Ezra 4:8

4:8 Rehum the commander ¹  and Shimshai the scribe ²  wrote a letter concerning ³  Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

Ezra 4:6-7

Official Complaints Are Lodged Against the Jews

4:6 ⁴ At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus ⁵  they filed an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶  4:7 And during the reign ⁷  of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, ⁸  Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues ⁹  wrote to King Artaxerxes ¹⁰  of Persia. This letter ¹¹  was first written in Aramaic but then translated.

[Aramaic:] ¹² 

Ezra 5:7

5:7 The report they sent to him was written as follows: ¹³ 

“To King Darius: All greetings! ¹⁴ 

Ezra 4:9

4:9 From ¹⁵  Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues – the judges, the rulers, the officials, the secretaries, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is, ¹⁶  the Elamites),

Ezra 6:2

6:2 A scroll was found in the citadel ¹⁷  of Ecbatana which is in the province of Media, and it was inscribed as follows:

“Memorandum:

Ezra 3:4

3:4 They observed the Festival of Temporary Shelters ¹⁸  as required ¹⁹  and offered the proper number of ²⁰  daily burnt offerings according to the requirement for each day.

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! ²¹ 

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 ²²  and stopped them with threat of armed force. ²³ 

Ezra 1:1

The Decree of Cyrus

1:1 ²⁴ In the first ²⁵  year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message ²⁶  spoken through ²⁷  Jeremiah, ²⁸  the Lord stirred the mind ²⁹  of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated ³⁰  a proclamation ³¹  throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict ³²  the following: ³³ 

Ezra 3:2

3:2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak ³⁴  and his priestly colleagues ³⁵  and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues ³⁶  started to build ³⁷  the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by ³⁸  the law of Moses the man of God.

Ezra 7:12

7:12 ³⁹ “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the perfect law of the God of heaven:

Ezra 8:34

8:34 Everything was verified ⁴⁰  by number and by weight, and the total weight was written down at that time.

Ezra 7:11

Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission

7:11 What follows ⁴¹  is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. ⁴²  Ezra was ⁴³  a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:

Ezra 7:21

7:21 “I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of ⁴⁴  Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you –

Ezra 6:18

6:18 They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, ⁴⁵  in accord with ⁴⁶  the book of Moses.

[4:8]  ¹ tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.

[4:8]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or perhaps “against.”

[4:6]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn Ahasuerus, otherwise known as Xerxes I, ruled ca. 486-464 b.c.

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

[4:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “And in the days.”

[4:7]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tc The translation reads the plural with the Qere rather than the singular found in the MT Kethib.

[4:7]  ¹⁰ sn Artaxerxes I ruled in Persia from ca. 465–425 b.c.

[4:7]  ¹¹ tc It is preferable to delete the MT’s וּכְתָב (ukhÿtav) here.

[4:7]  ¹² 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.

[5:7]  ¹³ tn Aram “and it was written in its midst.”

[5:7]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “all peace.”

[4:9]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “then.” What follows in v. 9 seems to be the preface of the letter, serving to identify the senders of the letter. The word “from” is not in the Aramaic text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:9]  ¹⁶ tn For the qere of the MT (דֶּהָיֵא, dehaye’, a proper name) it seems better to retain the Kethib דִּהוּא (dihu’, “that is”). See F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 25, §35; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 36.

[6:2]  ¹⁷ tc The translation reads בִירְתָא (birta’, citadel”) rather than the reading בְּבִירְתָא (bÿvireta’, “in the citadel”) found in the MT. The MT probably experienced dittography here.

[3:4]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew phrase אֶת חַג־הַסֻּכּוֹת (’et khag-hassukot, “festival of huts” [or “shelters”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. The nature of the celebration during this feast as a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt suggests that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate.

[3:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “according to what is written.”

[3:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “by number.”

[4:17]  ²¹ tn Aram “peace.”

[4:23]  ²² tn Aram “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”

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

[1:1]  ²⁴ sn In addition to the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, there are two deuterocanonical books that are also called “Ezra.” Exactly how these books are designated varies in ancient literature. In the Septuagint (LXX) canonical Ezra is called Second Esdras, but in the Latin Vulgate it is called First Esdras. Our Nehemiah is called Third Esdras in some manuscripts of the LXX, but it is known as Second Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. (In the earliest LXX manuscripts Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as one book, as they were in some Hebrew manuscripts.) The deuterocanonical books of Ezra are called First and Fourth Esdras in the LXX, but Third and Fourth Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. The titles for the so-called books of Ezra are thus rather confusing, a fact that one must keep in mind when consulting this material.

[1:1]  ²⁵ sn The first year of Cyrus would be ca. 539 B.C. Cyrus reigned in Persia from ca. 539-530 B.C.

[1:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the word of the Lord.”

[1:1]  ²⁷ tc The MT reads מִפִּי (mippi, “from the mouth of”), but this should probably be emended to בְּפִי (bÿfi, “by the mouth of”), which is the way the parallel passage in 2 Chr 36:22 reads. This is also reflected in the LXX, which is either reflecting an alternate textual tradition of בְּפִי or is attempting to harmonize Ezra 1:1 in light of 2 Chronicles.

[1:1]  tn Heb “from the mouth of.”

[1:1]  ²⁸ sn Cf. Jer 29:10; 25:11-14. Jeremiah had prophesied that after a time of seventy years the Jews would return “to this place.” How these seventy years are to be reckoned is a matter of debate among scholars. Some understand the period to refer to the approximate length of Babylon’s ascendancy as a world power, beginning either with the fall of Nineveh (612 b.c.) or with Nebuchadnezzar’s coronation (605 b.c.) and continuing till the fall of Babylon to the Persians in 539 b.c. Others take the seventy years to refer to the period from the destruction of the temple in 586 b.c. till its rebuilding in 516 b.c.

[1:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “spirit.” The Hebrew noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) has a broad range of meanings (see BDB 924-26 s.v.). Here, it probably refers to (1) “mind” as the seat of mental acts (e.g., Exod 28:3; Deut 34:9; Isa 29:24; 40:13; Ezek 11:5; 20:32; 1 Chr 28:12; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 6) or (2) “will” as the seat of volitional decisions (e.g., Exod 35:5, 22; Pss 51:12, 14; 57:8; 2 Chr 29:31; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 7). So also in v. 5.

[1:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “caused to pass.”

[1:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “a voice.” The Hebrew noun קוֹל (qol, “voice, sound”) has a broad range of meanings, including the metonymical (cause – effect) nuance “proclamation” (e.g., Exod 36:6; 2 Chr 24:9; 30:5; 36:22; Ezra 1:1; 10:7; Neh 8:15). See BDB 877 s.v. 3.a.2.

[1:1]  ³² sn For an interesting extrabiblical parallel to this edict see the Cyrus cylinder (ANET 315-16).

[1:1]  ³³ tn Heb “in writing, saying.”

[3:2]  ³⁴ sn Jozadak (also in 3:8) is a variant spelling of Jehozadak.

[3:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”

[3:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[3:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “arose and built.”

[3:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “written in.” Cf. v. 4.

[7:12]  ³⁹ sn Ezra 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.

[8:34]  ⁴⁰ tn The words “everything was verified” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:11]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “this.”

[7:11]  ⁴² tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.

[7:11]  ⁴³ tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[7:21]  ⁴⁴ tn Aram “who are in.”

[6:18]  ⁴⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Aram “according to the writing of.”