Artaxerxes was the successor of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) who ruled the Persian Empire from 464 to 424 B.C.73Clearly the incident reported in these verses took place long after the temple was complete. It really involved the attempt by Israel's enemies to halt the rebuilding of Jerusalem's wall in the days of Nehemiah. It evidently took place about 446 B.C. (cf. 4:21-23; Neh. 1:1-3).
The writer's purpose in inserting this incident in the text was evidently to show the continued antagonism of Israel's enemies and the faithfulness of God in giving the Jews victory over them.
"Near Eastern kings used an elaborate system of informers and spies. Egyptian sources speak of the ears and eyes' of the Pharaoh. Sargon II of Assyria had agents in Urartu whom he ordered, Write me whatever you see and hear.' The efficient Persian intelligence system is described by Xenophon.74The King's Eye and the King's Ear were two distinct officials who reported to the monarch.75But God's people could take assurance in their conviction that God's intelligence system is not only more efficient than any king's espionage network but is omniscient (cf. 2 Chron. 16:9; Zech. 4:10)."76
The antagonists enlisted the help of local Persian officials including Rehum and Shimshai (v. 8) to appeal to Artaxerxes to issue an order stopping work on the walls. The letter was in Aramaic, the common language of the Persian Empire. This is the language in which it appears in the original Hebrew text of Ezra. The writer wrote all of 4:8-6:18 as well as 7:12-26 in Aramaic originally. Aramaic was a language well known to all the Jews living in the empire as well as Gentiles. The writer may have written this entire section of the book in Aramaic to avoid changing back and forth from Hebrew to Aramaic so many times.77
"The end of v. 7 is literally and he wrote the letter written in Aramaic and translated in Aramaic.' . . . This could mean that while the letter had been written in Aramaic, the author's copy had been translated into Hebrew.78Since the actual letter is not given, however, it more likely would mean that although the letter had been written in Aramaic it was translated into Persian when it was read to the king."79
Osnappar (v. 10) is evidently an Aramaic form of Ashurbanipal (669-ca. 660 B.C.), the Assyrian king who succeeded Esarhaddon.80The phrase "beyond the river"(vv. 10, 11, 16, 17, 20) refers to the Persian province that lay to the southwest of the upper Euphrates, namely, the one that encompassed Syria and Palestine.
The Jews mentioned in this letter (v. 12) would have been those who returned with Ezra in 458 B.C., the second group of Jews to leave Babylon. That group attempted to rebuild the walls of the city having received permission from Artaxerxes in 458 B.C. to do so (7:21).
Israel's enemies presented three reasons Artaxerxes should withdraw the building permit. They warned that the Jews would stop paying taxes when their fortifications were complete (v. 13). The consequent decline in revenue would hurt the king's reputation (v. 14). Moreover if the Jews continued to rebuild a city that had a reputation for rebellion, their actions might encourage other peoples in other parts of the empire to revolt (vv. 15-16).
"The historical justification for the claim that Jerusalem is a chronically rebellious city will have consisted in such events as Hezekiah's withholding of tribute from Assyria (2 Kings 18:7, ca. 724 B.C.) and Zedekiah's abortive bid for freedom from the Babylonians, which led to the cataclysm of 587 (2 Kings 24:20ff.). The Assyrian and Babylonian annals were evidently available to the Persian kings. And it is clear that a nerve is touched."81
In his reply Artaxerxes explained that having done some research he had concluded that it seemed to be in his best interests to halt work temporarily. He put an order to stop work into effect only until he could determine a permanent solution to the problem (v. 21, "until . . ."). About two years later (444 B.C.) Artaxerxes released Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem to finish rebuilding the wall (Neh. 2:8). Evidently the king had concluded that, all things considered, it was better to have Jerusalem defended than undefended.
When the Samaritans received Artaxerxes' reply they immediately forced the Jews to stop building the wall. They may even have destroyed part of the rebuilt wall and burned the gates (cf. Neh. 1:3).
"This was a day of great shame to the Jewish population because their honest endeavor was thwarted by their archenemies, the Samaritans, and it was forced on them by Samaritan soldiers."82
