architectural the-exile-period

Second Temple Completed and Dedicated

516 BCE

On the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of King Darius’s reign (March 12, 516 BCE), the temple was finished—exactly 70 years after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Solomon’s temple, fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophecy.

The elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.

The dedication:

The people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. For the dedication they offered:

  • 100 bulls
  • 200 rams
  • 400 male lambs
  • 12 male goats as a sin offering for all Israel (one for each tribe)

The priests were installed in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.

Passover celebration:

On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated Passover. The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. They slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests, and for themselves.

The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors to seek the LORD, the God of Israel. For seven days they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread with joy, because the LORD had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria (i.e., Persia) so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God.

Significance:

The Second Temple was not as grand as Solomon’s—it lacked the Ark of the Covenant (lost forever), lacked the visible Shekinah glory, and was built on a more modest scale. Yet it stood for nearly 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), lasting longer than Solomon’s temple (374 years).

This temple would witness:

  • Ezra’s reforms
  • Nehemiah’s wall rebuilding
  • The Maccabean revolt and rededication (Hanukkah)
  • Herod’s massive expansion
  • Jesus’s ministry
  • The early church

The completion fulfilled God’s promise to restore His people. Though the glory seemed diminished, Haggai’s prophecy that “the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former” would find fulfillment in ways they couldn’t imagine—the Messiah himself would walk its courts.