Ezra 3:9

3:9 So Jeshua appointed both his sons and his relatives, ¹  Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Yehudah ² ), to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their relatives ³  the Levites.

Ezra 4:2

4:2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders ⁴  and said to them, “Let us help you build, ⁵  for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him ⁶  from the time ⁷  of King Esarhaddon ⁸  of Assyria, who brought us here.” ⁹ 

Ezra 6:8

6:8 “I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work. ¹⁰ 

[3:9]  ¹ tn Heb “brothers.”

[3:9]  ² sn The name יְהוּדָה (Yehudah; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB “Judah”) is probably a variant of Hodaviah (see Ezra 2:40; cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[3:9]  ³ tn Heb “brothers.”

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.” So also in v. 3.

[4:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let us build with you.”

[4:2]  ⁶ tc The translation reads with the Qere, a Qumran MS, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Arabic version וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and him”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, וְלֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[4:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “days.”

[4:2]  ⁸ sn Esarhaddon was king of Assyria ca. 681-669 b.c.

[4:2]  ⁹ sn The Assyrian policy had been to resettle Samaria with peoples from other areas (cf. 2 Kgs 17:24-34). These immigrants acknowledged Yahweh as well as other deities in some cases. The Jews who returned from the Exile regarded them with suspicion and were not hospitable to their offer of help in rebuilding the temple.

[6:8]  ¹⁰ tn The words “of the work” are not in the Aramaic, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.