MPV Commentary

The Building Hindered.

1 The adversaries of Judah and Benjamin were actually foreigners who had settled in the land of Israel.

2 These settlers claimed to worship the God of Israel just like the Jews did, and they said they had been sacrificing to him since the time of Esar-haddon, a king who had brought them into the region. This statement is confirmed by Assyrian sculptures that describe a large deportation of Israelites from Palestine and their replacement with Babylonian colonists. Over time, these settlers intermarried with remaining Israelite women and became known as Samaritans. Although they were originally idolaters, they had been instructed in the knowledge of God and could say they sought his worship, but they did so in a superstitious way of their own (see 2 Kings 17:26-34, 41).

3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua refused to work with the Samaritans on building the house of God. This refusal was ultimately for the good of the people; if the two groups had worked together, it would have led to familiarity and intermarriage, potentially causing the Jews to return to idolatry. Moreover, their genealogical records would have become confused, making it harder to prove the Messiah's descent. However, in their separate condition, they were careful observers of each other's actions, watching over the preservation and integrity of the sacred books and maintaining the purity of Mosaic worship.

4-5 The Samaritans became angry with this refusal and tried to hinder the work by any means possible. They bribed officials and used clandestine methods to obstruct the building project, despite being unable to change the decree issued by Cyrus. Their efforts were successful because Cyrus was often absent on military campaigns, leaving his son Cambyses in charge – a wicked prince who opposed the Jews and their faith. The Samaritans continued these underhanded tactics during the reign of Smerdis and down to that of Darius Hystaspes. As a result, progress on the building project was slow for twenty years.

6 During the early part of Ahasuerus' reign (a title used by Xerxes), the Samaritans wrote an accusation against the Jews, likely due to their continued opposition and frustration with the building project.