Samaritans' Offer Rejected and Opposition Begins
Ezra 4:1-5
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Ezr.4.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישמעו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- צרי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ובנימן: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- הגולה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- בונים: VERB,qal,ptcp,m,pl
- היכל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Nehemiah 4:1 (verbal): Opponents hear of the rebuilding and are enraged; parallel episode of hostility when workers raise the project (verbal and narrative overlap).
- Ezra 4:4-5 (structural): Immediate continuation in Ezra that identifies the 'people of the land' who discouraged and hindered the builders — direct narrative parallel/expansion of the opposition mentioned in 4:1.
- Ezra 3:8-13 (structural): Earlier account of laying the temple foundation and the people's response; sets the same building project and communal context to which the opponents react.
- Ezra 1:1-4 (thematic): Cyrus's decree authorizing return and temple reconstruction provides the positive imperial background for the builders in 4:1, contrasting later local hostility.
- Zechariah 4:6-10 (thematic): Prophetic encouragement to Zerubbabel to complete the temple ('not by might...') addresses opposition and affirms divine support for the rebuilding effort, thematically linked to the hostility in Ezra 4:1.
Alternative generated candidates
- The adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a house for the LORD, the God of Israel.
- Now the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building the house of the LORD, the God of Israel.
Ezr.4.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויגשו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- זרבבל: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- ראשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- האבות: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- נבנה: VERB,nip,perf,3,m,sg
- עמכם: PREP+PRON,2,pl
- כי: CONJ
- ככם: PREP+PRON,2mp
- נדרוש: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- לאלהיכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def+PRON,2,m,pl
- ולו: CONJ+PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- אנחנו: PRON,1,pl
- זבחים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מימי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- אסר: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- חדן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אשור: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- המעלה: VERB,hiphil,ptcp,3,m,sg
- אתנו: PRON,1,pl
- פה: ADV
Parallels
- Ezra 4:3 (structural): Immediate continuation: the Jewish leaders refuse the offer to have the local peoples 'build with you,' showing the narrative contrast between the offer in v.2 and the decision in v.3.
- 2 Kings 17:24-34 (allusion): Background to Ezra's claim about peoples settled by the Assyrians (Esar‑haddon): 2 Kings describes Assyrian resettlement in Samaria and the mixed worship—people who 'feared the LORD' yet served other gods—matching the locals' claim to worship Israel's God while having foreign origins.
- Nehemiah 4:1-8 (thematic): Parallel opposition to the rebuilding of Jerusalem: hostile neighbors mock, oppose, and plot against the work, reflecting the same adversarial environment and tactics confronted by Zerubbabel and the builders.
- Ezra 1:1-4 (thematic): Contrast in patronage for the temple project: Cyrus's decree invites exiles to return and rebuild the house of the LORD, providing official sanction that contrasts with the suspicious offer of local inhabitants in 4:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- They came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the fathers and said to them, 'Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esar‑haddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.'
- They came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the fathers and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we ourselves have been sacrificing to him since the days of Esar‑haddon king of Assyria, who brought us here."
Ezr.4.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- זרבבל: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וישוע: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ושאר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ראשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- האבות: NOUN,m,pl,def
- לישראל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- ולנו: CONJ+PREP,suff-1pl
- לבנות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאלהינו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUFF,1,pl
- כי: CONJ
- אנחנו: PRON,1,pl
- יחד: ADV
- נבנה: VERB,nip,perf,3,m,sg
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כאשר: CONJ
- צונו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כורש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- פרס: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezra 1:1-4 (allusion): Cyrus' decree authorizing the return and rebuilding of the house of the LORD — Ezra 4:3 explicitly appeals to 'as Cyrus king of Persia commanded us.'
- 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 (allusion): Parallel account of Cyrus' proclamation permitting the Jews to rebuild the temple; Chronicles repeats the legal basis cited in Ezra 4:3.
- Haggai 1:1, 1:12 (verbal): Prophet Haggai addresses Zerubbabel and Jeshua by name and urges the leaders to rebuild the temple; both passages link these leaders to the restoration project.
- Nehemiah 2:17-18 (thematic): Nehemiah's charge to the returned exiles — 'let us rise up and build' — echoes the leaders' refusal of outside help and their commitment to build the house of God despite opposition.
- Ezra 5:2 (structural): Narrative continuation in which Zerubbabel and Jeshua actually undertake the rebuilding; repeats and implements the declaration in Ezra 4:3 that 'we will build.'
Alternative generated candidates
- But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the fathers of Israel answered them, 'You have no portion with us in building a house for our God. We alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia commanded us.'
- But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the fathers of Israel said to them, "It is not for you and us to build a house for our God; we will build for the LORD, the God of Israel, according to the command of Cyrus king of Persia."
Ezr.4.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- עם: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מרפים: VERB,pual,part,3,m,pl
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- עם: PREP
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ומבהלים: VERB,piel,impf,3,m,pl
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- לבנות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Ezra 4:1 (structural): Immediate context: the surrounding verses describe the people of the land interacting with and then opposing the returned Jews — sets up the same conflict over building.
- Ezra 4:5 (structural): Direct continuation: describes how the adversaries hindered and discouraged the people, paralleling the idea of 'weakening the hands' and troubling them in their building work.
- Nehemiah 4:1-3 (thematic): Parallel account of local opposition to rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls — officials and neighbors mock, intimidate, and seek to frustrate the builders, echoing Ezra’s depiction of discouraged hands.
- Haggai 1:2 (thematic): Addresses the people’s discouragement about rebuilding the Lord’s house ('the time has not yet come to build'), reflecting the same problem of fear and delay in construction.
- Zechariah 4:6 (thematic): God's response-oriented promise ('not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit') offers theological counterpoint to the discouragement and weakened hands described in Ezra.
Alternative generated candidates
- The people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and frightened them from building.
- And the people of the land made the hands of the people of Judah weak, and frightened them from building.
Ezr.4.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וסכרים: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,pl
- עליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- יועצים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- להפר: VERB,qal,inf
- עצתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3mp
- כל: DET
- ימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- כורש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- פרס: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- מלכות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- דריוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- פרס: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezra 4:1-3 (thematic): Earliest account of local opponents who tried to prevent the Jews from rebuilding—parallels the theme of advisers obstructing the project.
- Ezra 4:24 (structural): Summarizes the outcome: the building work ceased ‘until the second year of Darius king of Persia,’ directly paralleling the time-frame stated in 4:5.
- Ezra 5:3-5 (thematic): Describes how the elders and prophets (Haggai/Zechariah) resumed the work despite opposition—shows the recurring pattern of building, prophetic encouragement, and renewed resistance.
- Ezra 6:6-12 (thematic): Records Darius’s inquiry and enforcement of Cyrus’s original decree and rebuke of the adversaries—the resolution to the obstructive counsels mentioned in 4:5.
- Ezra 1:1 (verbal): Mentions Cyrus king of Persia issuing permission for the temple’s reconstruction—provides the starting point (‘in the days of Cyrus’) referenced in 4:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- Moreover, they hired counselors against them to frustrate their plans during the days of Cyrus king of Persia and until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
- They hired counselors against them to frustrate their plans all the days of Cyrus king of Persia and until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building the house of the LORD, the God of Israel.
They came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the fathers’ houses and said to them, "Let us build with you; for like you we seek your God, and we have been offering sacrifices to him since the days of Esar‑haddon king of Assyria, who brought us here." But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the fathers of Israel answered them, "You have no part with us in building a house for our God; we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia commanded us."
The people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah and discouraged them from building. So they hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose throughout the days of Cyrus king of Persia and until the reign of Darius king of Persia.