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
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
2 sn Ahasuerus, otherwise known as Xerxes I, ruled ca. 486-464
3 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
4 tn Heb “And in the days.”
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.
6 tc The translation reads the plural with the Qere rather than the singular found in the MT Kethib.
7 sn Artaxerxes I ruled in Persia from ca. 465–425
8 tc It is preferable to delete the MT’s וּכְתָב (ukhÿtav) here.
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.
10 tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.
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.
12 tn Or perhaps “against.”
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.
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.
15 tn Aram “Osnappar” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV), another name for Ashurbanipal.
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.
17 tn Aram “beyond the river.” In Ezra this term is a technical designation for the region west of the Euphrates river.
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.
19 tn Aram “men of.”
20 tn The MT takes this word with the latter part of v. 11, but in English style it fits better with v. 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.
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.
23 tn Aram “we eat the salt of the palace.”
24 tn Aram “the dishonor of the king is not fitting for us to see.”
25 tn Aram “and we have made known.”
26 tn Aram “the book of the minutes.”
27 tn Aram “of your fathers.”
28 tn Aram “discover…and learn.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.
29 tn Aram “is a rebellious city.”
30 tn Aram “revolts they are making in its midst.”
31 tn Aram “from olden days.” So also in v. 19.
32 tn Aram “will not be to you.”
33 tn Aram “peace.”
34 tn Aram “from me was placed a decree.”
35 tn Aram “and they searched and found.”
36 tn Aram “are being done.”
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.
38 tn Aram “were being given to them.”
39 tn Aram “until a command is issued from me.”
40 tn Aram “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”
41 tn Aram “by force and power,” a hendiadys.