In the seventh month the people gather as one man to Jerusalem, and the altar is set upon its bases first — 'for fear was upon them because of the people of the countries' — and the burnt-offerings resume morning and evening, and Sukkot is kept as it is written. In the second year the foundation of the Temple of Hashem is laid: the priests in their apparel with trumpets, the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, singing to one another 'for He is good, for His mercy endures for ever toward Israel.' And the sound cannot be told apart — the young men shouting for joy, and the old men who had seen the first house weeping with a loud voice — 'and the noise was heard afar off.'
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.
verse value 2973
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 52 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֖ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "the·people" (הָעָ֛ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·Jerusalem" (אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "and·it·arrived" (וַיִּגַּע֙), "the·month" (הַחֹ֣דֶשׁ), "in·the·cities" (בֶּעָרִ֑ים). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 167x in Ezra); "the·people" (root עם, 50x in Ezra); "to·Jerusalem" (root ירושלם, 48x in Ezra). First appearance of the root חדש ("the·month") in Ezra. First appearance of the root שביעי ("seventh") in Ezra. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·cities', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיִּגַּע֙ [and·it·arrived] (89) + הַחֹ֣דֶשׁ [the·month] (317) + הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י [seventh] (397) + וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [Israel] (541) + בֶּעָרִ֑ים [in·the·cities] (322) + וַיֵּאָסְפ֥וּ [and·they·gathered] (163) + הָעָ֛ם [the·people] (115) + כְּאִ֥ישׁ [as·man] (331) + אֶחָ֖ד [one] (13) + אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם [to·Jerusalem] (617) = 2973.
Rashi
arrived Heb. וַיִגַע like וְהִגִיעַ, it reached. The seventh month That is the month of Tishri, and the Children of Israel who were in the cities, what did they do? They all gathered as one to Jerusalem.
Ibn Ezra
And when [the seventh month] had come - They call the entire cycle of the moon a “chodesh” (month), because it renews itself every fifteen days. As one man - Meaning: the gathering of the people happened quickly, like the gathering of a single individual.
Metzudat David
'In the cities' — they were in the cities of their ancestral inheritance. 'As one man' — meaning, swiftly, as quickly as a single man could come.
Metzudat Zion
Had come (vayiga) - Like "had arrived" (vehigia).
Malbim
'Vayiga' [rendered 'had come'] — like 'higiya' [it arrived]; it is used in the simple (kal) form to indicate that they gathered together almost the moment the month arrived, for they had come some days earlier so as to be there for Rosh Hashanah and the festivals that follow it.
Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, stood up and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt-offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.
verse value 6552
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 102 letters. Verse gematria: 6552 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Moses" (מֹשֶׁ֥ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·son·of·Shealtiel" (בֶּן־שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל֙, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 541: Israel, to·offer·up. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "and·Zerubbabel" (וּזְרֻבָּבֶ֤ל), "and·they·built" (וַיִּבְנ֕וּ), "the·altar·of" (אֶת־מִזְבַּ֖ח). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·son·of·Jozadak" (root בן, 167x in Ezra); "the·God·of" (root אלהים, 47x in Ezra); "the·priests" (root כהן, 34x in Ezra). First appearance of the root אח ("and·his·brothers") in Ezra. First appearance of the root תורה ("in·the·law·of") in Ezra. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 7 words.
Ibn Ezra
Then...stood up, and Zerubbabel - He was called this [i.e., “sown in Babylon”] because of the children of Zion who were dwelling in Babylon. The son of Shealtiel - Shealtiel was not actually his father; rather, his uncle Shealtiel raised him, and therefore he is called “his son.” So too it is written in Chronicles: “And the sons of Jeconiah the captive: Shealtiel his son, and Malchiram, and Pedaiah... and the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei.” Likewise, the sons of Merab, daughter of Saul, are called “the sons of Michal,” because she raised them.
Ralbag
'Then... they built the altar of the God of Israel,' etc. - From this we learn that sacrifices may be offered on the altar even though there is no Temple, for it states afterward (below, verse 7) that 'the foundation of the Temple of Hashem was not yet laid.' We also learn from this other similar matters - namely, that the most holy sacrifices may be eaten within the [courtyard] hangings even when there are no hangings. (v. 4) 'And the burnt-offering of each day, as required,' etc. - Meaning all the burnt-offerings that they used to offer day by day during the Feast of Tabernacles.
