Ezra 6:2-4

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Ezra 6:2 tc The translation reads בִירְתָא (birtaʾ, citadel”) rather than the reading בְּבִירְתָא (b^eviretaʾ, “in the citadel”) found in the MT. The MT probably experienced dittography here.
2. Ezra 6:3 tn Aram “In the first year of Cyrus the king.”
3. Ezra 6:3 tn Aram “raised”; or perhaps “retained” (so NASB; cf. NLT), referring to the original foundations of Solomon’s temple.
4. Ezra 6:3 tc The Syriac Peshitta reads “20 cubits” here, a measurement probably derived from dimensions given elsewhere for Solomon’s temple. According to 1 Kgs 6:2 the dimensions of the Solomonic temple were as follows: length, 60 cubits; width, 20 cubits; height, 30 cubits. Since one would expect the dimensions cited in Ezra 6:3 to correspond to those of Solomon’s temple, it is odd that no dimension for length is provided. The Syriac has apparently harmonized the width dimension provided here (“20 cubits”) to that given in 1 Kgs 6:2.tn Aram “Its height 60 cubits and its width 60 cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about 18 inches (45 cm) long.
5. Ezra 6:4 tn Aram “stones of rolling.”
6. Ezra 6:4 tc The translation follows the LXX reading חַד (khad, “one”) rather than the MT חֲדַת (khadat, “new”). If the MT reading “new” is understood to mean freshly cut timber that has not yet been seasoned it would seem to be an odd choice for construction material.
7. Ezra 6:4 tn Aram “let be given.”
8. Ezra 6:4 tn Aram “house.”