The Kings Artaxerxes (probably Artaxerxes I) and Darius (probably Darius II) who like Cyrus bore the title King of Kings10, took the same stance. Most likely after the Haman affair, they, too, recommended freewill offerings for "the house of their [=the Jews'] God which is in Jerusalem" (Ezra 6:8,9; 7:11-20). Whether those freewill offerings to be given by an unprepared Gentile population were substantial, or scanty, allowing only for a modest building in comparison to the First Temple (vs. Haggai 2:3), is not the question here. Remarkable is the attitude of these kings (more on that see below in chapter "Addendum").
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