Research source

VI. JUDAH AND ISRAEL The Division of the Kingdom Jeroboam The Two Ahijabs Asa Jehoshaphat and Ahab J

Date of account: Modern scholarly compilation of much earlier traditions, published 1913
Source: The Legends of the Jews — Volume 4
Reference: The Legends of the Jews — Volume 4 · selected passage 126
Rights: public_domain
Language: English translation and synthesis from rabbinic sources
Translation: Henrietta Szold; compiled by Louis Ginzberg
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

He had various reasons for giving a gorgeous feast

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

He had various reasons for giving a gorgeous feast. The third year of his reign was the seventieth since the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's rule, and Ahasuerus thought it quite certain that the time had passed for the fulfilment of the prophecy of Jeremiah foretelling the return of Israel to the Holy Land. The Temple was still in ruins, and Ahasuerus was convinced that the Jewish kingdom would never again be restored. Needless to say, it was not Jeremiah who erred. Not with the accession of King Nebuchadnezzar had the prophet's term of years begun, but with the destruction of Jerusalem. Reckoned in this way, the seventy years of desolation were at an end exactly at the time when Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, permitted the rebuilding of the Temple.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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