Ezra 4:7
in Ezra 4And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian character, and set forth in the Syrian tongue.
KJV
And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.
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This verse in Ezra 4
Commentary
2 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Artaxerxes - Gomates, the Pseudo-Smerdis. He succeeded Cambyses (521 B.C.), and reigned for seven months, when he was deposed and executed by Darius Hystaspis. Written in the Syrian tongue ... - Or, “written in Syriac characters and translated into Syriac.” On the use of this tongue as a medium of communication between the Jews and their Eastern neighbors, see 2Ki 18:26 note.
This site's exposition
in the days of Artaxerxes
A second and fuller episode follows under Artaxerxes: Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and their companions write a letter, and the verse notes twice that it was written in the Syrian tongue and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. Syrian here is Aramaic, the diplomatic language of the Persian province, and the notice prepares the reader for what the Hebrew text itself does at the next verse, where the narrative shifts into Aramaic and stays there through 6:18 before returning once more at 7:12-26. The book files the empire's own correspondence in the empire's own tongue.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבִימֵ֣י | uvimei | and in [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֗שְׂתָּא | ʾartachshasta' | Artaxerxes | H783 → | 15 times |
| כָּתַ֨ב | katav | he wrote | H3789 → | 224 times |
| בִּשְׁלָ֜ם | bishlam | Bishlam | H1312 → | |
| מִתְרְדָ֤ת | mitredat | Mithredath | H4990 → | |
| טָֽבְאֵל֙ | taveel | Tabeel | H2870 → | |
| וּשְׁאָ֣ר | ushear | and [the] rest of | H7605 → | 26 times |
| כְּנָוֹתָ֔יו | kenavotov | colleagues his | H3674 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּ | ʾartachshasta | Artaxerxes | H783 → | 15 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| פָּרָ֑ס | paras | Persia | H6539 → | 28 times |
| וּכְתָב֙ | ukhetav | and [the] writing of | H3791 → | |
| הַֽנִּשְׁתְּוָ֔ן | hanishtevan | the letter | H5406 → | |
| כָּת֥וּב | katuv | [was] written | H3789 → | 224 times |
| אֲרָמִ֖ית | ʾaramit | Aramaic | H762 → | |
| וּמְתֻרְגָּ֥ם | umeturgam | and [was] translated | H8638 → | |
| אֲרָמִֽית׃ פ | ʾaramit | Aramaic | H762 → |
וּבִימֵ֣יand in [the] days of
uvimeiH3117 →2304 times
אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֗שְׂתָּאArtaxerxes
ʾartachshasta'H783 →15 times
כָּתַ֨בhe wrote
katavH3789 →224 times
בִּשְׁלָ֜םBishlam
bishlamH1312 →
מִתְרְדָ֤תMithredath
mitredatH4990 →
טָֽבְאֵל֙Tabeel
taveelH2870 →
וּשְׁאָ֣רand [the] rest of
ushearH7605 →26 times
כְּנָוֹתָ֔יוcolleagues his
kenavotovH3674 →
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּArtaxerxes
ʾartachshastaH783 →15 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
פָּרָ֑סPersia
parasH6539 →28 times
וּכְתָב֙and [the] writing of
ukhetavH3791 →
הַֽנִּשְׁתְּוָ֔ןthe letter
hanishtevanH5406 →
כָּת֥וּב[was] written
katuvH3789 →224 times
אֲרָמִ֖יתAramaic
ʾaramitH762 →
וּמְתֻרְגָּ֥םand [was] translated
umeturgamH8638 →
אֲרָמִֽית׃ פAramaic
ʾaramitH762 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 36:11Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on…
it leads to
- Daniel 2:4
Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 18:26–27
Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, along with Shebnah and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak with us in Hebrew in the…
- Daniel 2:4
Through
Ezra 4:9From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges and officials over Tripolis, Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,
it leads to
- Ezra 5:6
This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.
- Ezra 6:6
Therefore Darius decreed: To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region: You must stay away from that place!
- 2 Kings 17:24
Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in…
- 2 Kings 17:30–31
The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima,
- Ezra 5:6
Through
Daniel 2:4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
it leads to
- Daniel 5:10
Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow…
- Daniel 3:9
saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!
- Daniel 5:10
What the record shows
1 entry- Artaxerxes I Longimanus — attested in contemporary inscriptionundisputed
Own royal inscriptions; period documents
Biblical figure (King of Persia, 465-425/424 BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: Artaxerxes I is fully attested; which Artaxerxes stands behind Ezra-Nehemiah is the long-running argument. Since A. van Hoonacker in the 1890s, a substantial group of scholars has placed Ezra's mission under Artaxerxes II (about 398 BC) rather than Artaxerxes I (458 BC), which would put Nehemiah in Jerusalem before Ezra rather than after.
About Ezra
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).