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and to all the remnant of the people, saying, 'Who is left among you that saw this temple in its former glory? and how do you see it now? Is it not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' is the oracle of Jehovah; 'and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and be strong, all ye people of the land,' is the oracle of Jehovah, 'and work, for I am with you,' is the oracle of Jehovah of hosts, 'and my spirit abideth in your midst; fear not.'

      [Sidenote: Hag. 2:6–9] For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: 'Yet a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, and the precious things of all nations shall come; and I will fill this temple with glory,' saith Jehovah of hosts. 'The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,' is the oracle of Jehovah of hosts. 'The later glory of this temple shall be greater than the former,' saith Jehovah of hosts; 'and in this place will I grant prosperity,' is the oracle of Jehovah of hosts.

      [Sidenote: Hag. 2:10–14] In the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, this word of Jehovah came by Haggai the prophet: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: 'Ask of the priests a decision, saying, "If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any food, shall it become holy?"' And the priests answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by reason of a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai and said, So is this people and so is this nation before me, is the oracle of Jehovah; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

      [Sidenote: Hag. 2:15–19] And now, I pray you, think back from this day, before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of Jehovah; how were ye? When ye came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when ye came to the wine vat to draw out fifty vessels, there were but twenty. I smote with blasting and with mildew and with hail all the work of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, is the oracle of Jehovah. Think back from this day, think! Is the seed yet in the granary, yea, the vine and the fig tree and the pomegranate and the olive tree have not brought forth; from this day will I bless you.

      [Sidenote: Hag. 2:20–22] This word of Jehovah came the second time to Haggai in the twenty-fourth day of the month: Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and say: 'I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those who ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, each by the sword of his brother.

      [Sidenote: Hag. 2:23]

       'In that day,' is the oracle of Jehovah of hosts, 'I will take thee, O

       Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel,' is Jehovah's oracle, 'and

       will make thee as a seal-ring, for I have chosen thee,' is the oracle of

       Jehovah of hosts.

      [Sidenote: Ezra 5:3–5] At that time Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them, and spoke thus to them, Who gave you permission to build this temple and to finish this wall? And who are the builders who are carrying this through? But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they did not make them cease, until a report should come to Darius and a written decision concerning it be returned.

      [Sidenote: Ezra 6:1–5] Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the archives where the official documents from Babylon had been deposited. And at Ecbatana, the royal palace in the province of Media, a roll was found, and in it was thus written: A record: In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree: 'Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, where they offer sacrifices and bring him offerings made by fire; its height shall be sixty cubits, and its breadth sixty cubits. It shall be constructed with three layers of huge stones and one layer of timber; and let the expenses be paid out of the king's treasury. Also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple at Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought to the temple which is at Jerusalem, each to its place; and you shall put them in the house of God.'

      [Sidenote: Ezra 6:6–12] Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and the rulers of the province beyond the River, go away from there; let the work of this house of God alone; let the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God in its place. Moreover I make a decree in regard to what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the building of this house of God: that out of the king's wealth from the tribute of the province beyond the River the expenses be exactly paid to these men, and that without delay. And whatever is needed, both young bullocks and rams and lambs for burnt-offerings to the God of heaven, also wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the direction of the priests at Jerusalem, let it be given to them day by day without fail, that they may regularly offer sacrifices of sweet savor to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and of his sons. Also I have made a decree, that whoever shall make this command invalid, a beam shall be pulled out from his house, and he shall be impaled upon it, and his house shall for this be made a refuse heap. And the God who hath caused his name to dwell there shall overthrow all kings and peoples who shall put forth their hand to make invalid the command or to destroy the house of God at Jerusalem. Exactly will it be executed.

      [Sidenote: Ezra 6:13,14] Then Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did exactly as Darius the king had given command. And the elders of the Jews built and prospered. And they finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and according to the decree of Cyrus and Darius.

      I. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are the chief sources of information regarding Jewish history during the Persian period. They fall into nine general divisions: (1) the return of the Babylonian exiles and the revival of the Judean community, Ezra 1–4;

      (2) the rebuilding of the temple, 5–6; (3) Ezra's expedition and the priestly reformation, 8–10, and Nehemiah 8–10; (4) Nehemiah's work in rebuilding the walls, Nehemiah 1:1–7:5; (5) census of the Judean community, 7:6–69; (6) measures to secure the repopulation of Jerusalem, 11; (7) genealogy of the priests and Levites, 12:1–26; (8) dedication of the walls, 12:27–43; and (9) Nehemiah's later reform measures, 12:44–13:31. It is evident that Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one book, and that they come from the same author as I and II Chronicles. This important fact is demonstrated by the presence of the same marked characteristics of thought and literary style in both of these books. The closing verses of II Chronicles are also repeated verbatim at the beginning of Ezra.

      Throughout these books the interest is religious and ceremonial rather than civil and national. They constitute in reality a history of the Jerusalem temple and its institutions. The whole may properly be designated as the "Ecclesiastical History of Jerusalem." It traces the history of Jerusalem and the southern kingdom from the earliest times to the close of the Persian period. Its author, who is commonly known as the Chronicler, evidently lived during the earlier part or middle of the Greek period. Certain characteristics of his literary style and point of view indicate that he wrote about 250 B.C. His peculiarities and methods of writing are clearly revealed by a comparison of the older parallel history of Samuel-Kings with the books of Chronicles. In general he lacks the historical spirit and perspective of the earlier prophetic historians. He also freely recasts his record of earlier events in order to bring it into accord with the traditions current in his own day. Above all he aimed to establish the authority and prestige of the Jerusalem temple, and to prove that Jehovah "was not with Israel" (II Chron. 25:7), which was represented in his day by the hated Samaritans. The hatred engendered by the Samaritan feud explains many of the peculiarities of the Chronicler. He was, in fact, an apologist rather than a historian. Thus post-exilic institutions, as, for example, the temple song service with its guilds of singers, are projected backward even to the days of David, and the events of early Hebrew history are constantly glorified. The numbers found in the earlier, prophetic sources are magnified, and at every point it is easy to recognize the influence of the Chronicler's familiarity with the splendor and magnificence of the great Persian and Greek empires, and of his desire to inspire his fellow-Jews with national pride and

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