The adversaries of Judah and Benjamin - peoples settled in the land by the Assyrian kings - approached Zerubbabel offering to help build the temple since they had been sacrificing to Israel's God, but the Jewish leaders refused, stating that they alone would build as Cyrus had commanded. The enemies then hired counselors to frustrate the work throughout the reigns of Cyrus and Darius, and during the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) and Artaxerxes they wrote accusations against the Jews. The chapter records a letter from Rehum and Shimshai to Artaxerxes warning that Jerusalem's reconstruction would lead to rebellion and loss of revenue, prompting Artaxerxes to order the work stopped by force; the narrative then returns to note that temple construction had ceased until the second year of Darius king of Persia.
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Read Ezra Chapter 4 Summary
Explanation
Ezra 4
Historical setting
Judah has recently returned from exile in Babylon after the Persian king Cyrus issued a decree permitting the Jews to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. This is the period shortly after 539 BCE, when the Persian empire had conquered Babylon and Cyrus adopted a policy of allowing deported peoples to return home. The people mentioned as "adversaries" in the opening are settlers whom Assyrian kings had brought into the land generations earlier, during and after the deportation of the northern kingdom of Israel. They now live in the region and claim some religious kinship with the returnees. The returned Jews are a minority in their own land, rebuilding under Persian sanction but facing local opposition.
Life and customs
In the Persian administrative system, authority flowed from the king downward through appointed officials and governors. Cities and provinces paid taxes and customs duties to the crown, and the Persian king took this revenue seriously. Officials who reported problems to the king, as Rehum and Shimshai do here, were performing a recognized function; such letters of accusation and warning were a normal part of imperial administration. The language shift mentioned in verse 7, where the letter is "written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue," indicates the official written language of the Persian administration in this region (Aramaic), distinct from the spoken language. The title "chancellor" held real authority in the Persian system, and such officials had access to the king and his records.
What the text says
Verses 1-3: When enemies of Judah and Benjamin hear the exiles are rebuilding the temple, they approach Zerubbabel and the leaders offering to help because, they say, they have sacrificed to the God of Israel since the time of Esarhaddon of Assyria. The Jewish leaders refuse, stating that they alone will build, as King Cyrus commanded.
Verses 4-5: The local people then weaken Judah's resolve and trouble them in building. They hire counselors to frustrate the work throughout Cyrus's reign and into Darius's reign.
Verses 6-7: During Ahasuerus's reign, people write an accusation against Judah and Jerusalem. In Artaxerxes's reign, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and others write to Artaxerxes in Aramaic.
Verses 8-10: Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe write a letter against Jerusalem, signed by various peoples listed by name and by other nations settled in Samaria and the region.
Verses 11-16: The letter warns the king that if Jerusalem is rebuilt and its walls restored, the city will cease paying taxes and customs, reducing royal revenue. It appeals to the king's own records, claiming Jerusalem has a history of rebellion against kings.
Verses 17-22: The king replies, confirming that he searched the records and found Jerusalem did rebel. He orders the work to stop until he gives further command.
Takeaways
- Opposition to rebuilding comes both from local populations and from Persian officials using administrative channels to block the work.
- The rebuilt temple remains incomplete for years because a later Persian king reversed Cyrus's original permission.
- The accusation in the letter, that a strong Jerusalem threatens tribute revenue, reveals what the opposition actually feared beneath claims of religious concern.
Characters in This Chapter
Priest and scribe who led the second return and addressed intermarriage
Leader of the first return who oversaw temple rebuilding
Persian king who decreed the Jews could return and rebuild the temple
Son of Jacob, Ancestor of David and Christ
Youngest Son of Jacob
King who Cast Daniel into the Lions' Den
Places in This Chapter
The Temple in Jerusalem was the permanent house of worship built by Solomon on Mount Moriah. Destroyed by Babylon, it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel and later greatly expanded by Herod. Jesus taught in the Temple courts, cleared it of merchants, and predicted its destruction, which occurred in 70 AD.
Persia (modern Iran) was a major empire that conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem. King Cyrus issued the decree permitting the temple's reconstruction. The books of Esther and Daniel are set partly in the Persian court. Nehemiah served as cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes before returning to rebuild Jerusalem's walls.
Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel and later became the name for the entire region between Judea and Galilee. After the Assyrian conquest, the population became mixed, and the Samaritans developed their own form of worship. Jews and Samaritans had deep hostility. Jesus broke social barriers by speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well and telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Position in Book
Altar rebuilt, temple foundation laid, opposition faced, work completed under Darius.