The Temple was actually consecrated because Ezra did not arrive at the time, for had Ezra arrived then, Satan would have filed accusations against the Jews, arguing that Ezra would better serve as high priest than Jeshua ben Jehozadak. This is because even though Jeshua ben Jehozadak would have been a high priest son of a high priest, Ezra was more righteous than he (Song of Songs Rabbah 5:2).
Emden concedes, however, that from a simple reading of the Tanakh it is evident that Jeshua ben Jehozadak was the kohen gadol, not Ezra, and that the succession was in a direct line through his male descendants for generations.
Seraiah's older brother Jehozadak was the firstborn, and it was therefore Jehozadak's son, Jeshua, who inherited the position of high priest.
20 he writes that Ezra, the first high priest, was succeeded by Jeshua ben Jehozadak. See also Nahalat Avot (New York City: Zilberman, 1953) p.
