Ezra 3:7

Preparations for Rebuilding the Temple

3:7 So they provided money ¹  for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and olive oil for the people of Sidon ²  and Tyre, ³  so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the seaport ⁴  at Joppa, in accord with the edict of King Cyrus of Persia.

Ezra 4:9

4:9 From ⁵  Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues – the judges, the rulers, the officials, the secretaries, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is, ⁶  the Elamites),

[3:7]  ¹ tn Heb “silver.”

[3:7]  ² map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[3:7]  ³ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[3:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “to the sea”

[4:9]  ⁵ tn Aram “then.” What follows in v. 9 seems to be the preface of the letter, serving to identify the senders of the letter. The word “from” is not in the Aramaic text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:9]  ⁶ tn For the qere of the MT (דֶּהָיֵא, dehaye’, a proper name) it seems better to retain the Kethib דִּהוּא (dihu’, “that is”). See F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 25, §35; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 36.