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Biblical History Atlas

Historical event dossier · Religious, Construction

The altar rebuilt in Jerusalem and the Feast of Booths kept (Ezra 3:1–7)

Researched — not human reviewedRevision 1Last reviewed: not reviewed

No review items are open for this dossier. Classifications remain machine-proposed unless marked as approved by the owner.

Biblical references

Text: World English Bible (public domain). The ESV and NKJV are the preferred study translations and are referenced, not reproduced.

Ezra 3:1–7Narration
1 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. 2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up with his brothers the priests and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his relatives, 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. 3 In spite of their fear because of the peoples of the surrounding lands, they set the altar on its base; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 They 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; 5 and afterward the continual burnt offering, the offerings of the new moons, of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a free will offering to the LORD. 6 From the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD; but the foundation of the LORD’s temple was not yet laid. 7 They also gave money to the masons and to the carpenters. They also gave food, drink, and oil to the people 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.

Biblical account

Layer: Biblical text

In the seventh month the people gathered "as one man" in Jerusalem; Jeshua with the priests and Zerubbabel with his kin built the altar on its base, despite fear of the peoples of the lands; they kept the Feast of Booths and from the first day of the seventh month offered burnt offerings, though the Temple foundation was not yet laid; they paid masons and carpenters and gave food, drink and oil to Sidon and Tyre for cedar brought by sea to Joppa under Cyrus's grant.

Historical overview

Layer: Historical reconstruction · Period: Autumn after the return (Tishri)

Batten notes that the passage implies only that the Jerusalem altar had not been restored, not that no sacrifice had been offered anywhere since 586 (against Kosters).[1]

Kingdoms: Achaemenid Persian Empire, Kingdom of Judah

Date and chronology derivation

Ranges are computed by the project's deterministic chronology engine from the biblical statements and each model's reign anchors. They are reconstructions, not independent dates.

538 BC – 530 BC

Model-independent (applies under every chronology model) · precision: undated

How this range was derived

Earliest bound

  1. “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia” — Cyrus's proclamation permitting the return and the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 1; 6:3–5) in regnal year reign of Cyrus II (the Great) (year 1) [reckoned accession, nisan new year] (Ezra 1:1)[3]Assumption: "First year of Cyrus" counted as his first Babylonian year (24 Mar 538 – Mar 537); counting from his rule in Persia would be meaningless here, since the decree presupposes the conquest of Babylon.
  2. “Now these are the children of the province who went up out of the captivity” — The return of the exiles with Zerubbabel and Jeshua; the list of returnees (Ezra 2) after Cyrus's proclamation permitting the return and the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 1; 6:3–5) (Ezra 2:1)Assumption: Ezra places the return after Cyrus's decree (1:1–11); 1 Esd 5:1–6 places it under Darius — that reading is recorded as disputed and not modelled.
  3. “When the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities” — The altar rebuilt in Jerusalem and the Feast of Booths kept (Ezra 3:1–7) after The return of the exiles with Zerubbabel and Jeshua; the list of returnees (Ezra 2) (Ezra 3:1)

Latest bound

  1. reign of Cyrus II (the Great) ended between 12 Aug 530 BC and 31 Aug 530 BC (model-independent)[3, 4]Assumption: Last Cyrus-dated tablets 12 Aug 530; first Cambyses tablet as sole king 31 Aug 530 (Parker & Dubberstein 1942, p. 12). Cyrus's reign as king of Persia began c. 559 BC; this record covers only his rule over Babylon, which the Babylonian documents date by.
  2. “according to the grant that they had from Cyrus King of Persia” — The foundation of the Second Temple laid (Ezra 3:8–13) within reign reign of Cyrus II (the Great) (Ezra 3:7)Assumption: Ezra's framework places 3:1–13 in Cyrus's reign (cf. 4:5). This is the text's chronology; the alternative placement under Darius is recorded as disputed.
  3. “but the foundation of the LORD's temple was not yet laid” — The altar rebuilt in Jerusalem and the Feast of Booths kept (Ezra 3:1–7) before The foundation of the Second Temple laid (Ezra 3:8–13) (Ezra 3:6)

