was kept in prison thirty-seven years. Nebuchadnezzar, having made himself master of Jerusalem, sent the remaining treasures of the temple, and of the king's house, with great numbers of captives, to Babylon. He made Mattaniah, the uncle of Jeconias, king of the people who remained in Judæa, and changed his name to Zedekiah. In the ninth year of his reign, Zedekiah revolted from Nebuchadnezzar, and Jerusalem was again besieged and taken, after 588. the siege had lasted about eighteen months, during which the people had suffered severely from famine and pestilence. Zedekiah escaped out of the city, but being pursued, was taken, and carried to Nebuchadnezzar, who, having caused his sons to be slain before his face, and his eyes to be put out, sent him in chains to Babylon, where he died in prison (q). By his being carried thither in a state of blindness, two remarkable prophecies were fulfilled, which appeared to contradict each other; the one of Jeremiah, that Zedekiah should be carried to Babylon (r); the other of Ezekiel, that Zedekiah should not see Babylon (s). The walls of Jerusalem were broken down by the command of Nebuchad nezzar ; (q) Zedekiah was the twenty-first king of the race of David. (r) Jer. c. 32. v. 5. c. 34. v. 3. (s) Ezek. c. 12. v. 13. VOL. I. P nezzar; the temple, and all the buildings, were destroyed by fire; and this famous city became a heap of ruins, and nearly the whole nation was sent captive to Babylon. Gedaliah was made governor over the few people that were left; and many of those, who had fled during the siege of Jerusalem into the neighbouring countries, returned soon after, and were encouraged by Gedaliah to establish themselves in Judæa, upon condition of paying tribute to the king of Babylon (t). The kindness and liberality with which Gedaliah treated these poor people, induced some of their rulers to confess that Ismael, one of their brethren, and of the royal family, had determined to murder Gedaliah at the desire of the king of the Ammonites; and they offered to kill Ismael privately, if they received his permission. Gedaliah would not listen to this proposal, nor did he believe the accusation, and was soon after murdered by Ismael at a feast, to which he had purposely invited him. Upon this occasion most of the people, fearing that the king of Babylon would avenge the death of Gedaliah, went and settled in Egypt, contrary to the express advice of Jeremiah, who declared, upon divine authority, that they (t) It appears that many of the ten tribes, as well as the people of Judah, returned now, and afterwards, and were gradually incorporated under the same government. they might remain with safety in Judæa, but When the kingdom of Judah had been seventy years in captivity, and the period of their affliction was completed, Cyrus, under whom were 536. united the kingdoms of Persia, Media, and Babylon, issued a decree, permitting all the Jews to return to their own land, and to rebuild their temple at Jerusalem. This decree had been expressly foretold by the prophet Isaiah (v), who called apon Cyrus by name, above a hundred years before (u) Pharaoh-Hophra, or Apries. before his birth, as the deliverer of God's chosen people from their predicted captivity. Though the decree issued by Cyrus was general, a part only of the nation took advantage of it. The number of persons who returned at this time was 42,360, and 7,337 servants. They were conducted by Zerubbabel and Joshua. Zerubbabel, frequently called in Scripture Shashbazzar, was the grandson of Jeconias, and consequently descended from David. He was called "the prince of Judah," and was appointed their governor by Cyrus, and with his permission carried back a part of the gold and silver vessels, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple of Jerusalem. The rest of the treasures of the temple were carried thither afterwards by Ezra. Joshua was the son of Josedec the high priest, and grandson to Seraiah, who was high priest when the temple was destroyed. Darius, the successor of Cyrus, confirmed this decree, and favoured the re-establishment of the people. But it was in the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, called in Scripture Ahasuerus, that Ezra obtained his commission, and was made governor of the Jews in their own land (a), which government he held thirteen years: (x) About 1,500 Jews returned from Babylon with Ezra, and great numbers now returned from the neighbouring nations. years then Nehemiah was appointed with fresh powers, probably through the interest of queen Esther; and Ezra applied himself solely to correcting the canon of the Scriptures, and restoring and providing for the continuance of the worship of God in its original purity. The first care of the Jews, after their arrival in Judæa, was to build an altar for burnt offerings to God; they then collected materials for rebuilding the temple, and all necessary preparations being made, in the beginning of the second year after their return under Zerubbabel, they began to build it upon the old foundations. The Samaritans, affirming that they worshipped the God of Israel, offered to assist the Jews; but their assistance being refused, they did all in their power to impede the work; and hence originated that enmity, which ever after subsisted between the Jews and Samaritans. The temple, after a variety of obstructions and delays, was finished and dedicated, in the seventh year of king 515. Darius, and twenty years after it was begun. Though this second temple, or as it is sometimes called, the temple of Zerubbabel, who was at this time governor of the Jews, was of the same size and dimensions as the first, or Solomon's temple, yet it was very inferior to it in splendor and magnificence; and the ark of the covenant, |