Metzudat David
'The son of Shealtiel' — he was actually Shealtiel's grandson, as stated in Chronicles. 'To offer burnt-offerings on it, as it is written, etc.' — these are the daily (tamid) offerings.
Malbim
'And they built [it] to offer burnt-offerings upon it' — the verse is apparently precise in stating that they offered only burnt-offerings and no other sacrifices, as is also clear from the verses that follow [3-6]. This implies, in accordance with the view of the Ra'avad in chapter 6 of Hilchot Beit HaBechirah, that the sanctity of the Temple site had lapsed at the time of the destruction; and in accordance with the view of Rabbi Shimon in chapter 14 of Zevachim, that on a communal high place (bamah), even the community was permitted to offer only Paschal offerings and other fixed-time obligatory offerings that have a counterpart among individual free-will offerings — namely, the daily offerings (tamidim) and the burnt-offerings brought on the festival, since an individual, too, may voluntarily bring a burnt-offering. But sin-offerings and guilt-offerings, such as the goats brought on the festivals, were not offered on a great bamah; likewise, on Yom Kippur they offered neither the goats nor the bulls, as the Tosafot state; and all the more so, obligatory individual offerings were not offered there, nor were meal-offerings, since a meal-offering is not brought on a bamah. Accordingly, the verses are to be taken in their plain sense: that they offered only burnt-offerings and nothing else.
And they set the altar upon its bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of the countries, and they offered burnt-offerings on it to Hashem, even burnt-offerings morning and evening.
verse value 3963
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 77 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "upon·its·bases" (עַל־מְכ֣וֹנֹתָ֔יו, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 506: burnt-offerings, burnt-offerings. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "and·they·set" (וַיָּכִ֤ינוּ), "the·altar" (הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙), "upon·its·bases" (עַל־מְכ֣וֹנֹתָ֔יו). The root עלה appears 4 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·peoples·of" (root עם, 50x in Ezra); "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 37x in Ezra); "upon·them" (root על, 30x in Ezra). First appearance of the root כי ("for") in Ezra. First appearance of the root בקר ("in·the·morning") in Ezra. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·countries', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 8 words.
Rashi
And they set the altar on its bases in order to offer up sacrifices upon it, because they were afraid of the peoples of the land, lest they taunt them and lest they slander them to the king. And they built the altar to offer up burnt offerings upon it, in order that the peoples hear and understand the matter, that they did it with the sanction of the king and therefore they would hesitate to taunt them about the building of the Temple. for the morning and for the evening the daily sacrifice of the morning and the daily sacrifice of twilight.
Ibn Ezra
And they set [the altar]...; for fear was upon them - Because fear was upon them, they set up an altar to God so that He would help them. And they offered - The one who actually offered was a single person, namely Jeshua the priest, who offered the sacrifices first; and it says “they offered” [in the plural] because his brothers assisted him. Burnt-offerings morning and evening - Meaning: the burnt-offerings appropriate for morning and evening, of which there are two.
Metzudat David
'For fear was upon them' — because of the fear and dread they felt on account of the peoples of the [surrounding] lands, they hurried to build the altar, so as to offer sacrifices on it to Hashem and to ask Him for help at the time of bringing the offerings. 'Burnt-offerings morning and evening' — these are the tamid (daily) offerings.
Metzudat Zion
Its bases (mechonotav) - An expression of "stand" and "base."
Malbim
Questions: (3-6) To what does the reason 'for fear was upon them because of the people of the countries' refer? Why does the text repeat and state again that they offered burnt-offerings, implying that they did not offer the additional sin-offering that must be brought on the New Moon and on the festivals — and why? 'And they set the altar upon its bases' — as it is said, three prophets went up with them from the exile, and one of them testified as to the location of the altar. The statement 'for fear was upon them' gives the reason why they waited until the entire people had gathered, and had not built the altar until then: because they feared that the peoples of the land would stop them, since they were still few in number.
