Ezra 6:3 - Exposition

Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifice. Or, "the place where they may offer sacrifice." It is the future, rather than the past, which Cyrus is contemplating. Let the foundation thereof be strongly laid . Isaiah had prophesied that Cyrus should "say to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid " ( Isaiah 44:28 ). Cyrus adds an injunction that the foundations be laid "supportingly," or "strongly," that so the house may the longer continue. The height thereof threescore cubits. Half the height of the first temple, according to the existing text of Chronicles ( 2 Chronicles 3:4 ); but one-third more than the previous height, as estimated by the author of Kings ( 1 Kings 6:2 ). And the breadth thereof threescore cubits. This breadth is thrice that of the main building, according to both Chronicles and Kings. It is even double that of the old temple, with the side chambers , which occupied a space of five cubits, or seven and a half feet, on either wing. That such an enlargement actually took effect would seem to be most improbable; and we may perhaps conclude that Cyrus designed a building on a grander scale than Zerubbabel, with the resources at his disposal, was able to erect. It is curious that Cyrus did not in his decree specify the length of the temple.