:
14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
Previous
Next
[AD 735] Bede on Ezra 6:14
And they prospered according to the prophecy, etc. For the same prophets had foretold that if they persisted in building the temple, they would soon, with the Lord's granting, complete the work itself and also abundantly abound in all good things as a reward for their devotion. Among these is the saying of Zechariah: The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall also finish it; and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you (Zech. IV). This means that when you see the temple completed by that same Zerubbabel who laid its foundation, then you will understand that I was sent by the Lord and that what I spoke, I said by His command. Also Haggai says: From the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? And do the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree still not yield? From this day, I will bless you (Haggai II). And the outcome of events showed that what was truly predicted had come true. Moreover, all the prophets, indeed all the sacred authors of Scripture, promise prosperity to the builders of the holy Church, that is, to the teachers, if they, not wearied by adversities, do not rest from their holy labor. For divine help shall be present, whereby the house of the Lord, begun in the heart of the listeners by believing and living well, will be completed. To those same architects will come the blessing of the fruits of the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, that is, a more abundant supply of spiritual gifts, which will undoubtedly be granted to us more abundantly by the Lord as we more diligently strive to build the habitation of His glory, whether in ourselves or in the hearts of our neighbors. Nor should anyone consider contrary what Haggai says, that the foundation of the temple was laid under King Darius, to this sacred history we are expounding, which states that in the second year of King Cyrus the temple was founded by the masons, with the people greatly rejoicing and praising God (I Esdr. III). For then the foundation of the temple itself was described, that is, the interior house of holiness, whose measurements are especially referred to in the histories of Kings and Chronicles. But now, along with the building of the house itself, the buildings of the porticos and treasuries, which surrounded the house in a circle on every side, are narrated as founded, of which mention is made in the book of Chronicles as follows: He also made the courtyard of the priests, and the great vestibule, and the doors of the vestibule, which he covered with bronze (I Chron. IV). In this vestibule surrounding the temple, both the people used to stand to pray and the guards and doorkeepers of the temple used to keep watch through their shifts day and night, as the book of Chronicles abundantly teaches there. Sometimes this house generally is counted with the temple itself; as in the Gospel, where the Lord, teaching in the temple, was brought a woman caught in adultery by the Pharisees and Scribes (John VIII), whom they could have brought only into some portico of the temple; at other times, separately under the name of treasuries, or chambers, or porticoes, or courtyards. Hence the Psalmist says: Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courtyards of the house of our God.

Source: Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah
[AD 735] Bede on Ezra 6:14
And they built and constructed, etc. He says Artaxerxes, who reigned after Darius, during whose time Ezra ascended from Babylon to Jerusalem. However, it is questioned how it is said that, by order not only of Cyrus and Darius but also Artaxerxes, the house of God was constructed, when it is immediately stated that it was completed and dedicated during the reign of Darius. Unless it should be believed that Artaxerxes, having sent much gold and silver to Jerusalem, also ordered that anything lacking in the building or decoration of the temple, or in its vessels, be completed from the money he had sent and given. For it is written that the same king, along with his princes and counselors, sent much gold and silver and precious vessels to the temple while Ezra was hastening there. Among other things, it is mentioned in the copy of the king’s letter: But whatever else is needed for the house of your God, which you have to provide, you shall do so from the king’s treasury and finances (1 Esdras VII). The month of Adar, on the third day of which the house of the Lord was completed, is called March by us, which the Scripture usually calls the twelfth month according to the lunar cycle. It is not without mystery that the house of the Lord, which began in the seventh month with the building of the altar, was completed in the twelfth month. For it began at the start of the seventh month; because we begin all good works with the grace of the Holy Spirit preceding us, and, with it accompanying us, we strive for perfection. It was completed in the twelfth month due to the significance of perfection contained in this number, especially due to the sum of the apostles, in whose faith and doctrine the church is perfected. Similarly, the number twelve signifies the perfection of correct faith and action because whether you multiply three by four or four by three, you will complete twelve. The number three is rightly related to faith because of the confession of the Holy Trinity; the number four to good works because of the same number of excellent virtues, prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice; of which the Book of Wisdom, in praising Wisdom itself, mentions, saying: For she teaches soberness and prudence, righteousness, and courage; nothing in life is more useful than these (Wisdom VIII). Therefore, it is right that the house of the Lord, begun in the seventh month, was completed and dedicated in the twelfth month; because the mind of the elect is illuminated by the grace of the Holy Spirit so that it may reach the perfection of good works with faith in the holy and undivided Trinity, and thus joyfully awaits the dedication of blessed reward. And since this same reward pertains to our future celebration at the time of the universal resurrection and in the vision of the same Trinity in which we now believe, it is rightly mentioned that the house of the Lord was completed not only in the twelfth month but also on the third day of it; because the Lord rose from the dead on the third day, our resurrection can rightly be designated by the three days’ number, of which the prophet says: He has torn us, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind us up; after two days he will revive us; on the third day, he will raise us up (Hosea VI). The building of the temple began in the first year of King Cyrus and was completed in the sixth year of Darius; which are, according to the Chroniclers, forty years. For Cyrus reigned for thirty years, after him, his son Cambyses reigned for eight years, who in this volume, as Josephus asserts, is called Artaxerxes; after him, the Magi, who killed him, ruled for one year, after which Darius until the temple’s completion and dedication, six years; which are, as we said, forty-five years. However, it is questioned how, with the Lord saying to the Jews under the figure of the temple about his passion and resurrection: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up; they responded: It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days? (John II); when no more than sixty-five years are found from the first year of Cyrus to the sixth year of King Darius. But if we read in Josephus’ History, where he adds three years after the temple’s completion and dedication, in which the construction of the surrounding fortifications and other remaining parts were completed; we will see that the sum of forty-six years can be correctly calculated for the construction of the temple with all its prominent structures completed. However, adhering to this chapter of the Gospel, we should bear in mind that the temple built by Solomon and rebuilt by Zerubbabel and Jesus has multiple representations. It signifies each chosen soul, which, because of Christ dwelling in it, is rightly called Christ’s house and temple; and the entire church, that is, the congregation of all the elect, both angels and humans; and the Lord’s own body, which was born of the virgin, lived without sin in the world, was released from death by the impious but was resurrected by him on the third day to life. This figure is particularly fitting to that which says the temple was built in forty-six years. For physiologists report that the human body in the womb grows from conception to the complete formation of its members in this number of days. And it was fitting that the house, which was to have the figure of the Lord’s body, should be founded in Jerusalem in the same number of years in which the Lord’s own body was to be formed in the sacred womb of the virgin, who is rightfully named Jerusalem, that is, the city of the great King and the vision of peace, of whom it is said: He is our peace, who made both one (Ephesians II). Just as what is written about the same temple: The door for the middle story was in the right side of the house; and they went up with winding stairs into the middle story, and out of the middle into the third (1 Kings VI); specifically prefigured the Lord’s body, of which it is written: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and immediately there came out blood and water (John XIX). For the door of the middle story was in the right side of the house, meaning starting from the eastern corner of the southern side to the earth, and through its inner part by a hidden way rising gradually to the higher stories; because our Lord and Savior wished to open for us the door of salvation in his body’s right side, through whose sacraments, being washed and sanctified, we might enter the higher hall of the heavenly kingdom. We ascend through the door of the middle story into the upper room when, consecrated through the water of baptism and the cup of the Lord’s chalice, we pass from this earthly conversation to the heavenly life of souls. From the upper room, we also penetrate into the third story when we accumulate the bliss of souls with the perception of immortal bodies.

Source: Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah