Ezra 4:6
in Ezra 4At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, an accusation was lodged against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
KJV
And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
⋯
This verse in Ezra 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIn the year of the reign of Ahasuerus... they wrote an accusation, etc. Josephus (Antiquities XI, 2, 3) believes that this Artaxerxes, who received the letter of accusation from the Samaritans and forbade the construction of Jerusalem and the temple, was Cambyses, the son of …
This site's exposition
At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes
The narrative jumps forward to the reign of Ahasuerus, where unnamed accusers write against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. The verse gives no content for this letter, only its existence. Keil reads verses 6 through 23 as a topical block on the opposition, gathered here out of strict order.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign,....
The devil is the accuser of the brethren ( Rev. xii. 10 ), and he carries on his malicious designs against them, not only by accusing them himself before God, as he did Job, but by acting as a lying spirit in the mouths of his instruments, whom he employs to accuse them before magistrates and kings and to make them odious to the many and obnoxious to the mighty.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
In the reign of Ahasuerus - This is the person who is called Cambyses by the Greeks. He reigned seven years and five months; and during the whole of that time the building of the temple was interrupted.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they . . . an accusation--Ahasuerus was a regal title, and the king referred to was successor of Darius, the famous Xerxes.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Ahasuerus - Or, Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus. Persian kings had often two names.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְמַלְכוּת֙ | uvemalkhut | and in [the] reign of | H4438 → | 91 times |
| אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ | ʾachashveroosh | Ahasuerus | H325 → | |
| בִּתְחִלַּ֖ת | bitchilat | at [the] beginning of | H8462 → | |
| מַלְכוּת֑וֹ | malkhuto | reign his | H4438 → | 91 times |
| כָּתְב֣וּ | katevu | they wrote | H3789 → | 224 times |
| שִׂטְנָ֔ה | sitnah | an accusation | H7855 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֥י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וִירוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ ס | virushalim | and Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
וּבְמַלְכוּת֙and in [the] reign of
uvemalkhutH4438 →91 times
אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁAhasuerus
ʾachashverooshH325 →
בִּתְחִלַּ֖תat [the] beginning of
bitchilatH8462 →
מַלְכוּת֑וֹreign his
malkhutoH4438 →91 times
כָּתְב֣וּthey wrote
katevuH3789 →224 times
שִׂטְנָ֔הan accusation
sitnahH7855 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֥י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וִירוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ סand Jerusalem
virushalimH3389 →643 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
Esther 1:1This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
it leads to
- Daniel 9:1
In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes, a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—
- Daniel 9:1
Through
Acts 24:13Nor can they prove to you any of their charges against me.
it leads to
- Acts 25:7
When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they could not prove.
- Acts 25:7
Through
Acts 25:7When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they could not prove.
it leads to
- Acts 24:13
Nor can they prove to you any of their charges against me.
- Acts 24:5–6
We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
- Acts 25:24
Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him, both here and in Jerusalem, crying out that he…
- Acts 24:13
Through
Matthew 27:37Above His head they posted the written charge against Him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
it leads to
- Luke 23:38
Above Him was posted an inscription: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- John 19:19–22
Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- Mark 15:26
And the charge inscribed against Him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- Luke 23:38
Where this verse is studied
About Ezra
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; 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.