The Meaning of Ezra 4:7 Explained

Ezra 4:7

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.

YLT: and in the days of Artaxerxes have Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions written unto Artaxerxes king of Persia, and the writing of the letter is written in Aramaean, and interpreted in Aramaean.

Darby: And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in Aramaic, and interpreted in Aramaic.

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 Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Ezra 4:7 Mean?

Study Notes

Artaxerxes
The Artaxerxes of Ezra 4:7 is identical with Ahasuerus of Ezra 4:6 , i.e. the Cambyses of profane history. The Artaxerxes of Ezra 7:1 is the Longimanus of secular history, BC 418. But .
Darius the Median
The biblical order of the monarchs of Daniel's time, and of the period of the captivity and restoration of Judah, is as follows:
(1) Nebuchadnezzar (B.C. 604-561) with whom the captivity of Judah and the "times of the Gentiles" (See Scofield " Luke 21:24 ") , See Scofield " Revelation 16:19 ", began, and who established the first of the four world monarchies.; Daniel 2:37 ; Daniel 2:38 ; Daniel 7:4 .
(2) Belshazzar (prob B.C. 556), the Bel-shar-uzzar of the inscriptions, grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, and son of the victorious general Nabonidus. Belshazzar seems to have reigned as viceroy.
(3) Darius the Mede Daniel 5:31 ; Daniel 6:1-27 ; Daniel 9:1 . Concerning this Darius secular history awaits further discoveries, as formerly in the case of Belshazzar. He has been conjectured to be identical with Gobryas, a Persian general. This Darius was "the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans" Daniel 9:1 "Ahasuerus," more a title than a name, the equivalent of the modern "Majesty," is used in Scripture of at least four personages, and is Persian rather than Median. That Darius the Mede was the "son" (or grandson) of an Ahasuerus proves no more than that he was, probably, through the seed of his mother, of the seed royal not only of Media, but also of Persia. There is but one Darius in Daniel. (See Daniel 9:1 .)
(4) Cyrus, with whose rise to power came fully into existence the Medo-Persian, second of the world-empires Daniel 2:39 ; Daniel 7:5
In Daniel's vision of this empire in "the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar" Daniel 8:1-4 the Median power of Darius is seen as the lesser of the two horns of the ram; the Persian power of Cyrus, under whom the Medo-Persian power was consolidated, as the "higher" horn which "came up last." Under Cyrus, who was prophetically named more than a century before his birth. Isaiah 44:28 to Isaiah 45:4 , the return to Palestine of the Jewish remnant began. Ezra 1:1-4 . See Daniel 11:2 , marg. ref. (See Scofield " Daniel 11:2 ") .

Context Summary

Ezra 4:1-10 - The Building Of The Temple Opposed
So long as you lead a languid and unaggressive life, the enemy will leave you alone, but directly you begin to build God's temple, you may count on His strenuous opposition. When we are permitted to go on from day to day without much temptation, we may fear that we are doing little to destroy evil and construct good. But the virulent hate of the wicked one is a comfortable sign that his kingdom is suffering serious damage. Let us so live that we may give the devil good reason to fear and hate us. There is a stronger than he. We must beware of the proposal to join in with the ungodly. Their arguments may sound very fair and appeal to a false liberality of sentiment, but the golden cup contains poison, and beneath the kiss is the traitor's hand. This is why so many fair enterprises have miscarried. They have seemed to afford common ground for cooperation with the false and counterfeit Israel, but they have ended in disillusion and disappointment. Though the Jews excited the intense hatred and opposition of their would-be helpers, their policy of exclusiveness was amply justified by the result. The old proverb reminds us that we must never trust our enemies when they offer blandishments and gifts. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ezra 4

1  The adversaries, being not accepted in the building of the temple with the Jews,
4  endeavor to hinder it
7  Their letter to Artaxerxes
17  The answer and decree of Artaxerxes
23  The building is hindered

What do the individual words in Ezra 4:7 mean?

And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam Mithredath Tabel and the rest of their companions to Artaxerxes Artaxerxes king of Persia and the letter [was] written in Aramaic [script] and translated into the Aramaic [language] -
וּבִימֵ֣י אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֗שְׂתָּא כָּתַ֨ב בִּשְׁלָ֜ם מִתְרְדָ֤ת טָֽבְאֵל֙ וּשְׁאָ֣ר [כנותו] (כְּנָוֺתָ֔יו) עַל־ [ארתחששתא] (אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּ) מֶ֣לֶךְ פָּרָ֑ס וּכְתָב֙ הַֽנִּשְׁתְּוָ֔ן כָּת֥וּב אֲרָמִ֖ית וּמְתֻרְגָּ֥ם אֲרָמִֽית פ

וּבִימֵ֣י  And  in  the  days 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֗שְׂתָּא  of  Artaxerxes 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא 
Sense: son and successor of Xerxes as emperor of Persia, 465–424 BC.
כָּתַ֨ב  wrote 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּתַב  
Sense: to write, record, enrol.
בִּשְׁלָ֜ם  Bishlam 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בִּשְׁלָם  
Sense: a Persian officer in Palestine in the time of Ezra.
מִתְרְדָ֤ת  Mithredath 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִתְרְדָת  
Sense: treasurer of king Cyrus of Persia.
טָֽבְאֵל֙  Tabel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: טָבְאַל 
Sense: a man whose son was either in the army of Pekah or the army of Rezin and whom Pekah and Rezin proposed to make king of Israel Tabeel = “God is good”.
וּשְׁאָ֣ר  and  the  rest 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שְׁאָר  
Sense: rest, residue, remnant, remainder.
(כְּנָוֺתָ֔יו)  their  companions 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: כְּנָת  
Sense: associate, colleague, companion.
[ארתחששתא]  Artaxerxes 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
(אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּ)  Artaxerxes 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא 
Sense: son and successor of Xerxes as emperor of Persia, 465–424 BC.
מֶ֣לֶךְ  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
פָּרָ֑ס  of  Persia 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פָּרַס  
Sense: the empire Persia; encompassed the territory from India on the east to Egypt and Thrace on the west, and included, besides portions of Europe and Africa, the whole of western Asia between the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian and the Jaxartes on the north, the Arabian desert, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean on the south.
הַֽנִּשְׁתְּוָ֔ן  the  letter 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נִשְׁתְּוָן  
Sense: letter.
כָּת֥וּב  [was]  written 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine singular
Root: כָּתַב  
Sense: to write, record, enrol.
אֲרָמִ֖ית  in  Aramaic  [script] 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרָמִי  
Sense: the language of Aram, Aramaic.
וּמְתֻרְגָּ֥ם  and  translated 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Pual, Participle, masculine singular
Root: תִּרְגֵּם  
Sense: (Pual) to interpret, translate.
אֲרָמִֽית  into  the  Aramaic  [language] 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרָמִי  
Sense: the language of Aram, Aramaic.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation

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