EZRA 5 — HAGGAI AND ZECHARIAH, AND TATTENAI'S LETTER TO DARIUS

Chapter 5 resumes the narrative of the temple after the long stoppage of 4:24, and it begins the second Aramaic section of the book, which continues through 6:18. The date is 520 BC, the second year of Darius I, who had secured the throne after a period of revolts in 522–521 BC. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah, whose books are preserved in the Minor Prophets, stirred the community to resume the work, as their dated messages show (Haggai 1:1, 14–15; Zechariah 1:1). The chapter shows that obedience to God's word precedes the king's reply: the Jews resumed building before they knew whether the authorities would permit it, and God's care protected them. It also shows the Persian system in operation, in which local governors reported to the king and the king consulted the archives.

Tattenai, governor of Beyond the River, is mentioned in a Babylonian business document dated to 502 BC as Ushtannu, the governor of Babylon and Beyond the River, which confirms the existence of the office and the name in the period. The Persian provinces had governors who reported to the king, and the practice of consulting royal archives is documented. The Elephantine papyri contain a similar exchange in which Jews in Egypt petitioned Persian governors and a reply was filed in the archives. Darius I's reputation for careful administration and for respect for local temples is attested by his support for Egyptian temples and by the Behistun Inscription. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah are dated by their books to the same year as this chapter, which provides independent confirmation.