And he wrote letters to all the governors in Coelesyria and Phoenicia and to those in Lebanon, to bring cedar timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem …: It is not clear in this verse how many letters were composed, as opposed to copies of letters. Our model of this verse below avoids this problem. This letter (or letters) is addressed to the officials in the immediate area of Judah, and concerns the aid that they must give to the Jews after they arrive in Judah. For Coelesyria and Phoenicia, see the comments on 1 Esd 2.17. Lebanon was an area to the north of the old northern kingdom of Israel, roughly equivalent to the modern nation of Lebanon. Cedar timber, that is, wood from cedar trees, was an important product of Lebanon. Cedar trees could grow as tall as 30 meters (100 feet), which made them ideal for use as lumber. Cedar from Lebanon had been used for the construction of the first Temple when Solomon was king. Translators may wish to consult their translation of 1 Kings, where the word is often used (see, for example, 1 Kgs 4.33; 5.6, 8, 10; 6.9-10; see also 1 Chr 22.4).

And to help him build the city: The pronoun him refers to Zerubbabel, which Good News Bible makes clear by rendering this clause as “and help Zerubbabel rebuild the city.”

Here is an alternative model for this verse:

• The king also sent letters to the governors of the province of Phoenicia and Southwest Syria, and to those in Lebanon. Here are the instructions he gave in these letters: The officials were to provide Zerubbabel with wood from the cedar forests in Lebanon, and help him rebuild Jerusalem.

Translators should make no attempt to harmonize this account in 1 Esdras with the corresponding account in Neh 2.1-8, in which Artaxerxes (not Darius) authorizes Nehemiah (not Zerubbabel) to proceed with the reconstruction of Jerusalem.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.