And they kept the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt-offerings by number, according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required;
verse value 3520
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "day" (י֤וֹם, 3 letters) and the longest is "matter·of·day" (דְּבַר־י֥וֹם, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "the·festival·of" (אֶת־חַ֥ג), "the·tabernacles" (הַסֻּכּ֖וֹת), "and·burnt-offering·of" (וְעֹלַ֨ת). The root יום appears 3 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·burnt-offering·of" (root עלה, 25x in Ezra); "day" (root יום, 25x in Ezra). First appearance of the root עשה ("and·they·made") in Ezra. First appearance of the root יום ("day") in Ezra. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'as·it·is·written', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַֽיַּעֲשׂ֛וּ [and·they·made] (392) + אֶת־חַ֥ג [the·festival·of] (412) + הַסֻּכּ֖וֹת [the·tabernacles] (491) + כַּכָּת֑וּב [as·it·is·written] (448) + וְעֹלַ֨ת [and·burnt-offering·of] (506) + י֤וֹם [day] (56) + בְּיוֹם֙ [in·day] (58) + בְּמִסְפָּ֔ר [in·number] (382) + כְּמִשְׁפַּ֖ט [as·ordinance·of] (449) + דְּבַר־י֥וֹם [matter·of·day] (262) + בְּיוֹמֽוֹ [in·its·day] (64) = 3520.
Rashi
and the burnt offering of each day in its day, in the number the sacrifices of the Festivals in their number, according to their ordinance.
Ibn Ezra
On its day (b'yomo) - This connects with “the matter of the day.” The meaning of “on its day” is: as was fitting for that day. Likewise, “from new moon to new moon” connects with “from,” for it carries the sense of “time” or “season.”
Metzudat David
'The feast of tabernacles' — meaning, the offerings of the festival. 'And the daily burnt-offerings, etc.' — the burnt-offerings appropriate to each day, in the proper number required by the law of the Torah; they brought each day's offering on its own day.
Malbim
'And burnt-offerings for each day, by number' — fourteen lambs every day, 'according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required' — [referring to] the bulls of the festival, which decreased in number from day to day.
and afterward the continual burnt-offering, and the offerings of the new moons, and of all the appointed seasons of Hashem that were hallowed, and of every one who willingly offered a freewill-offering to Hashem.
verse value 3087
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 59 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "burnt-offering·of" (עֹלַ֤ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·of·all·appointed·seasons·of" (וּלְכׇל־מוֹעֲדֵ֥י, 9 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "and·after·that" (וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵ֞ן), "burnt-offering·of" (עֹלַ֤ת), "continual" (תָּמִיד֙). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 37x in Ezra); "and·of·all" (root כל, 33x in Ezra); "burnt-offering·of" (root עלה, 25x in Ezra). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·hallowed', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵ֞ן [and·after·that] (295) + עֹלַ֤ת [burnt-offering·of] (500) + תָּמִיד֙ [continual] (454) + וְלֶ֣חֳדָשִׁ֔ים [and·of·the·new·moons] (398) + וּלְכׇל־מוֹעֲדֵ֥י [and·of·all·appointed·seasons·of] (216) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + הַמְקֻדָּשִׁ֑ים [the·hallowed] (499) + וּלְכֹ֛ל [and·of·all] (86) + מִתְנַדֵּ֥ב [volunteers] (496) + נְדָבָ֖ה [a·freewill·offering] (61) + לַיהֹוָֽה [to·Hashem] (56) = 3087.
Rashi
And afterwards And after Succoth they would offer up sacrifices every day, for the morning and for the evening. and for the New Moon lit. and for the months. And at the beginning of the months they would offer up the sacrifices of the New Moon. and for all the appointed seasons of the Lord and for the rest of the appointed seasons of their sacrifices. and for everyone who willingly offered And for all those who willingly offered their free-will offerings, the priests would accept them to sacrifice them, and from the first day of Tishri they commenced to offer up sacrifices, but the foundation of the Temple was not yet built.
Ibn Ezra
And afterward - After the Feast of Tabernacles, standing burnt-offerings continued in four categories: the continual burnt-offering, which was never interrupted; the burnt-offering of the new moons; and the burnt-offering for all the appointed seasons of Hashem. That were hallowed - [Referring to those] declared holy by the court; and [the fourth category:] a burnt-offering for every freewill giver. The point is that the offerings were not discontinued from the first of Tishrei onward, once they had begun bringing burnt-offerings.
