[:en]SCRIPTURE: EZRA 5
“But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received” (Ezra 5:5)
“In the first year of Cyrus, King of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild the house of God. He even removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon” (Ezra 5:13-14)
TATTENAI’S LETTER TO DARIUS (vs. 1-17)
Tattenai was the governor of Trans-Euphrates who asked about the building program since the materials were being supplied partly by the royal treasury. So, he asked them the following questions:
- Who authorize you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?
- What are the names of the men constructing this building?
So, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenal and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates sent a letter to King Darius to confirm the legality of their building by investigating the records of the king’s decrees in the royal archives.[:]