Ezra 4:6

6 At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Xerxes, the enemies of the people living in Judah and Jerusalem brought written charges against them. ¹

Ezra 4:6 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 4:6

And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign,
&c.] According to Jarchi, this was Ahasuerus the husband of Esther; but, as most think ^F4, was Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus; so Josephus ^F5; who was an enemy to the Egyptians; and, fearing the Jews might take part with them, was no friend to them; their enemies therefore took the advantage of the death of Cyrus, and the first opportunity after Cambyses reigned in his own right:

and wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah
and Jerusalem;
full of hatred and enmity, spite and malice, charging them as a turbulent, disobedient, and rebellious people.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Spanhem. Introduct. Chron. ad Hist. Eccl. p. 54. & Universal History, Vol. 5. p. 203. Prideaux, p. 175.
F5 Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 11. c. 4.) sect. 4, 6. Vid. R. David Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 2. fol. 8. 2. So Dr. Lightfoot, Works, vol. 1. p. 139.

Ezra 4:6 In-Context

4 Then the people who had been living in the land tried to discourage and frighten the Jews and keep them from building.

5 They also bribed Persian government officials to work against them. They kept on doing this throughout the reign of Emperor Cyrus and into the reign of Emperor Darius.

6 At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Xerxes, the enemies of the people living in Judah and Jerusalem brought written charges against them.

7 Again in the reign of Emperor Artaxerxes of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote a letter to the emperor. The letter was written in Aramaic and was to be translated when read.

8 Also Rehum, the governor, and Shimshai, the secretary of the province, wrote the following letter to Emperor Artaxerxes about Jerusalem:

Cross References

• 1. 4.6Esther 1.1.