Who is…
Zerubbabel
also known as: Zorobabel and Sheshbazzar (his Persian name)
Persia (Iran)—What is its significance in the Bible?Hebrew: זְרֻבָּבֶל —transliteration: Zerubbabel —meaning: seed of Babylon; begotten in Babylon
He is a prince of the Kingdom of Judah, a prominent royal descendant of King David through Solomon and Jeconiah. He never became a king because of the “curse” on Jeconiah’s line for sitting on the throne. However this did not extinguish the Davidic line itself; it was bypassed or fulfilled in the Messiah. He was recognized as the royal leader of the returned exiles, and a pivotal figure in the restoration of worship and hope afterward.
His name is spelled “Zorobabel” in Matthew 1:12 KJV, but not in more modern English translations, including the New King James Version (Matt. 1:12 NKJV).
Prince Zerubbabel is called the son of Salathiel or Shealtiel in Haggai 1:1. However, in Chronicles he is called the son of Pedaiah (1 Chronicles 3:17-19). Both are true, according to the frequent Hebrew usage of the word “son.” He was a grandson or nephew of Salathiel, and the son of Pedaiah.
Zerubbabel is also known by the Persian name of Sheshbazzar (Ezra 1:8, 11).
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, he led the first band of Jews, numbering 42,360 (Ezra 2:64), exclusive of a large number of servants, who returned from captivity at the close of the 70 years of the Captivity.
Zerubbabel is closely associated with the high priest who returned with him, Joshua (Jeshua) son of Jehozadak (Jozadak).
In the 2nd year after the Return, he erected an altar and laid the foundation of the Second Temple on the ruins of that which had been destroyed by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar (Ezra 3:8-13; Ezra 4-6).
All through the reconstuction work, he occupied a prominent place, because he was a descendant of the royal line of David.
As governor (peḥâ) of the Persian province of Yehud (Judea), Zerubbabel held civil authority. The arrangement was a form of diarchy: he handled political/governmental matters while Joshua handled religious ones. He was not an independent king—the Davidic monarchy had ended with the exile—but he was the highest-ranking Davidic descendant and de facto head of the Jewish community.
This prince is listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ…
KING DAVID → King Solomon → King Rehoboam → King Abijah (Abijam) → King Asa → King Jehoshaphat → King Jehoram (Joram) → King Ahaziah (Uzziah) → King Jotham → King Ahaz → King Hezekiah → King Manasseh → King Amon → King Josiah → Jeconiah (Jechonias, Jehoiachin, Jekonjah, Coniah, Neri) → Prince Shealtiel → Prince Zerubbabel → Abiud (Abihud) → Governor Eliakim → Azor → Zadok → Achim → Eliud → Eleazar → Matthan → Jacob → JOSEPH, the adoptive, legal father of Jesus Christ
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