Ezra 4:6--6:18

Official Complaints Are Lodged Against the Jews

4:6 ¹ At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus ²  they filed an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. ³  4:7 And during the reign ⁴  of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, ⁵  Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues ⁶  wrote to King Artaxerxes ⁷  of Persia. This letter ⁸  was first written in Aramaic but then translated.

[Aramaic:] ⁹ 

4:8 Rehum the commander ¹⁰  and Shimshai the scribe ¹¹  wrote a letter concerning ¹²  Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows: 4:9 From ¹³  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, ¹⁴  the Elamites), 4:10 and the rest of nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal ¹⁵  deported and settled in the cities ¹⁶  of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates. ¹⁷  4:11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent to him:)

“To King Artaxerxes, ¹⁸  from your servants in ¹⁹  Trans-Euphrates: 4:12 Now ²⁰  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. ²¹  They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations. 4:13 Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury ²²  will suffer loss. 4:14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, ²³  and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, ²⁴  we are sending the king this information ²⁵  4:15 so that he may initiate a search of the records ²⁶  of his predecessors ²⁷  and discover in those records ²⁸  that this city is rebellious ²⁹  and injurious to both kings and provinces, producing internal revolts ³⁰  from long ago. ³¹  It is for this very reason that this city was destroyed. 4:16 We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control ³²  of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”

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! ³³  4:18 The letter you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence. 4:19 So I gave orders, ³⁴  and it was determined ³⁵  that this city from long ago has been engaging in insurrection against kings. It has continually engaged in ³⁶  rebellion and revolt. 4:20 Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates ³⁷  and who were the beneficiaries of ³⁸  tribute, custom, and toll. 4:21 Now give orders that these men cease their work and that this city not be rebuilt until such time as I so instruct. ³⁹  4:22 Exercise appropriate caution so that there is no negligence in this matter. Why should danger increase to the point that kings sustain damage?”

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 ⁴⁰  and stopped them with threat of armed force. ⁴¹ 

4:24 So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia. ⁴² 

Tattenai Appeals to Darius

5:1 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son ⁴³  of Iddo ⁴⁴  prophesied concerning the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem ⁴⁵  in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 5:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began ⁴⁶  to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

5:3 At that time Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues came to them and asked, “Who gave you authority ⁴⁷  to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?” ⁴⁸  5:4 They ⁴⁹  also asked them, “What are the names of the men who are building this edifice?” 5:5 But God was watching over ⁵⁰  the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped ⁵¹  until a report could be dispatched ⁵²  to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.

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. 5:7 The report they sent to him was written as follows: ⁵³ 

“To King Darius: All greetings! ⁵⁴  5:8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, ⁵⁵  and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands. 5:9 We inquired of those elders, asking them, ‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’ 5:10 We also inquired of their names in order to inform you, so that we might write the names of the men who were their leaders. 5:11 They responded to us in the following way: ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king ⁵⁶  of Israel built it and completed it. 5:12 But after our ancestors ⁵⁷  angered the God of heaven, he delivered them into the hands ⁵⁸  of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon. ⁵⁹  5:13 But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, ⁶⁰  King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God. 5:14 Even the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had brought to the palace ⁶¹  of Babylon – even those things King Cyrus brought from the palace of Babylon and presented ⁶²  to a man by the name of Sheshbazzar whom he had appointed as governor. 5:15 He said to him, “Take these vessels and go deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its proper location.” ⁶³  5:16 Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment ⁶⁴  it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.’

5:17 “Now if the king is so inclined, ⁶⁵  let a search be conducted in the royal archives ⁶⁶  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.”

Darius Issues a Decree

6:1 So Darius the king issued orders, and they searched in the archives ⁶⁷  of the treasury which were deposited there in Babylon. 6:2 A scroll was found in the citadel ⁶⁸  of Ecbatana which is in the province of Media, and it was inscribed as follows:

“Memorandum: 6:3 In the first year of his reign, ⁶⁹  King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ⁷⁰  ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. ⁷¹  Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety ⁷²  feet, ⁷³  6:4 with three layers of large stones ⁷⁴  and one ⁷⁵  layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized ⁷⁶  by the royal treasury. ⁷⁷  6:5 Furthermore let the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God, which Nebuchadnezzar brought from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, be returned and brought to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. Let them be deposited in the temple of God.’

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! 6:7 Leave the work on this temple of God alone. ⁷⁸  Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.

