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Zerubbabel (Z?rubbavel; Greek
Koine Greek

Koine Greek is the popular form of Greek which emerged in post-Classical antiquity . Other names are Alexandrian, Hellenistic, Common, or New Testament Greek....
: ????ßaße?, Zorobabel) was a governor of Judah and the grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate king of Judah. Zerubbabel led the first band of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian Captivity in the first year of Cyrus
Cyrus the Great

Cyrus the Great , , also known as Cyrus II of Persia and Cyrus the Elder, was a Persian people Shah . He was the founder of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty, an empire, perhaps the most wealthy and magnificent in history....
, King of Persia (Ezra
Book of Ezra

The Book of Ezra is a book of the Bible in the Old Testament and Hebrew language Tanakh. It is the record of events occurring at the close of the Babylonian captivity....
). Zerubbabel also laid the foundation of the Second Temple
Second Temple

The Second Temple was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE. During this time, it was the center of Judaism worship, which focused on the sacrifices known as the korbanot....
 in Jerusalem the next year. Muslim historian Ya'qubi
Ya'qubi

Ahmad ibn Abu Ya'qub ibn Ja'far ibn Wahb Ibn Wadih al-Ya'qubi , known as Ya'qubi, was a Muslim historian and geographer....
 attributed the recovery of the Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
 and the Books of the Prophets to him instead of Ezra
Ezra

Ezra was a Jewish priestly scribe who led about 5,000 Babylonian captivity living in Babylon to their home city of Jerusalem in 459 BC. Ezra reconstituted the dispersed Jewish community on the basis of the Torah and with an emphasis on the law....
.






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Zerubbabel (Z?rubbavel; Greek
Koine Greek

Koine Greek is the popular form of Greek which emerged in post-Classical antiquity . Other names are Alexandrian, Hellenistic, Common, or New Testament Greek....
: ????ßaße?, Zorobabel) was a governor of Judah and the grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate king of Judah. Zerubbabel led the first band of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian Captivity in the first year of Cyrus
Cyrus the Great

Cyrus the Great , , also known as Cyrus II of Persia and Cyrus the Elder, was a Persian people Shah . He was the founder of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty, an empire, perhaps the most wealthy and magnificent in history....
, King of Persia (Ezra
Book of Ezra

The Book of Ezra is a book of the Bible in the Old Testament and Hebrew language Tanakh. It is the record of events occurring at the close of the Babylonian captivity....
). Zerubbabel also laid the foundation of the Second Temple
Second Temple

The Second Temple was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE. During this time, it was the center of Judaism worship, which focused on the sacrifices known as the korbanot....
 in Jerusalem the next year. Muslim historian Ya'qubi
Ya'qubi

Ahmad ibn Abu Ya'qub ibn Ja'far ibn Wahb Ibn Wadih al-Ya'qubi , known as Ya'qubi, was a Muslim historian and geographer....
 attributed the recovery of the Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
 and the Books of the Prophets to him instead of Ezra
Ezra

Ezra was a Jewish priestly scribe who led about 5,000 Babylonian captivity living in Babylon to their home city of Jerusalem in 459 BC. Ezra reconstituted the dispersed Jewish community on the basis of the Torah and with an emphasis on the law....
. The Seder Olam Zutta
Seder Olam Zutta

Seder Olam Zutta is an anonymous chronicle, called "Zu?a" to distinguish it from the older Seder 'Olam Rabbah. This work is based upon, and to a certain extent completes and continues, the older chronicle....
 lists him as the Exilarch
Exilarch

Exilarch refers to the leaders of the Diaspora Jewish community following the deportation of the population of Judah into Babylonian captivity after the destruction of the kingdom of Judah....
 in Babylon
Babylon

Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....
 to succeed Shealtiel
Shealtiel

Shealtiel or Greek-derived variant Salathiel is a significant but problematic member in the genealogies of the kings of Kingdom of Judah, all of whom belong to the Davidic Dynasty, being the descendants of David through his son Solomon....
. The texts are conflicting as to whether Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel or his nephew. His son Meshullam succeeded him as Exilarch, and was followed by another son Hananiah
Hananiah

Hananiah may refer to:*Hananiah, son of Zerubbabel, exilarch*Hananiah , or Shadrach, Biblical figure*Hananiah , fourth century BC, governor of Samaria under the Achaemenid Empire...
. He also had a daughter called Shelomith. Little else is known about him.