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What else was happening? (model-independent)

  • Daniel's refusal of the king's food and the ten-day test (Dan 1:8–16): 606 BC – ?
  • Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7): 603 BC – ?
  • Nebuchadnezzar's decree honouring the God of the three Judeans (Dan 3:28–30): 603 BC – ?
  • The refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace (Dan 3:8–27): 603 BC – ?
  • Daniel continues until the first year of King Cyrus (Dan 1:21): 538 BC – 537 BC
  • Cyrus II (the Great) (reign): 539 BC – 530 BC
  • The thirty-day decree and Daniel in the lions' den (Dan 6:4–23): 539 BC – ?
  • Darius appoints 120 satraps and three chief officials (Dan 6:1–3, 28): 539 BC – ?
  • The accusers punished; Darius's decree honouring the God of Daniel (Dan 6:24–27): 539 BC – ?
  • Cyrus's proclamation permitting the return and the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 1; 6:3–5): 538 BC – 537 BC
  • Gabriel comes at the evening offering with the word of the seventy weeks (Dan 9:20–27): 539 BC – 536 BC
  • Daniel reads Jeremiah's seventy years and prays (Dan 9:1–19): 539 BC – 536 BC
  • Daniel's vision by the Tigris in the third year of Cyrus (Dan 10:1–11:1): 536 BC – 535 BC
  • The closing dialogue by the river: the oath, the numbers and Daniel's dismissal (Dan 12:5–13): 536 BC – 535 BC
  • Gedaliah governs from Mizpah and is assassinated (2 Kgs 25:22–26): 589 BC – ?
  • Cyrus returns the Temple vessels to Sheshbazzar; the first return (Ezra 1:5–11): 538 BC – 530 BC
  • The return of the exiles with Zerubbabel and Jeshua; the list of returnees (Ezra 2): 538 BC – 531 BC
  • The foundation of the Second Temple laid (Ezra 3:8–13): 537 BC – 530 BC
  • Opposition from the people of the land; the Temple work ceases until Darius's second year (Ezra 4:1–5, 24): 537 BC – 519 BC
  • Accusations to Ahasuerus and the Rehum–Shimshai letter to Artaxerxes; the city's rebuilding stopped (Ezra 4:6–23): 537 BC – ?

Ancient and modern geography

Location confidence assumes the event as described. Whether it occurred is assessed in the claims below.

PlaceConnection to this eventLocation identification
JerusalemJerusalem (Old City / City of David)Altar on the Temple siteLocation confidence: certainPleiades representative point: certain[5]
JoppaJaffa (Yafo)Port for the cedarLocation confidence: certainJaffa (Pleiades 687931): certain[6]

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Claims, evidence and classifications

Each claim is classified on its own. A classification describes the evidence for that specific claim, not for the event as a whole.

Joppa is Jaffa (Yafo).

Independently corroboratedMachine-proposedExternal evidence

Pleiades associates Ioppe, Yafo, Jaffa and Yapu with the same site with certainty; the identification is not in dispute.

Supporting

  • Ioppe, Yafo, Jaffa, Yapu (certain).[6]Strength: direct·names·Claim checked

Context

  • Cedar conveyed on rafts to the harbour of Joppa.[7]Strength: direct·1 Esd 5:55·Claim checked

Research date 2026-10-13

The returned community rebuilt the altar on the Temple site and resumed sacrifices before the Temple was rebuilt.

No independent corroboration foundMachine-proposedExternal evidence

Ezra 3:1–6 and 1 Esd 5:47–53 (dependent) describe it; Batten accepts the altar restoration as historical against Kosters. No external evidence bears on it.