6:8 “I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work. ⁷⁹  6:9 Whatever is needed – whether oxen or rams or lambs or burnt offerings for the God of heaven or wheat or salt or wine or oil, as required by ⁸⁰  the priests who are in Jerusalem – must be given to them daily without any neglect, 6:10 so that they may be offering incense to the God of heaven and may be praying for the good fortune of the king and his family. ⁸¹ 

6:11 “I hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled ⁸²  on it, and his house is to be reduced ⁸³  to a rubbish heap ⁸⁴  for this indiscretion. ⁸⁵  6:12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation ⁸⁶  who reaches out ⁸⁷  to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!”

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. ⁸⁸  6:14 The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time ⁸⁹  Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying. They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 6:15 They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth ⁹⁰  year of the reign of King Darius.

6:16 The people ⁹¹  of Israel – the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles ⁹²  – observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy. 6:17 For the dedication of this temple of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 6:18 They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, ⁹³  in accord with ⁹⁴  the book of Moses.

[4:6]  ¹ 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]  ² sn Ahasuerus, otherwise known as Xerxes I, ruled ca. 486-464 b.c.

[4:6]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “And in the days.”

[4:7]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tc The translation reads the plural with the Qere rather than the singular found in the MT Kethib.

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

[4:7]  ⁸ tc It is preferable to delete the MT’s וּכְתָב (ukhÿtav) here.

[4:7]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.

[4:8]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or perhaps “against.”

[4:9]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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.

[4:10]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “Osnappar” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV), another name for Ashurbanipal.

[4:10]  sn Ashurbanipal succeeded his father Esarhaddon as king of Assyria in 669 B.C. Around 645 B.C. he sacked the city of Susa, capital of Elam, and apparently some of these people were exiled to Samaria and other places.

[4:10]  ¹⁶ tc The translation reads with the ancient versions the plural בְּקֻרְיַהּ (bÿquryah, “in the cities”) rather than the singular (“in the city”) of the MT.

[4:10]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “beyond the river.” In Ezra this term is a technical designation for the region west of the Euphrates river.

[4:11]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “men of.”

[4:12]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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.

[4:13]  ²² tn Aram “the treasury of kings.” The plural “kings” is Hebrew, not Aramaic. If the plural is intended in a numerical sense the reference is not just to Artaxerxes but to his successors as well. Some scholars understand this to be the plural of majesty, referring to Artaxerxes. See F. C. Fensham, Ezra and Nehemiah (NICOT), 74.

[4:14]  ²³ tn Aram “we eat the salt of the palace.”

[4:14]  ²⁴ tn Aram “the dishonor of the king is not fitting for us to see.”

[4:14]  ²⁵ tn Aram “and we have made known.”

[4:15]  ²⁶ tn Aram “the book of the minutes.”

[4:15]  ²⁷ tn Aram “of your fathers.”

[4:15]  ²⁸ tn Aram “discover…and learn.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

[4:15]  ²⁹ tn Aram “is a rebellious city.”

[4:15]  ³⁰ tn Aram “revolts they are making in its midst.”

[4:15]  ³¹ tn Aram “from olden days.” So also in v. 19.

[4:16]  ³² tn Aram “will not be to you.”

[4:17]  ³³ tn Aram “peace.”

[4:19]  ³⁴ tn Aram “from me was placed a decree.”

[4:19]  ³⁵ tn Aram “and they searched and found.”

[4:19]  ³⁶ tn Aram “are being done.”

[4:20]  ³⁷ sn The statement that prior Jewish kings ruled over the entire Trans-Euphrates is an overstatement. Not even in the days of David and Solomon did the kingdom of Israel extend its borders to such an extent.

[4:20]  ³⁸ tn Aram “were being given to them.”

[4:21]  ³⁹ tn Aram “until a command is issued from me.”

[4:23]  ⁴⁰ tn Aram “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”

[4:23]  ⁴¹ tn Aram “by force and power,” a hendiadys.

[4:24]  ⁴² sn Darius I Hystaspes ruled Persia ca. 522–486 b.c.

[5:1]  ⁴³ tn Aram “son.” According to Zech 1:1 he was actually the grandson of Iddo.

[5:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Aram “and Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo the prophet.”

[5:1]  ⁴⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Aram “arose and began.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

[5:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Aram “who placed to you a command?” So also v. 9.

