Ezra 4:18

4:18 The letter you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence.

Ezra 5:7

5:7 The report they sent to him was written as follows: ¹ 

“To King Darius: All greetings! ² 

Ezra 4:11

4:11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent to him:)

“To King Artaxerxes, ³  from your servants in ⁴  Trans-Euphrates:

Ezra 5:6

5:6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and his colleagues who were the officials of Trans-Euphrates sent to King Darius.

Ezra 4:17

4:17 The king sent the following response:

“To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and other parts of Trans-Euphrates: Greetings! ⁵ 

Ezra 6:13

The Temple Is Finally Dedicated

6:13 Then Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues acted accordingly – with precision, just as Darius the king had given instructions. ⁶ 

Ezra 4:14

4:14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, ⁷  and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, ⁸  we are sending the king this information ⁹ 

Ezra 5:17

5:17 “Now if the king is so inclined, ¹⁰  let a search be conducted in the royal archives ¹¹  there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter.”

Ezra 4:7-8

4:7 And during the reign ¹²  of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, ¹³  Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues ¹⁴  wrote to King Artaxerxes ¹⁵  of Persia. This letter ¹⁶  was first written in Aramaic but then translated.

[Aramaic:] ¹⁷ 

4:8 Rehum the commander ¹⁸  and Shimshai the scribe ¹⁹  wrote a letter concerning ²⁰  Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

Ezra 5:5

5:5 But God was watching over ²¹  the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped ²²  until a report could be dispatched ²³  to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.

Ezra 6:6

6:6 “Now Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials of Trans-Euphrates – all of you stay far away from there!

Ezra 4:6

Official Complaints Are Lodged Against the Jews

4:6 ²⁴ At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus ²⁵  they filed an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ 

Ezra 7:11

Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission

7:11 What follows ²⁷  is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. ²⁸  Ezra was ²⁹  a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:

Ezra 8:19

8:19 and Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, 20 men,

Ezra 8:17

8:17 I sent them to Iddo, who was the leader in the place called Casiphia. I told them ³⁰  what to say to Iddo and his relatives, ³¹  who were the temple servants in ³²  Casiphia, so they would bring us attendants for the temple of our God.

Ezra 4:23

4:23 Then, as soon as the copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read in the presence of Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they proceeded promptly to the Jews in Jerusalem ³³  and stopped them with threat of armed force. ³⁴ 

Ezra 8:16

8:16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, ³⁵  Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers.

Ezra 8:18

8:18 Due to the fact that the good hand of our God was on us, they brought us a skilled man, from the descendants of Mahli the son of Levi son of Israel. This man was Sherebiah, ³⁶  who was accompanied by his sons and brothers, ³⁷  18 men,

Ezra 3:7

Preparations for Rebuilding the Temple

3:7 So they provided money ³⁸  for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and olive oil for the people of Sidon ³⁹  and Tyre, ⁴⁰  so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the seaport ⁴¹  at Joppa, in accord with the edict of King Cyrus of Persia.

Ezra 4:12

4:12 Now ⁴²  let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city. ⁴³  They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations.

Ezra 6:3

6:3 In the first year of his reign, ⁴⁴  King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ⁴⁵  ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. ⁴⁶  Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety ⁴⁷  feet, ⁴⁸ 

[5:7]  ¹ tn Aram “and it was written in its midst.”

[5:7]  ² tn Aram “all peace.”

[4:11]  ³ tn The Masoretic accents indicate that the phrase “to Artaxerxes the king” goes with what precedes and that the letter begins with the words “from your servants.” But it seems better to understand the letter to begin by identifying the addressee.

[4:11]  ⁴ tn Aram “men of.”

[4:17]  ⁵ tn Aram “peace.”

[6:13]  ⁶ tn Aram “sent.”

[4:14]  ⁷ tn Aram “we eat the salt of the palace.”

[4:14]  ⁸ tn Aram “the dishonor of the king is not fitting for us to see.”

[4:14]  ⁹ tn Aram “and we have made known.”

[5:17]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “if upon the king it is good.”

[5:17]  ¹¹ tn Aram “the house of the treasures of the king.”

[4:7]  ¹² tn Heb “And in the days.”

[4:7]  ¹³ tn The LXX understands this word as a prepositional phrase (“in peace”) rather than as a proper name (“Bishlam”). Taken this way it would suggest that Mithredath was “in agreement with” the contents of Tabeel’s letter. Some scholars regard the word in the MT to be a corruption of either “in Jerusalem” (i.e., “in the matter of Jerusalem”) or “in the name of Jerusalem.” The translation adopted above follows the traditional understanding of the word as a name.

[4:7]  ¹⁴ tc The translation reads the plural with the Qere rather than the singular found in the MT Kethib.

[4:7]  ¹⁵ sn Artaxerxes I ruled in Persia from ca. 465–425 b.c.

[4:7]  ¹⁶ tc It is preferable to delete the MT’s וּכְתָב (ukhÿtav) here.

