Zerubbabel

The governor of the people of Israel who returned to Jerusalem between 539 and 529 BC after many years of exile in Babylon. Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin and was charged with rebuilding the temple. The prophets Zechariah and Haggai had to keep encouraging Zerubbabel and the high priest Jeshua to get the work done. However, soon after they began, the work was halted by the king of Babylon. Twenty years later, in 520 BC, Zechariah and another prophet, Haggai, encouraged the Israelites to go back to their work on the temple. Four years later, in 516 or 515 BC, the temple was completed.