[5:3]  ⁴⁸ tn The exact meaning of the Aramaic word אֻשַּׁרְנָא (’ussarna’) here and in v. 9 is uncertain (BDB 1083 s.v.). The LXX and Vulgate understand it to mean “wall.” Here it is used in collocation with בַּיְתָא (bayta’, “house” as the temple of God), while in 5:3, 9 it is used in parallelism with this term. It might be related to the Assyrian noun ashurru (“wall”) or ashru (“sanctuary”; so BDB). F. Rosenthal, who translates the word “furnishings,” thinks that it probably enters Aramaic from Persian (Grammar, 62-63, §189).

[5:4]  ⁴⁹ tc The translation reads with one medieval Hebrew MS, the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta אֲמַרוּ (’amaru, “they said”) rather than the reading אֲמַרְנָא (’amarna’, “we said”) of the MT.

[5:5]  ⁵⁰ 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]  ⁵¹ tn Aram “they did not stop them.”

[5:5]  ⁵² tn Aram “[could] go.” On this form see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 58, §169.

[5:7]  ⁵³ tn Aram “and it was written in its midst.”

[5:7]  ⁵⁴ tn Aram “all peace.”

[5:8]  ⁵⁵ tn Aram “stones of rolling.” The reference is apparently to stones too large to carry.

[5:11]  ⁵⁶ sn This great king of Israel would, of course, be Solomon.

[5:12]  ⁵⁷ tn Aram “fathers.”

[5:12]  ⁵⁸ tn Aram “hand” (singular).

[5:12]  ⁵⁹ sn A reference to the catastrophic events of 586 b.c.

[5:13]  ⁶⁰ sn Cyrus was actually a Persian king, but when he conquered Babylon in 539 b.c. he apparently appropriated to himself the additional title “king of Babylon.” The Syriac Peshitta substitutes “Persia” for “Babylon” here, but this is probably a hyper-correction.

[5:14]  ⁶¹ tn Or “temple.”

[5:14]  ⁶² tn Aram “they were given.”

[5:15]  ⁶³ tn Aram “upon its place.”

[5:16]  ⁶⁴ tn Aram “from then and until now.”

[5:17]  ⁶⁵ tn Aram “if upon the king it is good.”

[5:17]  ⁶⁶ tn Aram “the house of the treasures of the king.”

[6:1]  ⁶⁷ tn Aram “the house of the archives.”

[6:2]  ⁶⁸ 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.

[6:3]  ⁶⁹ tn Aram “In the first year of Cyrus the king.”

[6:3]  ⁷⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:3]  ⁷¹ tn Aram “raised”; or perhaps “retained” (so NASB; cf. NLT), referring to the original foundations of Solomon’s temple.

[6:3]  ⁷² 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]  ⁷³ 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.

[6:4]  ⁷⁴ tn Aram “stones of rolling.”

[6:4]  ⁷⁵ tc The translation follows the LXX reading חַד (khad, “one”) rather than the MT חֲדַת (khadat, “new”). If the MT reading “new” is understood to mean freshly cut timber that has not yet been seasoned it would seem to be an odd choice for construction material.

[6:4]  ⁷⁶ tn Aram “let be given.”

[6:4]  ⁷⁷ tn Aram “house.”

[6:7]  ⁷⁸ tc For the MT reading “the work on this temple of God” the LXX reads “the servant of the Lord Zurababel” [= Zerubbabel].

[6:8]  ⁷⁹ tn The words “of the work” are not in the Aramaic, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ⁸⁰ tn Aram “according to the word of.”

[6:10]  ⁸¹ tn Aram “for the life of the king and his sons.”

[6:11]  ⁸² sn The practice referred to in v. 11 has been understood in various ways: hanging (cf. 1 Esd 6:32 and KJV); flogging (cf. NEB, NLT); impalement (BDB 1091 s.v. זְקַף; HALOT 1914 s.v. מחא hitpe; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The latter seems the most likely.

[6:11]  ⁸³ tn Aram “made.”

[6:11]  ⁸⁴ tn Aram “a dunghill.”

[6:11]  ⁸⁵ tn Aram “for this.”

[6:12]  ⁸⁶ tn Aram “people.”

[6:12]  ⁸⁷ tn Aram “who sends forth his hand.”

[6:13]  ⁸⁸ tn Aram “sent.”

[6:14]  ⁸⁹ tn Aram “in” or “by,” in the sense of accompaniment.

[6:15]  ⁹⁰ sn The sixth year of the reign of Darius would be ca. 516 B.C.

[6:16]  ⁹¹ tn Aram “sons of.”

[6:16]  ⁹² tn Aram “sons of the exile.”

[6:18]  ⁹³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:18]  ⁹⁴ tn Aram “according to the writing of.”