How did the temple work continue while the governors questioned its authority?

The prophets Aggeus and Zacharias the son of Addo began to prophesy to the Jewish people residing in Judea and Jerusalem, speaking in the name of the God of Israel. Prompted by their message, Zorobabel the son of Salathiel and Josue the son of Josedec rose up and resumed the construction of the house of God in Jerusalem, with the prophets standing beside them and assisting the work.

During that time, Thathanai, the imperial governor of the region beyond the river, arrived on the scene accompanied by Stharbuzanai and their administrative counselors. They questioned the builders directly, demanding to know who had authorized them to erect the structure and restore its surrounding walls. In response to this inquiry, the Jewish leaders provided the specific names of the men directing the building effort.

Because the watchful eye of God remained over the elders of the Jews, the Persian officials did not halt the construction. Instead, both parties agreed to submit the matter to King Darius, deferring any final resolution until the imperial court could review the accusation and receive their formal explanation.

Thathanai, Stharbuzanai, and their fellow counselors among the Arphasachites living beyond the river subsequently drafted an official dispatch to King Darius wishing him complete peace. In the letter, they reported that upon inspecting the province of Judea, they discovered the Jewish elders constructing the house of the great God using unpolished stones and laying timber into the walls. The governors noted that the project was proceeding with great diligence and advancing under the hands of the workers.

The letter explained that the Persian officials had interrogated the elders about who granted them authority to build the sanctuary and repair its walls, and had recorded the names of their leading men to inform the king. According to the report, the Jewish leaders identified themselves as servants of the God of heaven and earth. They explained that they were rebuilding a sacred edifice originally constructed many generations earlier by a renowned king of Israel. They acknowledged that when their ancestors provoked the God of heaven to anger, He handed them over to Nabuchodonosor the Chaldean king of Babylon, who demolished the sanctuary and exiled the population.

The elders further testified that in his first year as ruler of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a formal decree ordering this house of God to be reconstructed. Cyrus also removed from the Babylonian temple the sacred gold and silver vessels that Nabuchodonosor had plundered from Jerusalem, entrusting them to a governor named Sassabasar. Cyrus commanded Sassabasar to carry the sacred vessels back to Jerusalem and restore the house of God on its original site. Sassabasar then laid the temple's foundations, and the work had continued from that time down to the present without yet reaching completion.

Concluding their report, Thathanai and his associates requested that King Darius order a search of the royal archives in Babylon to determine whether King Cyrus had indeed issued a decree authorizing the rebuilding of the house of God in Jerusalem. They asked the monarch to communicate his royal decision and pleasure regarding the matter.