Favor · the best way to learn the Bible
Ezra 3 Bible study: The foundation laid
Ezra 3 puts the altar before the house: the offerings began while "the foundation of the LORD’s temple was not yet laid" (3:6). When it was laid, they sang the song sung at the first house, "For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel" (3:11), and weeping and shouting were so mixed that no one could tell them apart (3:13).
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the words behind the words, what most readers miss, and how it all leads to Jesus.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
“They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to the LORD, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the LORD’s house had been laid.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In Ezra 3, burnt offerings were offered to the LORD before the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid.”
Is that in Ezra 3, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
The altar, before the house
The people come to Jerusalem "as one man" (3:1), and the first thing they build is not the house. "Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up with his brothers the priests and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his relatives, and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God" (3:2) (tap altar, burnt offerings). They do it "In spite of their fear because of the peoples of the surrounding lands" (3:3) (tap fear), and they offer "burnt offerings morning and evening" (3:3); the law had said of the altar, "The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other lamb you shall offer at evening" (Exodus 29:39). They keep "the feast of booths, as it is written" (3:4), and "afterward the continual burnt offering" (3:5). Then the chapter says plainly what was still missing: "From the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD; but the foundation of the LORD’s temple was not yet laid" (3:6) (tap laid, temple). The offerings began before the foundation was laid. Twice the chapter says they did it "as it is written" (3:2, 3:4).
Where it leads to Jesus
Returned to give glory to God
Ezra 3:11leads toLuke 17:17-18
"They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to the LORD" (3:11), and "All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the LORD’s house had been laid" (3:11). When ten lepers were cleansed (Luke 17:12-14), "One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice" (Luke 17:15), and "He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks" (Luke 17:16). Jesus answered, "Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17), "Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" (Luke 17:18). Jesus doesn't cite Ezra 3, and no link between the Hebrew and Greek words is claimed, so setting the two side by side is a reading, resting on a shared subject: giving God praise and thanks for what he has done. Some hear in Jesus' question the thing the people of 3:11 did, praising and thanking the LORD for the foundation laid. Others read Luke 17 in its own setting, one healed man of ten at Jesus' feet (Luke 17:16), and Ezra 3 as a people praising at a foundation "according to the directions of David king of Israel" (3:10), and don't look from one to the other.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Ezra 3
That was a taste
The rest of Ezra 3 is waiting in Favor
- Sung at the first house, sung again over a foundation
- Weeping and shouting, and no one could tell them apart
- Cedar by sea to Joppa, as for the first house
- "When the seventh month had come", twice
- 7 questions as you read
- 11 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Ezra 3 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
יָסַדyasadsay ya-SAD
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "establish, found, fix". Strong's: "to set (literally or figuratively); intensively, to found". The chapter uses it four times, and they are the only times the Hebrew of Ezra has it: "the foundation of the LORD’s temple was not yet laid" (3:6), "When the builders laid the foundation of the LORD’s temple" (3:10), "because the foundation of the LORD’s house had been laid" (3:11), and "when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes" (3:12). In each verse the WEB's "foundation" and "laid" together stand for this one Hebrew verb. The book of Zechariah uses it of Zerubbabel: "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house" (Zechariah 4:9), and the book of Haggai says "since the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid" (Haggai 2:18), with the same words for the LORD's temple and laid as 3:6. It is the verb of the first house too: "The foundation of the LORD’s house was laid" (1 Kings 6:37).
For your group
Ezra 3 Bible study questions
- 1They built the altar "In spite of their fear because of the peoples of the surrounding lands" (3:3). What fear are you carrying right now, and what would it look like to keep worshiping God in the middle of it this week?
- 2They praised the LORD when only the foundation was laid, before the house stood (3:11). What in your life is only a foundation so far, and what would it mean to thank God for it now?
- 3At the same foundation some wept and many shouted for joy, and no one could tell the sounds apart (3:12-13). How can your group make room for the ones who grieve and the ones who celebrate at the same time?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Ezra 3 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
Start a Bible studyThe best way to learn the Bible
Favor opens up every chapter as you read.
Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.
Every chapter explains itself
As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.
The Hebrew and Greek behind it
Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.
Every page leads to Jesus
Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.
Better together
Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.
- 1
Start your free week
Sign up in a minute with your email.
- 2
Read a few minutes a day
Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.
- 3
Bring your people, if you like
Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
How much does it cost?
Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Ezra 3 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Ezra 3 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
Start with Ezra 3
The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.
There's a seat for you at the table.
Start your free weekFirst week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home