Ezra 4:7

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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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
days	וּבִימֵ֣י u.vi.Mei	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
Artaxerxes	אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֗שְׂתָּא 'ar.tach.Shas.ta'	H783	Artachshasta (or Artaxerxes) · proper noun, a man's name
wrote	כָּתַ֨ב ka.Tav	H3789	to grave · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Bishlam	בִּשְׁלָ֜ם bish.Lam	H1312	Bishlam · proper noun, a man's name
Mithredath	מִתְרְדָ֤ת mit.re.Dat	H4990	Mithredath · proper noun, a man's name
Tabeel	טָֽבְאֵל֙ ta.ve.'El	H2870	Tabeel · proper noun, a man's name
rest	וּשְׁאָ֣ר u.she.'Ar	H7605	a remainder · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
companions	כְּנָוֹתָ֔יו ke.na.vo.tov	H3674	a colleague (as having the same title) · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Artaxerxes	אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּ 'ar.tach.shas.ta	H783	Artachshasta (or Artaxerxes) · proper noun, a man's name
king	מֶ֣לֶךְ Me.lekh	H4428	a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Persia	פָּרָ֑ס pa.Ras	H6539	Paras (i.e. Persia) · proper noun, a place name
writing	וּכְתָב֙ u.khe.Tav	H3791	something written · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
letter	הַֽנִּשְׁתְּוָ֔ן ha.nish.te.Van	H5406	an epistle · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
written	כָּת֥וּב ka.Tuv	H3789	to grave · verb, qal passive participle, masculine singular absolute
tongue	אֲרָמִ֖ית 'a.ra.Mit	H762	(only adverbial) in Aramean · adjective, feminine singular absolute
interpreted	וּמְתֻרְגָּ֥ם u.me.tur.Gam	H8638	to transfer · conjunction + verb, pual passive participle, masculine singular absolute
tongue	אֲרָמִֽית 'a.ra.Mit	H762	(only adverbial) in Aramean · adjective, feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Kings 18:26 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for…
Daniel 2:4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
Ezra 4:9 Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelite…
Ezra 4:17 Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samari…
Isaiah 36:11 Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: an…
Ezra 5:6 The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar-boznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezra 4:6-16

Cyrus stedfastly adhered to the Jews' interest, and supported his own grant. It was to no purpose to offer any thing to him in prejudice of it. What he did was from a good principle, and in the fear of God, and therefore he adhered to it. But, though his reign in all was thirty years, yet after the conquest of Babylon, and his decree for the release of the Jews, some think that he reigned but three years, others seven, and then either died or gave up that part of his government, in which his successor was Ahasuerus (Ezr 4:6), called also Artaxerxes (Ezr 4:7), supposed to be the same that in heathen authors is called Cambyses, who had never taken such cognizance of the despised Jews as to con…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ezra 4:7

LETTER TO ARTAXERXES. (Ezra 4:7-24) in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, &c.--The three officers named are supposed to have been deputy governors appointed by the king of Persia over all the provinces subject to his empire west of the Euphrates. the Syrian tongue--or AramÃ&brvbran language, called sometimes in our version, Chaldee. This was made use of by the Persians in their decrees and communications relative to the Jews (compare Kg2 18:26; Isa 36:11). The object of their letter was to press upon the royal notice the inexpediency and danger of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. They labored hard to prejudice the king's mind against that measure.

Adam Clarke on Ezra 4:7

In the days of Artaxerxes - After the death of Cambyses, one of the Magi named Oropaestus by Trogus Pompeius, Smerdis by Herodotus, Mardus by Aeschylus, and Sphendatates by Ctesias, usurped the empire, feigning himself to be Smerdis, the brother of Cambyses, who had been put to death. This is the person named Artaxerxes in the text: or, following the Hebrew, Artachshasta. It is generally believed, that from the time of Cyrus the great, Xerxes and Artaxerxes were names assumed by the Persian sovereigns, whatever their names had been before. Written in the Syrian tongue - That is, the Syrian or Chaldean character was used; not the Hebrew. Interpreted, in the Syrian tongue - That is, the langua…

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Dictionary and topics

Artaxerxes — The Greek form of the name of several Persian kings. (1.) The king who obstructed the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 4:7). He was probably the Smerdis of profane history. (2.) The king mentioned in…
Governor — (1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2 Chr. 28:7; comp. 1 Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1 Chr. 9:11; Jer. 20:1), the leader of…
Mithredath — Given by Mithra, or dedicated to Mithra, i.e., the sun, the Hebrew form of the Greek name Mithridates. (1.) The “treasurer” of King Cyrus (Ezra 1:8). (2.) Ezra 4:7, a Persian officer in Samaria.
Shimshai, Or Shimshai — (sunny), the scribe or secretary of Kehum, who was a kind of satrap of the conquered province of Judea and of the colony of Samaria, supported by the Persian court. (Ezra 4:8,13,17,23) He was…
Syriac — (2 Kings 18:26; Ezra 4:7; Dan. 2:4), more correctly rendered “Aramaic,” including both the Syriac and the Chaldee languages. In the New Testament there are several Syriac words, such as “Eloi, Eloi,…
Tabeel — A Persian governor of Samaria, who joined others in the attempt to prevent the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Ezra 4:7).
Tabelel — (God is good), an officer of the Persian government in Samaria in the reign of Artaxerxes. (Ezra 4:7) His name appears to indicate that he was a Syrian. (B.C.519.)
Accusation, False · .Against Jews, returned un — .Against Jews, returned un
Artaxerxes · .Prohibits the rebuilding of — .Prohibits the rebuilding of
Bishlam · A Samaritan who obstructed the rebuilding of the temple at — A Samaritan who obstructed the rebuilding of the temple at
Language · .Syrian

Ezra 4:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezra 4:6-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ezra 4:7

Adam Clarke on Ezra 4:7

Dictionary and topics

Ezra 4:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezra 4:6-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ezra 4:7

Adam Clarke on Ezra 4:7

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Ezra 4:7

Keil & Delitzsch on Ezra 4:6-23

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Ezra 4:7

Rashi on Ezra 4:7