Metzudat David
'And afterward' — after Sukkot they continually offered burnt-offerings on it without interruption, as well as the burnt-offerings of the new moons, etc. 'And of every one who willingly offered' — they brought an offering for anyone who volunteered a sacrifice.
Malbim
[This shows] that Ezra was delayed on the road for four months, and they had to wait through the messenger's journey there and back. And it is clear that they did not offer even the Atzeret (Shavuot) lambs, for although there was the option of a voluntary peace-offering, the two are not equivalent: the Atzeret offerings are kodshei kodashim (of the highest sanctity), while peace-offerings are kodashim kalim (of lesser sanctity), as Tosafot write. However, according to the opinion that one may offer sacrifices even when there is no Temple, one is forced to say that the verse's mention of 'burnt-offerings' here is not meant precisely.
From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt-offerings to Hashem; but the foundation of the temple of Hashem was not yet laid.
verse value 2202
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 50 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָד֙) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "seventh" (הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "from·day" (מִיּ֤וֹם), "and·the·temple·of" (וְהֵיכַ֥ל). The root עלה appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 37x in Ezra); "from·day" (root יום, 25x in Ezra); "to·offer·up" (root עלה, 25x in Ezra). First appearance of the root היכל ("and·the·temple·of") in Ezra. First appearance of the root יסד ("was·founded") in Ezra. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words. Full calculation: מִיּ֤וֹם [from·day] (96) + אֶחָד֙ [one] (13) + לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ [of·the·month] (342) + הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י [seventh] (397) + הֵחֵ֕לּוּ [they·began] (49) + לְהַעֲל֥וֹת [to·offer·up] (541) + עֹל֖וֹת [burnt-offerings] (506) + לַיהֹוָ֑ה [to·Hashem] (56) + וְהֵיכַ֥ל [and·the·temple·of] (71) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + יֻסָּֽד [was·founded] (74) = 2202.
Metzudat David
'They began' — at that point they began to offer [burnt-offerings], etc., but they did not offer them continually until after Sukkot. 'Was not yet laid' — the foundation had not yet been built.
They gave money also to the hewers, and to the carpenters; and food, and drink, and oil, to them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar-trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
verse value 5834
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 97 letters. The shortest word is "trees·of" (עֲצֵ֨י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·they·gave·silver" (וַיִּ֨תְּנוּ־כֶ֔סֶף, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 97: and·food, Joppa. 14 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "and·they·gave·silver" (וַיִּ֨תְּנוּ־כֶ֔סֶף), "to·the·hewers" (לַחֹצְבִ֖ים), "and·to·the·craftsmen" (וְלֶחָרָשִׁ֑ים). 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·of·Persia" (root מלך, 77x in Ezra); "upon·them" (root על, 30x in Ezra); "and·they·gave·silver" (root נתן, 24x in Ezra). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·to·the·craftsmen', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 15 words.
Rashi
to the Zidonians and to the Tyrians the people of Tyre and Zidon, who were the artisans who built the Temple. to the sea of Jaffa By way of the sea they would bring them. according to the sanction of Heb. כְּרִשְׁיוֹן as the sanction of the king was upon them to build the Temple. כְּרִשְׁיוֹן is an expression of permission (רְשּׁוּת) derived from רשּׁה ; since from אבה to want, he says [i.e., derives] אֶבְיוֹן, a needy person; and from צבה, to desire, צִבְיוֹן, desire; and from חזה to see, חִזָיוֹן, a vision; and from רעה, רַעְיוֹן, thought; from חבה, חֶבְיוֹן, hiding; and from רשּׁה, he says רְשּׁוּת, permission; like from, ענה, עֱנוּת, affliction; and from שּׁבה, שְּׁבוּת,captivity; and from ראה, רְאוּת, a sight; and from זנה, זְנוּת, harlotry. The result is that רְשּׁוּת and רִשְׁיוֹן are derived from the same root according to the gauge of grammar, and they are the same expression. Menahem, (p. 34) however, associated it with (Ps. 21:3): “and the speech of his lips (וַַַַַאֲרֶשֶּׁת),” but he was not exact with its root. Nevertheless, these two manners [of defining words] are close to each other in their meanings.
