Ezra 3:12

“But many of the priests and Levites, and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, etc.] Seventy or eighty years of age: that had seen the first house; the temple built by Solomon, as they very well might, since then it had been destroyed but fifty two years; for the seventy years captivity are to be reckoned from the fourth of Jehoiakim, when it began, and which was eighteen years before the destruction of the temple; the beginning of the next clause, when in the foundation, according to the Hebrew accents, is to be connected with this, that had seen the first house; not when first founded, for that was five hundred years ago, but in “its foundation”; they saw it standing upon its…”

“But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers . . . wept with a loud voice--Those painful emotions were excited by the sad contrast between the prosperous circumstances in which the foundations of the first temple had been laid and the desolate, reduced state of the country and city when the second was begun; between the inferior size and less costliness of the stones used in the foundations of the second (Kg1 7:9-10), and the much smaller extent of the foundation itself, including all the appurtenances of the building (Hag 2:3); between the comparative smallness of their present means and the immense resources of David and Solomon. Perhaps, however, the chief cause of grief…”

“Wept ... shouted ... for joy - Compare the marginal reference and Zechariah 4:10. It is implied that the dimensions of the second temple were smaller than those of the first. Hence, the feeling of sorrow which came upon some. They, however, who had not seen the former temple, and so could not contrast the two, naturally rejoiced to see the sanctuary of their religion begin to rise from its ruins. return to 'Top of Page' Footnotes: Copyright Statement These files are public domain. Bibliographical Information Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on Ezra 3". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bnb/ezra-3.html. 1870. StudyLight.org © 2001-2026…”

“Had seen - Which divers of them might well do; because it was destroyed not sixty years ago. Wept - Because of the poor preparations made for this, in comparison of what was made for the other temple: because this was destitute of those things which were the principal glory of the former temple, namely, the ark, and the Urim and Thummim; because these foundation - stones were far inferior to the former, both for quantity and price, Kg1 7:9-10, and because these foundations were of a far narrower compass than the former: for although the foundations of this house of the Lord, strictly so called, were of equal largeness with those of the former, yet the foundations of the whole building…”

“3:12 Those who wept aloud either were disappointed that the foundation of the Temple wasn’t as wonderful as the old one had been (cp. Hag 2:3) or were deeply moved with joy at seeing the Temple of the Lord restored.”

“many: Hag 2:3 when the foundation: Job 8:7; Isa 41:14, Isa 60:22; Dan 2:34, Dan 2:35; Zac 4:10; Mat 13:31, Mat 13:32 wept: Psa 126:6; Jer 31:8, Jer 31:9 Ezra 3:13”