Artaxerxes in the book of ezra

Artaxerxes longimanus, the son of xerxes i, is the king referred to at ezra 7. Chapter 7 jumps forward to the reign of his grandson artaxerxes i, also known as longimanus 464424 b. According to the hebrew bible he was a descendant of sraya the last high priest to serve in the first temple 2 kings 25. In this fascinating account, nehemiah, the jewish cupbearer to the persian king artaxerxes 1, successfully petitions to take a group back to jerusalem to rebuild the city walls after hearing they are in disrepair.

Ezras audience is living in the aftermath of the samarians heavyhanded enforcement of artaxerxes decree to stop all work on the city walls 4. The only new material is the tale of the three guardsmen, a persian folk story that was slightly altered to fit a. But in the letter to the king, as in his response, there is no single word concerning jerusalem temple. Artaxerxes of persia amazing bible timeline with world. Near 520 bc after the takeover by nebuchadnezzar, ultimately king cyrus of persia arose to power, and he decided to aid the jews to return to jerusalem. For instance, ezra says that artaxerxesthanks to the influence of some devious localsstops the building project, contradicting king cyruss previous order. Whereas most reference works give his accession year as 465 b. If it is a proven fact that darius served as king before artaxerxes, why is the kingship of darius recorded in the book of ezra subsequent to the reign of artaxerxes. The book of ezra is part of the historical books of the bible.

The elyphantine papyri mention the high priest johanan, also mentioned in the book of ezra, as a contemporary of darius ii. Darius of ezra 6 and artaxerxes of ezra 7 are the same king removing the need. When we move on to ezra 4s account of artaxerxes, we encounter a name, bishlam, or other variations, that is not unlike that of the conspirator, bigsan, or other variations e. Ezra by the persian king artaxerxes i empowered the latter to enforce the. It was between these two chapters that the events of the book of esther took placeduring the reign of xerxes, the son of darius and father of artaxerxes. So this story misses the context of rebuilding the temple. Great king, the name or title of several kings of persia. Artaxerxes of persia amazing bible timeline with world history.

Using the context provided by ezra 6, the most natural reading of the opening verses of ezra 7 is that the artaxerxes mentioned is none other than the darius even. Ezra and nehemiah both traveled from persia to jerusalem from the court of artaxerxes. Also included in ezra are seven official documents or letters all in aramaic except the first, which is in hebrew. The second group came with ezra the priest and scribe in 458 bc ezra 7. Book of ezra overview insight for living ministries. At one time, however, ezra and nehemiah followed 1 and 2 chronicles and were generally considered to be the work of one and the same author known as the chronicler. Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the god of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.

How the king acceded to this request, and how ezra endeavored to carry out his mission, are well known. Ezra had devoted himself especially to study and to do the law of jehovah the word of god and was eager to teach the word in israel. This reversal is the thematic fulcrum for the first half of the book. The first part of the book also tells about problems at a later time, when the jews had to stop rebuilding the city walls during the rule of artaxerxes 4. Artaxerxes was the second son of xerxes, who was murdered in the summer of 465 by his. The decree of artaxerxes ezra 7 december 16 we return now to the book of ezra. God used three persian kings, cyrus, darius, and artaxerxes, to bring this to pass, as well as jewish leaders such as zerubbabel, joshua, haggai, zechariah, and ezra. Ezra was a direct descendant of aaron the chief priest 7. The book of ezra covers the return from captivity to rebuild the temple up to the decree of artaxerxes, the event covered at the beginning of the book of nehemiah.

The two became separated with the first printed rabbinic bibles of the early 16th century, following late medieval latin christian tradition. In fact, ezra and nehemiah were originally regarded as one book by ancient jewish and early christian scribes. Ahasuerus, the hebrew version of artachshashta aramaic in ezra 4 and nehemiah artaxerxes i. Ezra was a priest and scribe at susa who was sent by artaxerxes i, along with a significant number of jewish families, to jerusalem in order to standardize the law of moses. The last four books of the hebrew canon are ezra, nehemiah, and 1 and 2 chronicles, in that order. The last great king of the persians, artaxerxes i, authorized the return of ezra to the holy land to deal with deficiencies in the practice of worship among the people of god, and nehemiah, who.

