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The Jews resumed work on the temple under the impact of the prophetic ministries of Haggai and Zechariah (5:1-2). The authentic prophetic voice overcame foreign opposition and domestic apathy. Reference to these prophets dates the events to the second year of Darius I (522-486 b.c.), that is 520 b.c. (see Hag 1:1; Zec 1:1).
Resumption of work on the temple prompted an official inquiry by Tattenai, the governor of the Persian province of Trans-Euphrates, in which Judah lay. Tattenai’s inquiry into the activities in Jerusalem may seem intrusive, but in reality he was acting as a competent civil servant. The first two years of Darius’s reign were punctuated by revolts throughout the empire. Therefore loyal officials were alert for anything suspicious. Accordingly, Tattenai investigated and forwarded a report to the king (5:7-17). But due to God’s province (v.5), Tattenai allowed the work to continue while he awaited a response to his letter.
Darius’s response (6:1-12) contains several elements. First, there is an Aramaic version of Cyrus’s decree (vv.3-5) that substantially agrees with the Hebrew version in 1:2-4, focusing upon the reconstruction of the temple. The second part (vv.6-12) gives specific instructions to Tattenai and his associates. They must not impede the work but rather must provide royal subsidy for it. The only request is that the Jews offer sacrifice on behalf of the king and his family. Thus the returnees received both royal authority and funding. What had begun as a potential threat proved to be the means to complete the project.
As commanded, Tattenai fulfilled the king’s decree with diligence (Aram. 'osparnā', cf. 6:12). Bolstered by official Persian support and the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah (6:14), the Jews completed the temple. In a statement consonant with the theological outlook of the book, the author attributes this outcome to the command of God and the decrees of the Persian kings. God works through the decrees of pagan monarchs and the words of Israel’s prophets.
In the month of Adar, the last month of the year, in the sixth year of Darius (516 b.c.), the temple was finished, twenty years after the work had first begun. It was nearly seventy years after Solomon’s temple was destroyed. The temple was dedicated (Aram. ḥǎnukkāh) with joy and extensive dedicatory sacrifices. Twelve goats were offered for all Israel (6:17), representing all the tribes of Israel, even though the returnees included only Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. Although these tribes constituted the remnant, all the tribes were God’s covenant people.
A few weeks later, in the first month, the Passover was celebrated, signaling the resumption of regular cultic observances at the new temple. With this celebration the first part of Ezra-Nehemiah ends.