Context

  • The altar was restored first; the passage implies only that this altar had not been rebuilt.[1]Strength: indirect·pp. 40–41·Claim checked

Research date 2026-10-13

Evidence by type

The same evidence regrouped by kind of source. Each item names the claims it bears on.

Archaeological evidence

None recorded for this event.

Scientific findings

None recorded for this event.

Ancient documents

Modern news and announcements

None recorded for this event.

Reference works and summaries

Historical disputes and competing reconstructions

  • Altar in the seventh month of the return year under Cyrus

    Ezra 3:1 (text); C. F. Keil (1873)

    Follows Ezra's framework.[8]

  • Altar restored before the 520 rebuilding, the account placed under Cyrus by the Chronicler

    L. W. Batten (1913)

    Batten keeps the altar restoration early but places the foundation in 520.[1]

Related passages and events

FromRelationshipToBasis
this eventThematic parallelmedium · Biblical text2 Chronicles 2:16Cedar floated to Joppa for Solomon's Temple as for the Second.
this eventFollowed byhigh · Biblical textThe foundation of the Second Temple laid (Ezra 3:8–13)The foundation followed in the second year.

Prophetic relationships

No prophecy or proposed-fulfillment relationships have been recorded for this event.

Commentary references

Layer: Interpretation. This is commentary, not historical evidence.

Guzik stresses that the altar came before the Temple and that the cedar was a royal "grant" (Kidner).[2]

Unanswered questions and research gaps

  • No archaeological evidence for the restored altar was sought (the Temple Mount is unexcavated).

Research process

4 logged searches
DateQueryWhereUseful
2026-10-13Batten 1913 pp. 40–41web fetch1
2026-10-13WEB 1 Esdras 5:47–55local text1
2026-10-13Pleiades: Joppapleiades1
2026-10-13Enduring Word Ezra 3web fetch1

Sources

  1. 1.
    Batten, Loring W.. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (International Critical Commentary). T. & T. Clark / Scribner, 1913. archive.orgClaim checkedScholarly commentaryRead through the Internet Archive OCR text.Verification log
  2. 2.
    Guzik, David. Ezra 3 — Enduring Word Bible Commentary. Enduring Word. enduringword.comClaim checkedTheological commentaryInterpretive resource — not historical corroboration.Verification log
  3. 3.
    Parker, Richard A., Dubberstein, Waldo H.. Babylonian Chronology 626 B.C.–A.D. 45 (SAOC 24). University of Chicago Press (Oriental Institute). archive.orgClaim checkedAcademic monographRead through the Internet Archive OCR text of the Oriental Institute PDF; OCR has digit errors (e.g. "589" for 539) checked against context. The 1956 revised edition was not consulted.Verification log
  4. 4.
    Lendering, Jona (ed.). ABC 7 (Nabonidus Chronicle) — English translation on Livius.org. Livius.org. www.livius.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textFull translation page read. The page gives no museum number and no Julian dates.Verification log
  5. 5.
    Pleiades contributors. Ierusalem/Hierosolyma — Pleiades place 687928. Pleiades (pleiades.stoa.org). pleiades.stoa.orgClaim checkedInstitutional databaseRepresentative point read from the Pleiades JSON record: lon 35.234978, lat 31.7771895.Verification log
  6. 6.
    Pleiades contributors. Ioppe (Joppa) — Pleiades place 687931. Pleiades (pleiades.stoa.org). pleiades.stoa.orgClaim checkedInstitutional databaseRepresentative point read from the Pleiades JSON record: lon 34.74993, lat 32.05308.Verification log
  7. 7.
    World English Bible (translators). World English Bible — Apocrypha/Deuterocanon (1 Esdras 5). eBible.org. ebible.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textGreek parallel to Ezra 2–3; quoted only briefly.Verification log
  8. 8.
    Keil, C. F., Taylor, Sophia (trans.). Biblical Commentary on the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther (Clark's Foreign Theological Library). T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1873. archive.orgClaim checkedScholarly commentaryRead through the Internet Archive OCR text.Verification log