The old testament book of nehemiah takes place during a time of exile and captivity for the jewish people. The events of ezra 6 occurred during the reign of darius the great. Ezras journey, with another group of exiles and gold and silver for the temple. Apologetics press kingly chronology in the book of ezra. The books of ezra and nehemiah present the persian emperor artaxerxes in a fairly confusing and nonchronological way. This artaxerxes has been thought by many commentators to be the longimanus of the sequel of this book and of nehemiah, and they have identified the ahasuerus of ezra and esther with xerxes. But if we take the pieces of evidence we find in the bible related to ezras darius even artaxerxes and compare it with the evidence we find in the book of esther, it is evident that darius i best fits the biblical template of the king who rule over 127 provinces from india to. How clear that the artaxerxes of ezra 7 is the one who reigned from 464423 b. His zeal for god and gods law spurred ezra to lead a group of jews back to israel during king artaxerxes s reign over the persian empire which had since replaced the babylonian empire that originally exiled the people of judah. King artaxerxes personally knew of ezra and nehemiah.

If it is a proven fact that darius served as king before artaxerxes, why is the kingship of darius. The difficulty that presents itself in the book of ezra is that events surrounding letters which king artaxerxes received from, and wrote to, the enemies of the jews see ezra 4. They had been prospering under artaxerxes favor mediated through ezras administration. Artaxerxes i, achaemenid king of persia reigned 465425 bc. This would explain the reference to the walls in ezra 4. Artaxerxes i, died 425 bc, susa, elam now in iran, achaemenid king of persia reigned 465425 bc he was surnamed in greek macrocheir longhand and in latin longimanus. It would be natural that he would use the jewish method of reckoning in numbering the years. According to the storyline of the book of ezra the letter to artaxerxes has stopped the construction of the temple in jerusalem until the reign of next king darius. There is a gap between 516 and 458, when ezra is sent by artaxerxes i to investigate and enforce the operation of the jewish law in the province of judah. The decree of artaxerxes ezra 7 ucg bible commentary. A few months later, artaxerxes slew artabanus in a handtohand fight. Book of ezra covers the events of the jews returning from the babylonian captivity. The work is textually more closely related to the old testament than other books of the apocrypha, for it traces portions of israels history from 621 bc to 444 bc by summarizing ii chronicles 35.

Haggai was the main prophet in the day of ezra, and zechariah was the prophet in the day of nehemiah. Composed in hebrew and aramaic, its subject is the return to zion following the close. The book of ezra records the fulfillment of gods promise to restore israel to her land after the 70 years of captivity in babylon jer. The book of ezra was written in jerusalem for the jews. He is said to have consolidated and edited the mosaic law which would. A younger son of xerxes i and amestris, he was raised to the throne by the commander of the guard, artabanus, who had murdered xerxes. Two documents are contained in the book of ezra, ch.

The jews are counted and are permitted to return to judah to rebuild the temple. Furthermore in the book of daniel king darius still uses the title in use. His usurped power was used, at the rebuilding of the temple. How clear that this other commandment he sent is the one we read about in ezra 7 the one sent by artaxerxes in his seventh year. If it is a proven fact that darius served as king before artaxerxes. Ezra gathered the people of jerusalem and read before the assembly the book of the law of moses which the. He was a son of king xerxes ahasuerus and is often referred to as artaxerxes i longimanus. Ezra 4s cyrus, ahasuerus, artaxerxes, and darius era of. Ezra and some other israelitestemple servants, priests, singers, gatekeepers, levitestake around four or five months to journey to jerusalem. Ezra 6 ended in the 6 th year of darius the persian artaxerxes.

His father was the former king xerxes and he ruled the persian empire from 465 b. It was then recorded in the royal book of chronicles. The decree to restore and build jerusalem was issued in the seventh year of artaxerxes reign ezra 7. Kingly chronology in the book of ezra apologetics press.

My understanding is that artaxerxes wasnt until the 5th century bce, however in ezra 4, he commands the temple to stop being built in the 6th century bce approx. He is the central character of the biblical book of ezra and also appears in the book of nehemiah. Artaxerxes i of persia was the fifth king of the achaemenid dynasty. Ezras prayer of anguish after hearing of mixed marriages with pagan peoples.

I make a decree, that all they of the people of israel, and of his priests and levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to jerusalem, go with thee. See persia, persians the reigns of xerxes and of artaxerxes. Artaxerxes commanded that the city and wall should not be built until he sent another commandment. Ezra wants to study the law of god, practice it, and teach it to others.