Zerubbabel

Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel is the post-exilic governor of Judah who leads the first wave of returnees out of Babylon, restores the altar at Jerusalem, lays the foundation of the second temple, and stands beside Joshua the high priest under the prophetic word of Haggai and Zechariah. The same figure carries the alternate name Sheshbazzar in the records of vessels and foundations, and he reappears in the Gospel genealogies as a link in the line that runs from David through the Babylonian Exile to Christ.

Sheshbazzar and the Return from Babylon

When Cyrus releases the captivity, the temple vessels Nebuchadnezzar had carried off are numbered out by Mithredath the treasurer "to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah" (Ezr 1:8). The total - "thirty platters of gold, a thousand platters of silver," with bowls and other vessels making "five thousand and four hundred" pieces in all - is the inventory Sheshbazzar brings up "when those of the captivity were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem" (Ezr 1:9-11).

The roster of returnees opens by listing those "who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah" (Ezr 2:2). The whole assembly numbers "forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore," with seven thousand male and female slaves and two hundred singing men and singing women (Ezr 2:64-65). On arrival, "some of the heads of fathers' [houses], when they came to the house of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God to set it up in its place" (Ezr 2:68), giving "threescore and one thousand darics of gold, and five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priests' garments" (Ezr 2:69).

Nehemiah's record likewise heads its list with "the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua" (Ne 12:1), and remembers Zerubbabel together with Nehemiah as the two horizons across which Israel's worship is reorganized (Ne 12:26).

Rebuilding the Altar

The altar comes first, before any foundation of the temple itself. "Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt-offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God" (Ezr 3:2). They set it on its base "for fear was on them because of the peoples of the countries," and they offer "burnt-offerings morning and evening" (Ezr 3:3). The feast of tabernacles is kept "as it is written" (Ezr 3:4), and from the first day of the seventh month burnt-offerings begin to go up to Yahweh, "but the foundation of the temple of Yahweh was not yet laid" (Ezr 3:6). Silver, food, drink, and oil are paid out to masons, carpenters, and the men of Sidon and Tyre, who bring cedar from Lebanon to Joppa "according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia" (Ezr 3:7).

Laying the Foundation of the Temple

In the second year of the return, the work on the house itself begins. "In the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began. And they appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of Yahweh" (Ezr 3:8).

The foundation itself is also remembered under the name Sheshbazzar: the Persian record reports that the gold and silver vessels were delivered "to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor" (Ezr 5:14), and "Then the same Sheshbazzar came, and laid the foundations of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now it has been in building, and yet it is not completed" (Ezr 5:16).

Resisting the Adversaries

When "the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin" hear that the temple is going up, they approach Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' houses with an offer to share the work: "Let us build with you⁺; for we seek your⁺ God, as you⁺ do; and we have been sacrificing to him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here" (Ezr 4:2). Zerubbabel and Jeshua refuse the partnership: "You⁺ have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves together will build to Yahweh, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us" (Ezr 4:3).

When the work resumes, it is paired with the prophetic ministry: "Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, rose up and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God, helping them" (Ezr 5:2).

Under the Word of Haggai and Zechariah

Haggai's word is addressed to Zerubbabel as governor and to Joshua as high priest. After the prophet's first oracle, "Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of Yahweh their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as Yahweh their God had sent him; and the people feared before Yahweh" (Hag 1:12). Yahweh's messenger replies, "[my Speech is] with you⁺, says Yahweh" (Hag 1:13), and "Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of Yahweh of hosts, their God" (Hag 1:14).

In Haggai's second oracle, the prophet is told, "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people" (Hag 2:2).

Zechariah's vision of the lampstand and the two olive trees is interpreted as a word to Zerubbabel: "This is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by [my Speech], says Yahweh of hosts" (Zec 4:6). The obstacle ahead is named: "Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel [you will become] a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, to it" (Zec 4:7). The prophet then ties the foundation and the completion to one pair of hands: "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands will also finish it; and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you⁺" (Zec 4:9). The day of small beginnings is not despised: "For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven will rejoice, and will see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel; [these are] the eyes of Yahweh, which run to and fro through the whole earth" (Zec 4:10).

Singers, Porters, and the Restored Worship

The reorganized worship of post-exilic Israel is dated by the joint memory of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah: "And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, as every day required: and they set apart [that which was] for the Levites; and the Levites set apart [that which was] for the sons of Aaron" (Ne 12:47).

Magnified by Ben Sira

Ben Sira's praise of the fathers includes Zerubbabel as a signet ring on the right hand: "How shall we magnify Zerubbabel, He, indeed, was a signet on the right hand;" (Sir 49:11).

In the Genealogy of Christ

Both gospel genealogies preserve Zerubbabel as a link in the descent of Joseph. Matthew places him on the far side of the exile: "And after the Babylonian Exile, Jehoiachin begot Shealtiel; and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel; and Zerubbabel begot Abiud" (Mt 1:12-13). Luke names him in the ascending line that runs back through Joseph: "the [son] of Joanan, the [son] of Rhesa, the [son] of Zerubbabel, the [son] of Shealtiel, the [son] of Neri" (Lu 3:27). The post-exilic governor who laid the temple foundation is also a named ancestor in the line that the gospels carry forward to Christ.