.

The differing reactions of the generations are poignantly described in vv. 12–13: The older ones who had seen the first temple wept aloud, while others shouted for joy. The sounds mingled so that one could not distinguish the shouts of joy from the cries of weeping. This reflects the theological tension between gratitude for the rebuilding and sorrow that the new temple could not compare with the first.

Key Terms

The altar on its old foundation (עַל־מְכוֹנֹתָיו)—the expression literally means "on its foundations" and indicates that the new altar was placed exactly where the original one had stood. This was theologically crucial to ensure continuity with pre-exilic worship and legitimacy for the renewed cult.

Morning and evening (לַבֹּקֶר וְלָעָרֶב) refers to the daily burnt offering (tamid), which according to Exod 29:38–42 was to be offered regularly. The resumption of this sacrifice marked the restoration of Israel’s covenant relationship with God.

Fear of the peoples in the lands (בְּאֵימָה עֲלֵיהֶם מֵעַמֵּי הָאֲרָצוֹת) (v. 3) suggests that the returned Jews felt threatened by surrounding nations. Nevertheless, they built the altar—their fear drove them to God rather than away from Him.

Places

Sidon, Tyre, and Lebanon—cedar trees from Lebanon were transported by sea route to Joppa (Jaffa), exactly the same trade route used during Solomon’s temple construction (2 Chron 2:15–16). The Phoenicians from Sidon and Tyre were known as skilled carpenters and merchants, and payment in kind (food, drink, and oil) was common practice in ancient commerce. That Persian permission (רִשְׁיוֹן, risyjon) was required shows that this was an officially sanctioned activity under Cyrus’s decree.

People10

David1 Shealtiel (father of Zerubbabel)2 Joshua3 Judas (Judah, son of Jacob, patriarch of the tribe of Judah)1 Henadad1 Jehozadak2 Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel/Pedaiah)2 Asaph1 Kadmiel1 Moses1

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Key words8

Temple — A holy building dedicated to God, where people gather to pray and carry out religious ceremonies.
Rebuilding — The process of restoring and repairing something that was previously destroyed, in this case the temple in Jerusalem.
Altar — A structure or table on which offerings and gifts are presented to God during religious ceremonies.
Offering — A gift or act given to God as part of a religious ceremony, often to seek grace or forgiveness.
Praise songs — Religious songs and hymns sung to praise and honor God.
Priest — A religious leader who performs ceremonies and teaches about the faith, serving as an intermediary between God and people.
Levite — A member of the tribe of Levi in Israel, who had special religious duties and responsibilities, including service at the temple.
Feast — A religious celebration that marks a significant event or commemorates a historical occurrence within the tradition of the faith.