Did Haggai the Prophet Build the 2nd Temple?
Ezra 5:1
Who was responsible for the rebuilding of the second temple? One book in the bible has one version while these chapters in the Book of Ezra have another version. It is not immediately apparent that there are different narratives here and that they tell us very different stories about this historical moment and the forces that made it happen. This again has implications for our realities today.
Chapter 5 in Ezra picks up where the drama unfolds between the Judeans who are rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple - and the other people living in proximity to them. Known here as Samaritans - they are a collection of ethnic-religious communities with different backgrounds that are rejected from alliance with the project that the Judean leaders endorse. The Samaritans protest their exclusion by petitioning to the Persian court and in today’s chapter a delegation of political leaders comes to inspect the situation up close. What they want is a building permit but the famous edict of Cyrus is nowhere to be found in the Jerusalem archive - and without it, the bureaucracy can’t process the investigation. The chapter is mostly a copy of a letter sent to the king with request to search the royal archives and dig up the promise of two generations ago. Will they find it? Stay tuned.
Yet another puzzling part of this chapter are the names of the prophets mentioned as part of the leadership team. This mention invites us to use the tools of inter-textual reading and flip through the pages of the bible to two books we already read some months ago - the prophetic words of Hagai and Zechariah, who lived at the same time as this return to Zion reality evolves.
A closer read yields surprising insights. Was the temple built because Cyrus commanded and paid for it as today’s chapter reiterates? Or was it built by the people themselves, inspired by one brave local faith leader who doesn’t get the credit for it?
Chapter 5 opens with the list of leaders:
וְהִתְנַבִּ֞י חַגַּ֣י נְבִיָּ֗א וּזְכַרְיָ֤ה בַר־עִדּוֹא֙ נְבִיַּאיָּ֔א עַל־יְה֣וּדָיֵ֔א דִּ֥י בִיה֖וּד וּבִירוּשְׁלֶ֑ם בְּשֻׁ֛ם אֱלָ֥הּ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל עֲלֵיהֽוֹן׃
Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem, inspired by the God of Israel.
Ezra 5:1
Haggai’s book, with two chapters, and Zecharia, with twelve, show up earlier in the prophetic part of the Hebrew Bible. Here they show as side players in the drama ruled over by the political and priestly leaders, but the prophet’s voice is not lost.
Hagai was the one to call out to the people of Jerusalem to rebuild the temple so that they have a common sacred mission and overcome despair. The words in the book that bears his name are quite explicit. Yet in Ezra’s accounts - it’s all due to King Cyrus’ reversal of rules.
Could it be a both/and situation? Perhaps. Whoever wrote and edited Ezra has an agenda and a political perspective to push, while obscuring other narratives and histories.
Jacob Wright's Why the Bible Began once again helps make sense of the deeper layers, hidden stories, and their meaning:
“After the downfall of the Judean kingdom in 586 bce, building activities replaced war efforts as the primary theater of communal action…the one who deserves credit for motivating the rebuilding of the temple was not Cyrus or the revered rulers of the Persian Empire, but an unsung hero named Haggai. He had the courage to speak at a time when no one cared. And when he spoke, he addressed the people as whole.
…Those who collected Haggai’s prophecies and formed them into a book wanted to show their readers how a community banded together around a common building venture. As the temple grew in size and influence, and as the book of Haggai evolved, the authors of Ezra-Nehemiah penned a rejoinder to ensure that this prophetic writing did not have the final word about the temple’s origins. Ezra-Nehemiah’s new narrative, drafted by priestly circles, portrays this institution in much grander proportions and as the object of generous support, from both the community and the Persian court.
Haggai’s prophecies are not about poor people giving their resources to priests in the hopes of receiving a divine blessing. They are also not about waiting for a ruler to make the first move. The construction of temples was conventionally a royal duty. The great kings who had once reigned over Judah – Solomon, Hezekiah, and Josiah – are known for their work on the temple that once stood in Jerusalem. In Haggai, however, we see the community coming together and building on their own. To be sure, the people had always done the work, but now they take the credit for it.”
Haggai’s version of who built the temple is different than Ezra’s and together they tell us a fuller account of complex realities that in some ways echo our own. What is our version of unity and collective effort? Can we define and design our shared sacred not by reliance on the whim of world leaders but with conviction to co-create an inclusive and sacred community with and for our own collective good?
Chapter 5 ends with a cliffhanger. Will the archives yield the paperwork that will enable the Judeans permission to keep building the temple? What will be the future of this sanctuary that is build to block out other local shrines and religious expressions?
וּכְעַ֞ן הֵ֧ן עַל־מַלְכָּ֣א טָ֗ב יִ֠תְבַּקַּ֠ר בְּבֵ֨ית גִּנְזַיָּ֜א דִּי־מַלְכָּ֣א תַמָּה֮ דִּ֣י בְּבָבֶל֒ הֵ֣ן אִיתַ֗י דִּֽי־מִן־כּ֤וֹרֶשׁ מַלְכָּא֙ שִׂ֣ים טְעֵ֔ם לְמִבְנֵ֛א בֵּית־אֱלָהָ֥א דֵ֖ךְ בִּירוּשְׁלֶ֑ם וּרְע֥וּת מַלְכָּ֛א עַל־דְּנָ֖ה יִשְׁלַ֥ח עֲלֶֽינָא׃
And now, if it please the king, let the royal archives there in Babylon be searched to see whether indeed an order had been issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this House of God in Jerusalem. May the king convey to us his pleasure in this matter.”
Ezra 5:17
The story continues in chapter 6. And the prophets will also have more to say.
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