Ibn Ezra
According to the grant (k'rishyon) - Related to the word “reshut” (permission).
Ralbag
'They gave money also to the hewers and to the carpenters' - Meaning: to quarry the stones and cut them to shape, and to fell the timber and prepare it. 'To them of Zidon and to them of Tyre' - For they were the most skilled in this craft, as is mentioned in connection with [the building of] Solomon['s Temple]. 'According to the grant [of Cyrus]' - Meaning: with the permission of Cyrus.
Metzudat David
'To the hewers' — these are the ones who cut the stones from their quarry. 'And to the carpenters' — these are the craftsmen who built the wall. 'To them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre' — for they knew how to cut timber, as stated (I Kings) regarding the building of Solomon's [Temple]. 'To the sea, to Joppa' — to float the logs on it and bring them to Jerusalem. 'According to the grant' — according to the permission Cyrus had given them to build the house.
Metzudat Zion
To them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre (latzedonim velatzorim) - The men of Sidon and Tyre. According to the grant (kereshyon) - This is an expression of "reshut" (permission), a term familiar from the words of our sages.
Malbim
Questions: (7) Why does it say 'according to the grant of Cyrus concerning them,' which seems superfluous? 'According to the grant of Cyrus' — the cedars of Lebanon belonged to the king, and one could not take timber from there without royal permission, as is explained in Nehemiah (2:8). They sent to bring timber from there not by purchasing it with money, because Cyrus's letter stated, 'and the expense shall be paid from the king's house,' as is explained below (6:4). Since he had commanded that the cost of the building be charged to his own expenses, they were able to take the timber by the grant that Cyrus had given them.
Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of Hashem.
verse value 9722
Insights
Verse structure: 29 words, 159 letters. The shortest word is "from·son·of" (מִבֶּ֨ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·son·of·Shealtiel" (בֶּן־שְׁ֠אַלְתִּיאֵ֠ל, 9 letters). 12 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "and·in·the·year" (וּבַשָּׁנָ֣ה), "second" (הַשֵּׁנִ֗ית), "to·their·coming" (לְבוֹאָ֞ם). The root בן appears 3 times in this verse. 22 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·son·of·Shealtiel" (root בן, 167x in Ezra); "to·the·house·of" (root בית, 64x in Ezra); "to·Jerusalem" (root ירושלם, 48x in Ezra). First appearance of the root מעל ("and·upward") in Ezra. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'second', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 21 words.
Rashi
in the second month That is the month of Iyar. from the captivity all those who came from the captivity to Jerusalem. and they stationed They stationed the Levite singers to harmonize and to recite a song before the builders at the time of the building of the foundation of the Temple. to conduct Heb. לְנַצֵחַ. These two expressions of נִצוּחַ are harmonies of song, like (Ps. 4:1): “To the conductor (לַּמְנַצֵחַ), a song of David.”
Ibn Ezra
To have the oversight (l'natzeach) - In the sense of “to strengthen,” related to the word used for “their lifeblood spattered,” or from the root “netzach” (enduring, prevailing).
Ralbag
'And they appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of Hashem' - Meaning, to strengthen [their resolve] over the work, for they feared that the peoples of the lands would halt their labor; therefore they appointed there the Levites from twenty years old and upward, and they also set overseers there over those doing the work, to hasten the work and strengthen it. Now, it relates that after the builders had laid the foundation of the Temple of Hashem, they stationed the priests, dressed in priestly garments, with trumpets - for this was a day of their rejoicing - and they stationed the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals (rendered 'cinbas' in the vernacular [Old French]), to praise Hashem through the songs of David king of Israel; and the Levites would respond in praise and in giving thanks to Hashem, 'for He is good, for His mercy endures forever' - which is one psalm from the Book of Psalms. And out of their great joy, all the people raised a great shout to praise Hashem, may He be blessed, who had helped them in laying the foundation of the house of Hashem.
Metzudat David
'In the second month' — that is, Iyar. 'Zerubbabel, etc., began' — they began the construction. 'To have the oversight' — [the word also connotes] to sing and play music during the construction.
