In the second year. — The second year of Cyrus, B.C. 537, was their second year in the holy place.
In the second month. — Zif, chosen apparently because it was the same month in which Solomon laid the first foundation (1 Kings 6).
Appointed the Levites, from twenty years. — Their appointment to superintend, and their specified age, are in strict harmony with the original ordinances of David (1 Chronicles 23).