Ezra 5:6
in Ezra 5This 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and his companions the Apharsachites, who were beyond the River, sent unto Darius the king;
KJV
The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar–boznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent unto Darius the king:
⋯
This verse in Ezra 5
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river,.... Which is thought by some to be one of the nations mentioned, Ezr 4:9 the name being pretty near alike to two of them; but perhaps might be a distinct colony in those parts Tatnai was governor of: these sent unto Darius the king; and is as follows.
This site's exposition
The copy of the letter
on Ezra 5:6-8
The copy of the letter that Tatnai and his companions send to Darius is filed here in full, the book's habit of keeping its own documents rather than summarizing them. This section runs in Aramaic, the empire's own language, the correspondence quoted as it was filed. Their report to the king is fair: they name the house of the great God, note that it is built with great stones and timber, and add plainly that the work goes on fast and prospers in their hands. Matthew Henry points out that a hostile governor could have written otherwise, framing the project as rebellion the way the letter in the chapter before had done.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Note, (1.) The temple of God among men is to be built by prophecy, not by secular force (that often hinders it, but seldom furthers it), but by the word of God. As the weapons of our warfare, so the instruments of our building, are not carnal, but spiritual, and they are the ministers of the gospel that are the master-builders.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Apharsachites, like Apharsites, and Apharsathchites Ezr 4:9, are thought by some to be forms of the word “Persians,” which is applied here generally to the foreign settlers in Samaria. (Others identify the first and the third names with the “Paretaceni,” a people on the Medo-Persian border.)
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Not a word was uttered to dispirit the Jews or afford cause of triumph to their opponents. Matters were to go on till contrary orders arrived from Babylon. After surveying the work in progress, he inquired: first, by what authority this national temple was undertaken; and, secondly, the names of the principal promoters and directors of the undertaking.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פַּרְשֶׁ֣גֶן | parshegen | <the> copy of | H6573 → | 3 times |
| אִ֠גַּרְתָּא | ʾigarta' | letter the | H104 → | 3 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | which | H1768 → | 345 times |
| שְׁלַ֞ח | shelach | he sent | H7972 → | 14 times |
| תַּתְּנַ֣י׀ | tatenai | Tattenai | H8674 → | 4 times |
| פַּחַ֣ת | pachat | [the] governor of | H6347 → | 10 times |
| עֲבַֽר־ | ʾavar- | [the] region beyond | H5675 → | 14 times |
| נַהֲרָ֗ה | naharah' | river the | H5103 → | 15 times |
| וּשְׁתַ֤ר | ushetar | and Shethar- | H8370 → | 8 times |
| בּוֹזְנַי֙ | boznai | Bozenai | H8370 → | 8 times |
| וּכְנָ֣וָתֵ֔הּ | ukhenavateh | and associates his | H3675 → | 7 times |
| אֲפַ֨רְסְכָיֵ֔א | ʾafarsekhaye' | officials the | H671 → | 3 times |
| דִּ֖י | di | who | H1768 → | 345 times |
| בַּעֲבַ֣ר | baavar | [were] in [the] region beyond | H5675 → | 14 times |
| נַהֲרָ֑ה | naharah' | river the | H5103 → | 15 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5922 → | 104 times |
| דָּרְיָ֖וֶשׁ | dareyavesh | Darius | H1868 → | 15 times |
| מַלְכָּֽא׃ | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
פַּרְשֶׁ֣גֶן<the> copy of
parshegenH6573 →3 times
אִ֠גַּרְתָּאletter the
ʾigarta'H104 →3 times
דִּֽי־which
di-H1768 →345 times
שְׁלַ֞חhe sent
shelachH7972 →14 times
תַּתְּנַ֣י׀Tattenai
tatenaiH8674 →4 times
פַּחַ֣ת[the] governor of
pachatH6347 →10 times
עֲבַֽר־[the] region beyond
ʾavar-H5675 →14 times
נַהֲרָ֗הriver the
naharah'H5103 →15 times
וּשְׁתַ֤רand Shethar-
ushetarH8370 →8 times
בּוֹזְנַי֙Bozenai
boznaiH8370 →8 times
וּכְנָ֣וָתֵ֔הּand associates his
ukhenavatehH3675 →7 times
אֲפַ֨רְסְכָיֵ֔אofficials the
ʾafarsekhaye'H671 →3 times
דִּ֖יwho
diH1768 →345 times
בַּעֲבַ֣ר[were] in [the] region beyond
baavarH5675 →14 times
נַהֲרָ֑הriver the
naharah'H5103 →15 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5922 →104 times
דָּרְיָ֖וֶשׁDarius
dareyaveshH1868 →15 times
מַלְכָּֽא׃king the
malka'H4430 →180 times
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
Ezra 5:3At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”
it leads to
- 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!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezra 6:13
In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.
- Ezra 1:3
Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is…
- Ezra 6:6
Through
Ezra 6:6Therefore 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!
it leads to
- Ezra 5:3
At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”
- Proverbs 21:30
There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Ezra 5:3
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
- 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,
- 2 Kings 17:24
About Ezra
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.