Finding Deuteronomy’s Law of Vows in the Mouth of Zerubbabel

This study identifies and explains the significance of an overlooked allusion from Zerubbabel’s request to King Darius in 1 Esdras 4:43–46 to the law of vows in Deuteronomy 23:22–24 MT [vv. 21–23 ET ]. On the basis of lexical and syntactical evidence, I argue that the author of Zerubbabel’s request alluded to the Deuteronomic law as part of the author’s attempt to exalt Zerubbabel as a hero of the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. This first argument also has ramifications for understanding the nature of King Darius’s vow, which is commonly interpreted as a vow made at Darius’s coronation but which is more likely a pre-coronation vow.