According to the biblical narrative, Zerubbabel () was a governor of the Achaemenid Empire's province of Yehud and the grandson of Jeconiah, penultimate king of Judah. Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian captivity in the first year of Cyrus the Great, the king of the Achaemenid Empire. The date is generally thought to have been between 538 and 520 BC. Zerubbabel also laid the foundation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem soon after.
Etymology
Zerubabbel means seed of Babylon, showing how quickly the elites integrated into the Babylonian social structure.
Story
In all of the accounts in the Hebrew Bible that mention Zerubbabel, he is always associated with the high priest who returned with him, Joshua, son of Jozadak (Jehozadak). Together, these two men led the first wave of Jewish returnees from exile and began to rebuild the Temple. Old Testament theologian John Kessler describes the region of Judah as a small province that contained land extending 25 km from Jerusalem and was independently ruled prior to the Persian rule.
Appointed by Darius the Great, Zerubbabel was governor of Yehud province. It was after this appointment that Zerubbabel began to rebuild the Temple. Elias Bickerman speculates that one of the reasons that Zerubbabel was able to rebuild the Temple was because of "the widespread revolts at the beginning of the reign of Darius I in 522 BC, which preoccupied him to such a degree that Zerubbabel felt he could initiate the rebuilding of the temple without repercussions".
Zerubbabel and the Davidic Line
The Davidic line from Jeconiah had been cursed by Jeremiah, saying that no offspring of "Coniah" would sit on the throne (Jeremiah 22:30). However, Zerubbabel was of the main Davidic line through Solomon and Jeconiah.
The prophets Zechariah and Haggai both give unclear statements regarding Zerubbabel's authority in their oracles, in which Zerubbabel was either the subject of a false prophecy or the receiver of a divine promotion to kingship. He could also be viewed as a governor of a state within another nation and thus technically "not on the throne" of a nation. Either way, he was given the task of rebuilding the Temple in the second year of the reign of Darius I (520 BC), along with the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak.
Muslim historian Ya'qubi attributed the recovery of the Torah and the Books of the Prophets to him instead of Ezra. The Seder Olam Zutta lists him as the Exilarch in Babylon to succeed Shealtiel. Several Old Testament texts (see subsection) are conflicting as to whether Zerubbabel was the son or nephew of Shealtiel. His son Meshullam succeeded him as Exilarch, and was followed by another son Hananiah. His other sons were Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah and Jushab-hesed (). He also had a daughter called Shelomith ().
Zerubbabel may have had a Babylonian style name because of his interaction with the Babylonian court.
Sheshbazzar
The Book of Ezra begins with Cyrus the Great entrusting the Temple vessels to Sheshbazzar (, "prince of Judah", probably from ); this apparently important figure disappears from the story entirely after being named in and , and Zerubbabel is abruptly introduced as the main figure. Both are called governors of Judah and are both credited with laying the foundation of the Temple. A number of explanations have been proposed, including: (1) the two are the same person; (2) Sheshbazzar was in fact Shenazzar (probably from ), Zerubabbel's uncle (mentioned in the Books of Chronicles); (3) Sheshbazzar began the work and Zerubbabel finished it.
In the Hebrew Bible
In the Prophets (Nevi'im) Zerubbabel appears in the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah.
The Prophecy of Haggai
"'On that day, says the Lord of Hosts, I will take you Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, my servant, and wear you like a signet ring; for it is you whom I have chosen. This is the word of the Lord of Hosts'" ().
This quotation from the Book of Haggai illustrates the messianic expectations that are often associated with Zerubbabel. The term, "my servant," describes Zerubbabel as God's servant. This term is often associated with King David. Walter Rose concludes that the fact that "the epithet 'servant' is hardly ever used for kings after David may be related to the fact that most of them were disappointing in their performance as kings appointed by YHVH". Rose emphasizes that the author of the Book of Haggai is associating Zerubbabel with King David.