CHAPTER III.
REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. ESTHER AND AHASUERUS.
Ezra i.–iv. Esther i.–x. B.C. 536–479.
AT the time when Cyrus thus became the ruler of an empire greater even than Assyria itself, seventy[462] years had elapsed since the capture of Jerusalem in the reign of Jehoiakim (Dan. ix. 1, 2). The prosperity he had already enjoyed under so many sovereigns Daniel still retained under the new monarch, and it was probably through his influence that in the first year of his reign, or B.C. 536, Cyrus issued a decree giving permission to the Jews to return to their native land and rebuild their Temple. To aid them in so doing he restored to them the sacred vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from Jerusalem, and instructed the pashas throughout the various provinces to afford them every facility for their return (Ezra i. 1–6).
The majority, however, of the Jews who had for years been comfortably settled in the land of exile, and had there risen to affluence and high positions, preferred to retain their settlements[463], and only 42,360 attended by 7,337 servants were found willing to return to their native land. Over this body Zerubbabel, the head of the house of Judah, and grandson of King Jehoiachin, was invested with the supreme authority. He had held some office in the Babylonian court, and had received the Chaldæan name of Sheshbazzar. Appointed by Cyrusto the governorship of Jerusalem, and accompanied by the high-priest Jeshua, and possibly the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, with copious presents of silver and gold (Ezr. i. 7–11), he set out at the head of the returning colonists and before long reached Jerusalem[464].
Seven months after their return, the Altar of Burnt-sacrifice was re-erected on its ancient site, and the priests and Levites offered burnt-offerings and sacrifices. This done, preparations were made by the Prince of the Captivity for his great work, the rebuilding of the Temple. A grant of money for this purpose having been already received from Cyrus, cedar trees were brought from Lebanon to Joppa; masons and carpenters were hired; and in the 2nd month of the 2nd year of their return, the foundations of the second Temple were laid, with all the pomp and ceremonial that circumstances admitted. The priests in their apparel with trumpets, the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals (Ezr. iii. 10, 11), sang the same Psalms, to the sound of which the first Temple had been dedicated, and the people responded with a great shout, which, however, was well-nigh drowned by the sobs and lamentations of many, especially the older men, who had beheld the glories of the former Temple.
But the good work was not to proceed unopposed. Informed of their design, the Samaritans requested to be allowed some share in its promotion. This Zerubbabel and Jeshua unwisely rejected, and the Samaritans thereupon exhausted every artifice to prevent the completion of the work. After putting them to various otherannoyances, they hired counsellors to misrepresent them at the court of Persia, and eventually succeeded in preventing any further progress during the reign of Cyrus, and of his successors Cambyses and Smerdis, B.C. 525–521 (Ezr. iv. 11–24).
But in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, B.C. 520, the stirring words of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (Hag. i. 1–8; Zech. i. 1–6) roused once more the spirits of Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and a fresh and determined effort was made to complete the work. The Persian satraps of the province, Tatnai and Shetharboznai, came to Jerusalem, and after an inspection of the work applied to the Persian court for instructions whether it was to be permitted to go on (Ezr. v. 6–17). Darius caused the archives at Ecbatana to be searched, and at length the original decree of Cyrus being discovered, he reissued it, and at the same time commanded the Persian satraps instead of offering any molestation to the Jewish colony, to promote the work to the utmost of their power (Ezr. vi. 5–13). Thus aided, the Jews pressed forward with such vigour that, in the 8th year of the reign of Darius, the Temple was completed and ready for dedication, B.C. 516. This ceremony was performed with every solemnity, numerous sacrifices were offered, the priests were redistributed into courses, and the Passover was celebrated with great rejoicings (Ezr. vi. 15–22).
During the remainder of the long reign of Darius, the Jews enjoyed a continuance of peace and tranquillity. But in the year B.C. 485, Ahasuerus[465], the Xerxes ofprofane history, ascended the Persian throne. When he had reigned three years, this capricious despot made a feast for all his nobles at Susa, and on the seventh day of the revels ordered Vashti his queen to grace the banquet with her presence. With a due concern for her own dignity the queen declined, which so enraged her lord that he issued a decree deposing her from her royal station, and ordering a general levy of beautiful virgins, that he might select from them a new queen (Esth. ii. 1–4). At this time there was living at Susa a Jew named Mordecai, of the tribe of Benjamin (Esth. ii. 5). Having no child of his own, he had adopted his cousin Hadassah or Esther, a beautiful orphan. Together with the other virgins she was brought into the royal harem, and found such favour with the monarch that in the seventh year of his reign, without enquiring into her kindred or people, he ordered her to be crowned in place of the deposed queen (Esth. iii. 16).
By virtue of his relationship Mordecai, too, shared in the prosperity of his niece, and became one of those who sat in the king’s gate (Esth. ii. 41). In this capacity he discovered a plot of the eunuchs to assassinate the king, which he duly divulged, and they were executed, while a record of his services was entered in the royal chronicles. But Mordecai had a rival for the royal favour in the person of Haman, an Agagite, i.e. probably a descendant of the ancient Amalekite kings. Rapidly outstripping all his other competitors, the new favourite was advanced to the highest position in the kingdom, and was treated with the utmost reverence by everyone, save Mordecai only. Stung to the quick at this slight, and having discovered the secret of his rival’slineage, Haman resolved to strike a blow against the nation to which Mordecai belonged. Accordingly he represented to his royal master that the Jews, scattered and dispersed throughout the provinces of his empire, were a dangerous and turbulent race, of alien habits and religion, who ought to be put to death; and from the confiscation of their property he promised to place in the royal coffers upwards of 10,000 talents of silver. The prospect of so large an increase to his dilapidated fortunes was eagerly favoured by the reckless despot, and assenting to the cruel scheme, he placed his signet-ring in the hands of Haman, who quickly saw that a decree was issued for the wholesale destruction of the Jewish exiles throughout the Persian dominions, without regard to sex or age (Esth. iii. 8–15).
News of what was designed before long reached the ears of Mordecai. Knowing that he himself was the main cause of this bloodthirsty decree, he was filled with the utmost alarm, and sat down arrayed in sackcloth and ashes at the king’s gate. His strange conduct being reported to Esther, she sent to her relative to ascertain the cause, and then for the first time learnt the contents of Haman’s edict. In this awful crisis she resolved to put her life in her hand, and to intercede with the king in behalf of her people. Meanwhile, at her suggestion, all the Jews at Susa maintained for three days a solemn fast, and then, arrayed in her royal apparel, and radiant in her beauty, she presented herself before the king. The captivated monarch stretched forth the golden sceptre, and invited her to prefer her petition. Let the king and Haman, she begged, come to a banquet of wine. They came, but declining to make known her petition for the present, she invited the two to a similar feast on the following day (Esth. v. 8).