Metzudat Zion
To have the oversight (lenatzeach) - This means conducting the singing; so called because those who lead the singing are accustomed to "contend" (lenatzeach) with one another by raising their voice and by the emphasis of the melody.
Malbim
Questions: (8-9) Why does it say twice — 'to have oversight of the work of the house of Hashem' and 'to have oversight of the workmen' — when at first it implies that all the Levites were appointed over this? 'Who had come out of the captivity' — to Jerusalem — 'to oversee' — meaning to lead the singing at the time the foundation was laid, as stated in verse 10.
Then Jeshua stood with his sons and his brethren, and 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 also, with their sons and their brethren the Levites.
verse value 2654
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 89 letters. The shortest word is "sons·of" (בְּנֵי֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Judah" (בְּנֵֽי־יְהוּדָה֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 91: God, the·Levites. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "and·he·stood" (וַיַּעֲמֹ֣ד), "his·sons" (בָּנָ֣יו), "Kadmiel" (קַדְמִיאֵ֨ל). The root בן appears 5 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·sons" (root בן, 167x in Ezra); "in·the·house·of" (root בית, 64x in Ezra); "God" (root אלהים, 47x in Ezra). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'God', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 5 words.
Rashi
And Jeshua...stood They stood and recited the song together around the ones who did the work of the foundation of the Temple.
Ibn Ezra
Jeshua, his sons - The correct [reading] is: “and his sons.” Likewise, “the sons of Henadad” means “and the sons of Henadad.”
Metzudat David
'To have the oversight of the workmen' — to press them so that they would not slacken in the work. 'The sons of Henadad, etc.' — they too were overseers of the workmen.
Metzudat Zion
And his brethren (ve'echav) - His colleagues and friends. To have the oversight (lenatzeach) - This means pressing and compelling [the workers]; an expression of "nitzachon" (victory) and prevailing.
Malbim
'The sons of Judah' — this is said to distinguish [this Kadmiel from another], because among the sons of Henadad there was also one named Kadmiel, as stated in Nehemiah (10:10). Here, 'to have oversight' means to supervise the workmen, for in directing the singing all the Levites took part, as stated in the previous verse.
And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Hashem, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise Hashem, according to the direction of David king of Israel.
verse value 4392
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 92 letters. Notable word values: "and·they·founded" (וְיִסְּד֥וּ) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 4392 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "king·of·Israel" (מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל, 8 letters). 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "and·they·founded" (וְיִסְּד֥וּ), "the·builders" (הַבֹּנִ֖ים), "the·temple·of" (אֶת־הֵיכַ֣ל). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·of·Israel" (root מלך, 77x in Ezra); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 37x in Ezra); "the·priests" (root כהן, 34x in Ezra). First appearance of the root הלל ("to·praise") in Ezra. First appearance of the root דוד ("David") in Ezra. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 12 words.
Rashi
And...laid the foundation וְיִסְדוּ This is the strong conjugation of יְסוֹד, like (Ezek. 25:4): “and they will settle (וְיִשְּׁבוּ) their palaces.” Just as וְיִשְּׁבוּ is derived from ישּׁב so is וְיִסְדוּ derived from יסד, and their meaning is, וְיִסְדוּ וְיִשְּׁבוּ in the intensive conjugation with two “yud”s, one for the [continuous] action and one for the radical, and their meaning is that they were laying the foundation, they were settling. And the builders laid the foundation And the builders were laying the foundation [see above] of the Temple of the Lord at the time [that] they were harmonizing in their song, and they stationed the priests attired with elegant garments with trumpets in their hands to sound them. and the Levites the sons of Asaph were the singers. with cymbals Heb. בַּמְצִלְתַּיִם, like (Ps. 150:9): “with loud sounding cymbals (בְּצִלְצְלֵי שָּׁמַע).” They are musical instruments. through David for they were harmonizing and singing songs of David, the king of Israel.
Ibn Ezra
When...laid the foundation..., in their apparel - [Referring to] the garments of the priesthood. With cymbals (bimtzilta'im) - From [the same word as] “with clanging cymbals.” According to the direction of David - Because a musician plays with his hand, the playing itself is called “a hand.”
