Ezra 3:1
When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The phrase "as one man" isn't about unanimity of opinion, but a powerful, unified action despite having just settled into their new towns. It highlights their immediate priority: to re-establish communal worship and altar even before the Temple itself was rebuilt.
The exiles have returned to Judah, settling into their respective towns after years in Babylon. As the significant seventh month of the Jewish calendar approached, a month filled with crucial religious festivals, the people came together with unified purpose, gathering in Jerusalem. This gathering sets the stage for their recommitment to God and the rebuilding of their community's spiritual life, beginning with the altar and the observance of sacred feasts before the temple itself is rebuilt.
Why was the seventh month so important for the returning exiles? It wasn't just another month on the calendar.
A Month of Divine Appointments
The text highlights the arrival of the seventh month, known as Tisri. This wasn't a random time; it was packed with significance in the Jewish calendar.
This timing shows God's intentionality. As the people re-established themselves, their first actions were directed by divine appointments, preparing them for worship and remembrance.
They had been scattered in exile. Now, they returned. What does 'gathered as one man' truly reveal about their unity?
Unity in Purpose and Heart
The phrase 'as one man' doesn't necessarily mean every single individual was present. Instead, it speaks powerfully to a profound sense of unity in their purpose and spirit.
Understand the original words
chodesh shebi'iy · Hebrew Noun
The seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, Tishri, which was deeply significant for its cycle of holy convocations, including the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths.
The return from exile wasn't an immediate return to grand worship, but a deliberate, step-by-step restoration beginning with the altar, even before the Temple itself. This timing aligns with the sacred seventh month, rich with Israel's most significant festivals, highlighting their deep spiritual longing and desire to re-center their lives around God's presence despite challenging circumstances.
c. 539 BC
Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon
The Persian Empire, under Cyrus, overtakes the Babylonian Empire. This conquest soon leads to the Edict of Cyrus, allowing exiled peoples, including the Jews, to return to their homelands.
538 BC
Cyrus's Edict of Return
King Cyrus issues a decree permitting the Jewish exiles in Babylon to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple. This marks the beginning of the First Return.
c. 537-536 BC
First Return of the Exiles
A large group of Jewish exiles, led by Zerubbabel and Jeshua the high priest, journeys back to Jerusalem from Babylon.
c. 536 BC— this verse
Rebuilding the Altar
Upon their arrival and settling into their ancestral towns, the returning exiles, in the seventh month (Tisri), gather in Jerusalem to re-establish the altar for burnt offerings.
This passage uses the same powerful phrase, 'as one man,' to describe the unified action of the people, highlighting the intensity and singular purpose of their gathering in Ezra 3:1.
Nehemiah 8:1Here, the people also gather 'as one man' in Jerusalem, this time to hear the Law read. It shows a recurring pattern of unified spiritual response from the people of God in pivotal moments after their return from exile.
Psalm 81:3This psalm speaks of blowing the trumpet on the New Moon and on the Full Moon, especially for the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month. This connects to Ezra's timing, showing the ancient significance of this month for communal worship and celebration.
Leviticus 23:34-43This chapter details the Feast of Tabernacles, which occurred in the seventh month. The people gathering in Ezra 3:1 were preparing for and celebrating this important festival, demonstrating their commitment to God's appointed times.
henryEzra 3:1-7: "And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem."
3:1-7 From the proceedings of the Jews on their arrival, let us learn to begin with God, and to do what we can in the worship of God, when we cannot do what we would. They could not at once have a temple, but they would not be without an altar. Fear of danger should stir us to our duty. Have we many enemies? Then it is good to have Go…
clarkeEzra 3:1: "And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem."
When the seventh month was come - The month Tisri, which answers to the latter part of our September, and beginning of October. It seems that the Israelites had left Babylon about the spring of the year; that on their arrival at Jerusalem they constructed themselves huts and sheds to lodge in among the ruins, in which they must have spe…
The phrase "as one man" isn't about unanimity of opinion, but a powerful, unified action despite having just settled into their new towns. It highlights their immediate priority: to re-establish communal worship and altar even before the Temple itself was rebuilt.
The exiles have returned to Judah, settling into their respective towns after years in Babylon. As the significant seventh month of the Jewish calendar approached, a month filled with crucial religious festivals, the people came together with unified purpose, gathering in Jerusalem. This gathering sets the stage for their recommitment to God and the rebuilding of their community's spiritual life, beginning with the altar and the observance of sacred feasts before the temple itself is rebuilt.
The exiles have returned to Judah, settling into their respective towns after years in Babylon. As the significant seventh month of the Jewish calendar approached, a month filled with crucial religious festivals, the people came together with unified purpose, gathering in Jerusalem. This gathering sets the stage for their recommitment to God and the rebuilding of their community's spiritual life, beginning with the altar and the observance of sacred feasts before the temple itself is rebuilt.
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They arrived back to devastation. What drove them to immediately seek God instead of focusing solely on rebuilding their lives?
Worship as the First Foundation
Even though the temple lay in ruins and they were in the process of settling into new (or old, but ruined) towns, their immediate action was to gather for worship and prepare an altar.
c. 536 BC
Feast of Tabernacles Celebrated
Following the re-establishment of the altar, the people observe the Feast of Tabernacles, a major pilgrimage festival, despite the absence of the Temple.
c. 536-535 BC
Laying the Temple Foundation
With the altar functional and festivals observed, the returned exiles begin the foundational work for rebuilding the Temple, accompanied by mixed emotions of joy and sorrow.
"When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem." — The phrase "as one man" isn't about unanimity of opinion, but a powerful, unified action despite having just settled into their new towns. It highlights their immediate priority: to re-establish co…
