Ezra 5:9

So we questioned the elders and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Tattenai the governor and his associates address the Persian king after inspecting the Jewish construction site in Judah (Ezra 5:3, 5:8). They transition from reporting the work’s progress to demanding legal accountability from the local leadership.

The words — The Aramaic verb שְׁאֵ֙לְנָא (she.'E.le.na') translates literally as "we asked," followed by מַן (man) meaning "who?" and שָׂ֨ם (sam) meaning "did he make." These terms frame the inquiry as a formal request for authorization rather than a casual conversation.

The thread — The officials’ demand for written records of leadership and project oversight continues directly into Ezra 5:10. This procedural focus mirrors other Persian administrative inspections that required documented royal decrees before permitting religious construction.

Why it lands — The text records a bureaucratic checkpoint that forces the builders to produce legal proof of their mandate. A reader must confront the reality that religious work in a foreign empire required explicit governmental approval, not merely religious conviction.

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The Hebrew words

אֱדַ֗יִן'e.Da.yinthen שְׁאֵ֙לְנָא֙she.'E.le.na'we asked לְשָׂבַיָּ֣אle./sa.vai.Ya/'to/ elders/ the אִלֵּ֔ךְ'i.Lekhthese כְּנֵ֖מָאke.Ne.ma'as follows אֲמַ֣רְנָא'a.Mar.na'we saidלְּהֹ֑םle./Homto/ themמַן־man-who?שָׂ֨םsamdid he makeלְכֹ֜םle./Khomfor/ youטְעֵ֗םte.'Ema decree בַּיְתָ֤אbay.Ta/'house/ the דְנָה֙de.Nahthis לְמִבְנְיָ֔הle./miv.ne.Yahto/ build וְאֻשַּׁרְנָ֥אve./'u.shar.Na/'and/ structure/ the דְנָ֖הde.Nahthis לְשַׁכְלָלָֽה׃le./shakh.la.Lahto/ finish

King James Version

Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls?

Cross-references

Ezra 5:3 At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”