The name

If the name Zerubbabel is Hebrew, it may be a contraction of Z?rua‘ Bavel , meaning "the one sown of Babylon", and referring to a child conceived and born in Babylon; or perhaps even, Z?rûy Bavel , meaning, "the winnowed of Babylon", in the sense of being exiled in Babylon. If the name is not Hebrew but Assyrian-Babylonian, it may contract, Z?ru Babel, meaning, "Seed of Babylon", the one conceived in Babylon. (Contrast the related Hebrew form for "Seed": , Zera‘.)

Zerubbabel in the Hebrew Bible


Son of Shealtiel or Pedaiah


The Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible

The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic....
 lists Shealtiel
Shealtiel

Shealtiel or Greek-derived variant Salathiel is a significant but problematic member in the genealogies of the kings of Kingdom of Judah, all of whom belong to the Davidic Dynasty, being the descendants of David through his son Solomon....
 as the second son of King Jeconiah
Jeconiah

Jeconiah , also known as Jehoiachin , was a king of Judah. He was the son of Jehoiakim with Nehushta, the daughter of List of minor Biblical figures of Jerusalem and was a contemporary of the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel....
 . The Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II exiled to Babylon
Babylon

Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....
 Joconiah and Jeconiah's uncle King Zedekiah
Zedekiah

Zedekiah was the last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by Babylon. He was the third son of Josiah, and his mother was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, thus he was the brother of Jehoahaz ....
 the last king of Judah
Kingdom of Judah

The Kingdom of Judah existed at two periods in Jewish history. According to the Hebrew Bible, a kingdom emerged in Judah after the death of Saul, when the tribe of Judah elevated David to rule over it....
 and killed Zedekiah there. Potentially, Shealtiel became the legal heir to the throne, if the Davidic monarchy was restored.

The Hebrew Bible has conflicting texts regarding whether Zerubbabel is the son of Shealtiel or of Pedaiah. Several texts (that are thought to be more-or-less contemporaneous) explicitly call "Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel" ( ). The Seder Olam Zutta
Seder Olam Zutta

Seder Olam Zutta is an anonymous chronicle, called "Zu?a" to distinguish it from the older Seder 'Olam Rabbah. This work is based upon, and to a certain extent completes and continues, the older chronicle....
 also supports that position. Surprisingly, makes Zerubbabel a nephew of Shealtiel: King Jeconiah is the father of Shealtiel and Pedaiah, then Pedaiah is the father of Zerubbabel.

Various attempts have been made to show how both genealogies could be true. One explanation suggests Shealtiel died childless and therefore Pedaiah, his brother, married his widow according to a Jewish law
Halakha

Halakha ? also Hebrew transliteration Halocho and Halacha ? is the collective body of Judaism religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
 regarding inheritance . If so, Zerubbabel would be the legal son of Shealtiel but the biological son of Pedaiah.

The other speculation suggests the title "son of Shealtiel" does not refer to being a biological son but to being a member in Shealtiel's "household" (bet). The Hebrew term "father" (av) can refer to a father of a household, similar to the Latin term paterfamilias. In this sense, a man who is the "father" of a household can therefore be referred to as the "father" of his own biological siblings, nephews and nieces, or anyone else who cohabitates in his "household". Zerubbabel (and possibly his father Pedaiah) could be called a "son" if they lived in Shealtiel's household.

Perhaps both speculations could be true. Zerubbabel could be the legal son of Shealtiel and therefore also a member of his household. Notably, if Shealtiel had no biological children, Zerubbabel as a legal son would have inherited Shealtiel's household and become its new "father" with authority of over the other members of the household.

Yet another speculation simply suggests that the text which identifies Zerubbabel as a son of Pedaiah could be a scribal error. It occurs in a part of the text where the Hebrew seems discongruent and possibly garbled . The expected mention of Shealtiel being a father seems accidentally omitted, and thus his children became confused with Pedaiah's. There may be other problems with these verses as well.

