Synopsis of the Chapter
The prophets Haggai and Zechariah exhort the Jews to resume the building of the temple; concerning which matter, the king's governors consult Darius as to whether this is agreeable to him.
Verse 1: Zechariah the Son of Iddo ¶
1. Zechariah the son of Iddo — "Son" here means grandson, as is clear from Zechariah I, 1. For the Hebrews call any descendants "sons," as is clear from Matthew I, 1; Judith VIII, 1, and elsewhere.
Verse 5: The Eye of Their God ¶
5. But the eye of their God — meaning: The divine providence, grace, and favor (for a benign eye is the sign and symbol of this, with which God looked upon the Jews) toward the Jews was at work in this, that God Himself put it into the mind of Tattenai the governor not to impede the building of the temple and city, even though he had not yet consulted Darius — indeed, to write to Darius in a manner favorable to the Jews, and that Darius upon reading his letter would grant permission for the temple to be restored. For none of the enemies opposed the Jews, and Darius was well-disposed toward the Jews through the efforts of Zerubbabel, who was a courtier of Darius, as I said. A similar expression occurs in VII, 6, and Exodus XII, 36, and Numbers VI, 25.
Note: Sacred Scripture attributes eyes, ears, arms, and feet to God, not truly and properly, as the Anthropomorphites held, who believed God had a body (which Tertullian also seems to have thought, though Pamelius excuses him), as attested by St. Epiphanius and St. Augustine regarding their heresy; but metaphorically, to accommodate Himself to human understanding and to signify the attributes of God through human actions and members — namely, through eyes, that He sees all things; through ears, that He hears all things; through arms, that He can do all things; through feet, that He is supremely stable, constant, and eternal. So says St. Eucherius, On Spiritual Formulas, chapter II.
Verse 11: A Great King of Israel ¶
11. A great king of Israel — great in wisdom, riches, dominion, fame, and glory, namely Solomon.
Verse 15: Take These Vessels and Put Them in the Temple ¶
15. Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built. — This is a hysteron-proteron, or reversed order: for the house of God or temple had to be built first before the vessels taken by the Chaldeans could be placed in it, as Cajetan notes. Or rather, by "temple" understand the site and the treasury near the temple already burned — for in this the vessels and gifts of the temple were placed and kept.
Verse 17: In the Royal Archives ¶
17. In the royal archives — The Chaldean reads bebet ginzaia, that is, as the Septuagint has it, "in the house of treasures" or the royal treasury, where there was an archive — not of philosophical books, but of records and documents pertaining especially to finances, expenditures (for example, those which Cyrus had made for the temple, chapter VI, 8), revenues, and monetary affairs. So says Vatablus. Likewise, the authentic originals of royal laws and decrees were preserved there.