Metzudat David
'In their apparel' — in garments of honor, with trumpets in their hands. 'According to the direction of David' — with the praise that David had composed.
Metzudat Zion
With cymbals (bametziltayim) - Made of two bronze instruments, used to produce a loud sound by striking them one against the other, as in "with clanging cymbals" (Psalms 106).
Malbim
'In their apparel' — in garments of honor, so Rashi explains. This follows Rambam's view (Hilchot Klei HaMikdash, ch. 8) that the priests were not permitted to wear the priestly garments except during the [Temple] service. But according to the position of the Ra'avad there, one could explain that they were dressed in the priestly garments themselves. And even according to Rambam, one could say that they put on the priestly garments for the sake of the tamid-offering service and for turning [the offerings] with the hook (tzinora), after which they were permitted to walk about in them the rest of the day, as is written in the compilation Artzot HaChaim (siman 18). The priests would sound the trumpets only on festival days, as Rambam writes (Hilchot Klei HaMikdash, ch. 3); and this was a temporary ruling, by which they treated this day like a festival because of their abundant joy — using the songs and praises that David had instituted.
And they sang one to another in praising and giving thanks to Hashem: ‘for He is good, for His mercy endures for ever toward Israel.’ And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Hashem, because the foundation of the house of Hashem was laid.
verse value 3587
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 86 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "for·forever" (כִּֽי־לְעוֹלָ֥ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 67: in·praising, in·praising. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "and·in·giving·thanks" (וּבְהוֹדֹ֤ת), "good" (ט֔וֹב), "for·forever" (כִּֽי־לְעוֹלָ֥ם). The root יהוה appears 3 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 37x in Ezra); "and·all·the·people" (root כל, 33x in Ezra); "upon·Israel" (root ישראל, 31x in Ezra). First appearance of the root ענה ("and·they·sang") in Ezra. First appearance of the root טוב ("good") in Ezra. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 9 words.
Rashi
And they sang aloud Heb. וַיַעֲנוּ, an expression of raising the voice in song, like (Exod. 15: 21): “And Miriam raised her voice in song to them.” and with thanks and with thanksgivings. for it is good to give thanks to the Lord. and the entire people the rest of the people of Israel. because...was laid They acted with all these rejoicings because of the building of the foundation, which was laid in the House of the Lord.
Ibn Ezra
Was laid (husad) - This is an infinitive [verbal noun] form.
Metzudat David
'And they sang in response, in praise' — they raised their voices in praise, etc., to say that it is good to give thanks to Hashem, for He extends His kindness to Israel forever. 'Because...was laid' — all this rejoicing was on account of their having laid the foundation of the house of Hashem.
Metzudat Zion
And they sang one to another (vaya'anu) - An expression of raising the voice, as in "and the Levites shall answer... with a loud voice" (Deuteronomy 27:14).
Malbim
'And they sang responsively, one to another, in praising and giving thanks, to Hashem' — praise (hallel) refers to extolling the Creator, while thanksgiving (hoda'ah) refers to thanks for [His] goodness. And the verse then spells this out: 'for He is good' — this is the praise, which is good in and of itself; and 'for His mercy endures forever toward Israel' — this is the thanksgiving. And the people shouted aloud in praise of Hashem, but not in thanksgiving, because many were weeping, as it goes on to say.
But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, the old men who had seen the first house standing on its foundation, wept with a loud voice, when this house was before their eyes; and many shouted aloud for joy;
verse value 6424
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 106 letters. The shortest word is "this" (זֶ֤ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·the·priests" (מֵהַכֹּהֲנִ֣ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 258: and·many, and·many. 12 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "from·the·priests" (מֵהַכֹּהֲנִ֣ים), "and·heads·of" (וְרָאשֵׁ֨י), "the·old·men" (הַזְּקֵנִ֗ים). The root רב appears 2 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·house" (root בית, 64x in Ezra); "from·the·priests" (root כהן, 34x in Ezra); "and·the·Levites" (root לוי, 23x in Ezra). First appearance of the root רב ("and·many") in Ezra. First appearance of the root זקן ("the·old·men") in Ezra. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'loud', dividing the verse into phrases of 17 and 5 words.
