When the seventh month was come, and Bani-Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. 2Then Yusha1 son of Jozadak stood up, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the Taurat2 of Musa3 the man of God. 3They set the altar on its base; for fear was on them because of the peoples of the countries: and they offered burnt offerings on it to YAHWEH4, even burnt offerings morning and evening. 4They kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required; 5and afterward the continual burnt-offering, and the offerings of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of YAHWEH that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a freewill-offering to YAHWEH. 6From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to YAHWEH: but the foundation of the Temple of YAHWEH was not yet laid. 7They gave money also to the masons, and to the carpenters; and food, and drink, and oil, to those of Sidon and Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.
8Now in the second year of their coming to the House of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Yusha son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites5, and all those who had returned from exile to Jerusalem, and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the House of YAHWEH. 9Then Yusha stood with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to have the oversight of the workmen in the House of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.
10When the builders laid the foundation of the Temple of YAHWEH, they set the priests in their clothing with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise YAHWEH, after the order of Dawud6 king of Israel. 11They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to YAHWEH, saying, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised YAHWEH, because the foundation of the House of YAHWEH was laid.
12But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first House, when the foundation of this House was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: 13so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.
- 3:2 Yusha, this Arabic name and the names Joshua and Jeshua are all derived from the Hebrew name Yeshua, which means “YAHWEH saves.” Yeshua also gives rise to the Arabic names ‘Isa and Yesu, as well as the Greek name Iesous, which is rendered Jesus in English. ↩︎
- 3:2 Taurat, this Arabic term is derived from the Hebrew word Torah, which means “instruction” or “teaching.” ↩︎
- 3:2 Musa, this Arabic name is derived from the Hebrew name Moses meaning “to pull out” or “draw out” (of water); referring to the biblical story where he was rescued from the Nile River by Firaun’s daughter. ↩︎
- 3:3 YAHWEH, God’s personal Name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15: ‘God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”’ ↩︎
- 3:8 Levites, the descendants of Levi, one of the 12 sons of Prophet Yaqub (Jacob), from whose family line came all the priests who served in the Holy House of God, the Temple at Jerusalem. ↩︎
- 3:10 Dawud, this Arabic name is derived from David (Hebrew) and means “Beloved.” ↩︎