[4:7]  ¹⁷ sn The double reference in v. 7 to the Aramaic language is difficult. It would not make sense to say that the letter was written in Aramaic and then translated into Aramaic. Some interpreters understand the verse to mean that the letter was written in the Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language, but this does not seem to give sufficient attention to the participle “translated” at the end of the verse. The second reference to Aramaic in the verse is more probably a gloss that calls attention to the fact that the following verses retain the Aramaic language of the letter in its original linguistic form. A similar reference to Aramaic occurs in Dan 2:4b, where the language of that book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. Ezra 4:8–6:18 and 7:12-26 are written in Aramaic, whereas the rest of the book is written in Hebrew.

[4:8]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.

[4:8]  ¹⁹ sn Like Rehum, Shimshai was apparently a fairly high-ranking official charged with overseeing Persian interests in this part of the empire. His title was “scribe” or “secretary,” but in a more elevated political sense than that word sometimes has elsewhere. American governmental titles such as “Secretary of State” perhaps provide an analogy in that the word “secretary” can have a broad range of meaning.

[4:8]  ²⁰ tn Or perhaps “against.”

[5:5]  ²¹ tn Aram “the eye of their God was on.” The idiom describes the attentive care that one exercises in behalf of the object of his concern.

[5:5]  ²² tn Aram “they did not stop them.”

[5:5]  ²³ tn Aram “[could] go.” On this form see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 58, §169.

[4:6]  ²⁴ sn The chronological problems of Ezra 4:6-24 are well known and have been the subject of extensive discussion since ancient times. Both v. 5 and v. 24 describe the reign of Darius I Hystaspes, who ruled Persia ca. 522–486 b.c. and in whose time the rebuilt temple was finished. The material in between is from later times (v. 16 describes the rebuilding of the walls, not the temple), and so appear to be a digression. Even recognizing this, there are still questions, such as why Cambyses (530-522 b.c.) is not mentioned at all, and why events from the time of Xerxes (486-465 b.c.) and Artaxerxes (464-423 b.c.) are included here if the author was discussing opposition to the building of the temple, which was finished in 516 b.c. Theories to explain these difficulties are too numerous to mention here, but have existed since ancient times: Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, rearranged the account to put Cambyses before Xerxes and replacing Artaxerxes with Xerxes (for further discussion of Josephus’ rearrangement see L. L. Grabbe, “Josephus and the Reconstruction of the Judean Restoration” JBL 106 [1987]: 231-46). In brief, it seems best to view the author’s primary concern here as thematic (the theme of opposition to the Jewish resettlement in Jerusalem, including the rebuilding of the temple and restoration of Jerusalem’s walls) rather than purely chronological. In the previous verses the author had shown how the Jews had rejected an offer of assistance from surrounding peoples and how these people in turn harassed them. The inserted account shows how, in light of the unremitting opposition the Jews experienced (even extending down to more recent times), this refusal of help had been fully justified. Some of the documents the author employed show how this opposition continued even after the temple was rebuilt. (The failure to mention Cambyses may simply mean the author had no documents available from that period.) For detailed discussion of the difficulties presented by the passage and the various theories advanced to explain them, see H. G. M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah (WBC), 56-60.

[4:6]  ²⁵ sn Ahasuerus, otherwise known as Xerxes I, ruled ca. 486-464 b.c.

[4:6]  ²⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “this.”

[7:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.

[7:11]  ²⁹ tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[8:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “I placed in their mouth words.”

[8:17]  ³¹ tc The translation reads with the LXX and Vulgate וְאֶחָיו (vÿ’ekhayv, “and his brethren” = “relatives”; so NCV, NLT) rather than the reading אָחִיו (’akhiyv, “his brother”) of the MT.

[8:17]  ³² tn Heb “in the place called.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:23]  ³³ tn Aram “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”

[4:23]  ³⁴ tn Aram “by force and power,” a hendiadys.

[8:16]  ³⁵ tc The name “Elnathan” occurs twice in this list. Some, assuming an accidental repetition, would include it only once (cf. NAB).

[8:18]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and Sherebiah.” The words “this man was” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:18]  ³⁷ tn Or “relatives” (so CEV; NRSV “kin”); also in v. 19.

[3:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “silver.”

[3:7]  ³⁹ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[3:7]  ⁴⁰ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[3:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “to the sea”

[4:12]  ⁴² tn The MT takes this word with the latter part of v. 11, but in English style it fits better with v. 12.

[4:12]  ⁴³ sn Management of the provinces that were distantly removed from the capital was difficult, and insurrection in such places was a perennial problem. The language used in this report about Jerusalem (i.e., “rebellious,” “odious”) is intentionally inflammatory. It is calculated to draw immediate attention to the perceived problem.

[6:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Aram “In the first year of Cyrus the king.”

[6:3]  ⁴⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Aram “raised”; or perhaps “retained” (so NASB; cf. NLT), referring to the original foundations of Solomon’s temple.

[6:3]  ⁴⁷ tc The Syriac Peshitta reads “twenty cubits” here, a measurement probably derived from dimensions given elsewhere for Solomon’s temple. According to 1 Kgs 6:2 the dimensions of the Solomonic temple were as follows: length, 60 cubits; width, 20 cubits; height, 30 cubits. Since one would expect the dimensions cited in Ezra 6:3 to correspond to those of Solomon’s temple, it is odd that no dimension for length is provided. The Syriac has apparently harmonized the width dimension provided here (“twenty cubits”) to that given in 1 Kgs 6:2.

[6:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Aram “Its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.