Zerubbabel
| Zerubbabel | |
|---|---|
Zerubbabel and Cyrus (1650s) by Jacob van Loo; Zerubbabel (left) shows the Persian king Cyrus the Great the plan for a rebuilt Jerusalem | |
| Leader of the House of David | |
| Predecessor | Shealtiel, his father |
| Successor | Line Lost |
| Governor of Judea | |
| Predecessor | Sheshbazzar |
| Successor | Elnathan |
| Prince of Judah | |
| Predecessor | Shealtiel, his father |
| Successor | Meshullam |
| Born | c. 587–539 BC Babylon |
| Died | unknown |
| Issue | Meshullam Hananiah Shelomith Hashubah Ohel Berechiah Hasadiah Jushab-hesed Rhesa (New Testament) Abihud (NT) |
| House | House of David |
| Father | Shealtiel or Pedaiah |
Zerubbabel (Biblical Hebrew: זְרֻבָּבֶל, romanized: Zerubbāḇel from Akkadian: 𒆰𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠, romanized: Zērubābili) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a governor of the Achaemenid Empire's province of Yehud Medinata and the grandson of Jeconiah, penultimate king of Judah. He is not documented in extra-biblical documents, and is considered by Sarah Schulz of the University of Erlangen–Nuremberg as historically plausible, but probably not an actual governor of the province, much like Nehemiah.
In the biblical narrative, Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian captivity in the first year of Cyrus the Great, the king of the Achaemenid Empire. The date is generally thought to have been between 538 and 520 BC. Zerubbabel also laid the foundation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem soon after. In the New Testament he is included in the genealogy of Jesus.