Reading for Novemeber 4th

REBUILDING THE HOUSE OF GOD. Chs. 3-6: This section, in the form of historicl narrative, includes citations from various documents designed to authenticate the contents. There are disruptions in the chronological order of the narrative, however, and in ch.4 there is a sudden shift from the Hebrew to the Aramaic language. Recounting events in chronological order is therefore probably not the intention of this section. Rather, the author is interweaving two actions by the community: The rebuilding of the Temple and the reconstitution of the community as the "house of God." The first happens within a generation of the return to Jerusalem from Exile, but the second can take place only serveral generations later, after Jerusalem community is separated by its walls and its covenant to refrain from inter-marriage. Read Ezra 3.1-7. In 3.1-7: The reinstitution of worship. This section describes the resumption of worship at the site of the ruined Temple as a prelude to the effort to rebuild the Temple, as decreed bythe Persian King Cyrus in the opening of the book. In verse 1: When the seventh month came is an enigmatic reference since the year is not disclosed. It may be the seventh month of the earlier date formula of 1.1, that is, the first year of Cyrus (around 539 BCE), though this presents a problem with what follows. The notices of Jeshua and Zerubbabel (v. 2) focus on two individuals who are usually dated to the early years of the rign of Darius (522-486 BCE). The seventh month may refer to the second year of Darius' rule, when a renewed commitment to rebuilding the Temple was made (Hag 2.1). In verse 2: As prescribed in the law of Moses, the man of God relates to rules on the compsition of the altar found in Ex 20.25. In verse 4: And they kept the Festival of Booths, as prescribed, relecting perhaps a concern to follow the rules found in Lev 23.33-43, where the fifteenth day of the seventh month is reserved for the beginning of this important festival. In verse 6: But the foundation of the Temple of the Lord was not yet laid distinguishes the resumption of worship from the beginning of rebuilding the physical Temple. Comments or Questions..