John Gill Commentary Ezra 4:1

"Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple unto Jehovah, the God of Israel;" — Ezra 4:1 (ASV)

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin
The Samaritans, as appears from (Ezra 4:2Ezra 4:10) ,

heard that the children of the captivity ;
the Jews, who had been in captivity seventy years, and were just come out of it, and still were not quite free, but under the jurisdiction and control of the king of Persia:

built the temple unto the Lord God of Israel ;
that they were going about it, and had laid the foundation of it, which might soon come to their ears, the distance not being very great. Josephus ^F3 says they heard the sound of the trumpets, and came to know the meaning of it.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F3: Antiqu. l. 11. c. 4. sect. 3.