Rashi
when its foundation was laid Heb. בְּיָסְדוֹ, with its foundation. With the noun of יוֹסֶד and from יסד, he says בְּיָסְדוֹ, like from חדֶשּׁ, בְּחָדְשּׁוֹ, and from קדֶשּׁ, בְּקָדְשּׁוֹ. this Temple When they would see the building of this Temple, they would weep because they remembered the large building of the First Temple. and many who had not seen the building of the First Temple, were rejoicing and shouting for joy with a loud voice, out of their great joy that they had emerged from their exile.
Ibn Ezra
When it was founded (b'yasdo) - This connects with “this house”; and the meaning is: those who had seen the first house with their own eyes wept when, at the founding of the second house, they saw this [new] house before them.
Ralbag
'When this house was being founded before their eyes, they wept with a loud voice' - It appears that this foundation was not made with stones as large as those used in Solomon's building, which were about ten cubits or eight cubits in size; for were this not so, there would have been no difference between the foundation of this house and the foundation of the first house, since the dimensions of the Temple [structure itself] corresponded to its original dimensions.
Metzudat David
'The first house' — which Solomon built. 'When it was founded' — at the time they laid the foundation of this house. 'Before their eyes' — meaning, as they looked on. 'Wept' — they wept because it was so much smaller than the first house. 'And many' — those who had not seen the first house shouted for joy, raising a great voice in celebration of the building.
Malbim
Questions: (12-13) Why does it say that they could not discern the shout of joy, when [the next verse also says] that the people shouted a great shout — is this not self-contradictory? 'Who had seen' — the word 'had seen' also carries forward to what follows, while the phrase 'before their eyes' also reaches back to what precedes it; and the sense is: 'who had seen the first house [before their eyes]' and 'who saw, when this house was founded, before their eyes' — they wept, as is stated (Haggai 2): 'Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? and how do you see it now?' etc. 'And many [shouted] aloud for joy' — this can be explained on the basis of what Rambam writes (Hilchot Terumot, ch. 1): that the sanctity [established] by Joshua lapsed, while the sanctity [established] by Ezra did not lapse, because the sanctity from Joshua's time came through conquest, and once the land was reconquered by enemies, the conquest was undone and the sanctity lapsed along with it; but the sanctity from Ezra's time came through possession (chazakah), and did not lapse. Many were weeping because they saw that they were building only by Cyrus's permission and according to his order, which limited the size and character of the building, as is stated below (Ezra 6). Had they been worthy, a miracle would have been done for them in Ezra's days just as in the days of Joshua son of Nun, as our sages say (Berachot 4) — and over this they wept. And many rejoiced, because through this very fact its sanctity would be everlasting and would never lapse. And so it goes on to say:
so 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.
verse value 4694
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 74 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "until·from·afar" (עַד־לְמֵרָחֽוֹק, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 115: the·people, the·people, the·people. 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezra. Unique to this verse in Ezra (hapax): "recognizing" (מַכִּירִים֙), "shout·of" (תְּרוּעַ֣ת), "the·joy" (הַשִּׂמְחָ֔ה). The root עם appears 3 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·people" (root עם, 50x in Ezra). First appearance of the root אין ("and·there·is·no") in Ezra. First appearance of the root שמע ("was·heard") in Ezra. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·people', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 8 words.
Rashi
And the people did not recognize Those listeners did not recognize the voice of the shout of joy, because of the voice of the people’s weeping, for the rejoicing people were shouting with a great shout, and the voice of weeping was heard farther and farther away.
Metzudat David
'So that the people could not discern' — those who heard could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the weeping. 'For the people' — although the rejoicing people were shouting a great shout, the sound of the weeping was heard from afar and drowned out the sound of those rejoicing.
Malbim
'So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy' from the noise of the weeping of the people — because over this very thing, that they were building under Cyrus's permission, some wept, while many who understood the benefit of this same fact rejoiced over it. The common people did not grasp this distinction, but simply raised a great shout — this is by way of derash (homiletic reading). But taken simply, [the verse] means that neither of the two sounds, the sound of joy nor the sound of weeping, could be distinguished, because of the blasts of the shofars, which were heard from afar and drowned out all the other sounds.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim