and dedicated (Ezra 6:13–18). Shortly afterward the people celebrate by keeping the Passover festival (6:19–22). The temple is now rebuilt, but it clearly does not measure up to what the prophets had foretold. Besides the obvious discrepancy in the dimensions of the temple itself, two additional observations in particular make this clear. First, the celebration marking the rebuilt temple pales in comparison to the one celebrating Solomon’s temple. Whereas Solomon’s temple was dedicated with the sacrifice
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