In any case, those texts that call Zerubbabel "son of Shealtiel" have a context that is overtly political and seems to emphasize Zerubbabel's potential royal claim to the throne of the Davidic Dynasty by being Shealtiel's successor. Zerubbabel is understood as the legal successor of Shealtiel, with Zerubbabel's title paralleling the Highpriest Jeshua's title, "son of Jozadak", that emphasizes Jeshua's rightful claim to the dynasty of highpriests, descending from Aaron
Aaron

In the Hebrew Bible, Aaron , or Aaron the Levite , was the brother of Moses. He was the great-grandson of Levi and represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first Kohen Gadol of the Hebrews....
. Therefore, with one descending from David and the other from Aaron, these two officials have the divine authority to rebuild the Temple.

Sheshbazar?

Whether the identity of Zerubbabel with Sheshbazzar, "the prince of Judah" and leader of the first great band of exiles returning to Jerusalem is correct is discussed in the Jewish Encyclopedia.

Zerubbabel in other texts


He was determined to be among the wisest of men in Persia, following a dissertation on women and truth, which he presented before Cyrus. He was given sanction to rebuild the Temple and return the sacred Temple vessels that Darius
Darius

Darius is a common Persians male name. Three monarch of the ancient Achaemenid Empire of Iran were named Darius:*Darius the Great of Persia or Darius the Great....
 had preserved after the conquest of Bablyon. This is explained in detail in the Apocryphal book 1 Esdras
1 Esdras

1 Esdras is a book from the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament regarded as canonical in Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy, but regarded as Biblical apocrypha by Jews, Catholics, and most Protestantism....
.

He achieved legendary status in Post-Exilic times, mentioned in Ecclesiasticus of Sirach (49:11) among the famous men of Israel.

He is the receiver of an apocalypse
Apocalypse

Apocalypse is a term applied to the disclosure to certain privileged persons of something hidden from the majority of humankind. Today the term is often used to refer to the Doomsday event, which may be a shortening of the phrase apokalupsis eschaton which literally means "revelation at the end of the ?on, or age"....
 in the seventh century Apocalypse of Zerubbabel
Apocalypse of Zerubbabel

Sefer Zerubbabel is a medieval Hebrew apocalypse written at the beginning of the seventh century in the style of biblical visions placed into the mouth of Zerubbabel, the last descendant of the Davidic line to take a prominent part in Israel's history, who laid the foundation of the Second Temple in the 6th century BCE....
.

He plays a large role in Sholem Asch
Sholem Asch

Sholem Asch born Szulim Asz , also written Shalom Asch was a Poland-born American Jewish novelist, dramatist, and essayist in the Yiddish language....
's final work The Prophet. He is announced as the Prince of Judah upon his return to the Holy Land
Holy Land

The Holy Land , generally refers to the geographical region of the Levant called Land of Canaan or Land of Israel in the Bible, and constitutes the Promised land....
. One of the firm and long-standing followers and friends of the Prophet Isaiah, and descendant of the Davidic Dynasty.

Zerubbabel in the New Testament

In the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, Zerubbabel is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel of Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a synoptic gospel. It narrates an account of the New Testament view on Jesus' life and Ministry of Jesus of Jesus of Nazareth....
's version of the Genealogy of Jesus
Genealogy of Jesus

The genealogy of Jesus through Joseph is given by two passages from the Gospels, Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke . Both of them trace Jesus' line back to David and from there on to Abraham; Luke traces the line all the way back to Adam ....
, as "Zorobabel"); he is there said to be the son of Shealtiel
Shealtiel

Shealtiel or Greek-derived variant Salathiel is a significant but problematic member in the genealogies of the kings of Kingdom of Judah, all of whom belong to the Davidic Dynasty, being the descendants of David through his son Solomon....
 (Greek "Salathiel"). Zerubbabel is again mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ recorded in the Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke

The Gospel of Luke is a Synoptic Gospels, and is the third and longest of the four Biblical canonical Gospels of the New Testament. The text narrates the life of Jesus of Nazareth....
. Verse 3:27 states that he is the son of Shealtiel.

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