Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel זְרֻבָּבֶל בֶּן־שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל
leader of the first return from Babylon and builder of the Second Temple
A descendant of King Jehoiachin, that is, of the house of David. With him and with the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak came out the first of those returning from Babylon (Ezra 2:2).
The building began and halted: the neighbours wrote denunciations to Persia, and the work was stopped for years. It resumed under Darius, when "Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the House of God which is in Jerusalem, and with them were the prophets of God helping them" (Ezra 5:2).
What was said to him. The prophet Zechariah brought him the word that has since been said to everyone whose strength is small: "Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, said the Lord of Hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). And of the work itself: "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this House, and his hands shall finish it" (4:9). Haggai ends his prophecy with the same name: "On that day… I will take you, O Zerubbabel My servant… and will make you as a signet, for I have chosen you" (Haggai 2:23).
Whose son he was. Ezra and Haggai call him son of Shealtiel; I Chronicles 3:19 lists him among the sons of Pedaiah—Shealtiel's brother. The discrepancy is old and is not smoothed over in the text.
The Second Temple was dedicated in 3412. Zerubbabel did not become king: the house of David returned to the Land, but not to the throne.
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Sources
Tanakh
- Ezra 2:2; 5:2 — at the head of the returnees and the resumption of the building
- Zechariah 4:6–10 — “not by might, nor by power” and the hands that founded the House
- Haggai 2:23 and Divrei HaYamim I 3:19 — “as a signet” — and the discrepancy over whose son he was
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.