Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin. (See 1 Chronicles 3:16–18 for the family tree of the descendants of King David.) Jehoiachin was the son of King Zedekiah. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah who reigned in 587 BC when Babylon came to destroy Jerusalem. Haggai 1:1 mentions that Zerubbabel was a governor of the Persian province of Judah in the time when the Temple was finally rebuilt (520–515 BC). As governor he was responsible for maintaining law and order and collecting taxes.1 Zerubbabel is listed in Jesus' genealogy as found in Matthew 1:13/Luke 3:27.
2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.