Ezra4

Ezra chapter 4 details the opposition faced by the returned Jewish exiles as they began rebuilding the temple. Local adversaries initially offered to help but were rejected by Zerubbabel and the leaders. Consequently, these adversaries actively hindered the work and later wrote accusations to Persian kings, alleging that Jerusalem was a rebellious city. King Artaxerxes, after consulting historical records, confirmed Jerusalem's history of sedition and issued a decree to stop the building. This royal command was then forcibly enforced, halting the temple construction until the second year of Darius's reign.

Opposition to Rebuilding the Temple

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel;

then they drew near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you; for we seek your God, as you do; and we sacrifice to him since the days of Esar Haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.”

But Zerubbabel, and Yeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel, said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves together will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,

and hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Administrative Opposition Through Letters

In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

In the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in Syrian, and delivered in the Syrian language.

Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:

then Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites,

and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River, and so forth, wrote.

The Accusation Letter to Artaxerxes

This is the copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Your servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.

Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up from you have come to us to Jerusalem; they are building the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations.

Be it known now to the king that if this city is built, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful to the kings.

Now because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not appropriate for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore have we sent and informed the king;

that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers: so you shall find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time; for which cause was this city laid waste.

We inform the king that, if this city be built, and the walls finished, by this means you shall have no portion beyond the River.

Artaxerxes Halts the Work

Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace, and so forth.

The letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.

I decreed, and search has been made, and it is found that this city of old time has made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.

There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the country beyond the River; and tribute, custom, and toll, was paid to them.

Make a decree now to cause these men to cease, and that this city not be built, until a decree shall be made by me.

Take heed that you not be slack herein: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?

Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.

Then ceased the work of God’s house which is at Jerusalem; and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Study Notes for Ezra 4

Verse 1

The 'adversaries' refers primarily to the people who had settled in Samaria after the Assyrian deportations. They feared the re-establishment of a strong, independent Jewish state.

Verse 2

The offer to help build was rejected because their worship (claiming to seek 'your God') was syncretistic, mixing true Yahwism with pagan practices, which would compromise the purity of the rebuilding effort (cf. 2 Kings 17:33).

Verse 3

Zerubbabel and Jeshua maintained theological integrity by insisting that the temple must be built solely by the covenanted people, according to the specific commands of God and King Cyrus.

Verse 4

When political co-option failed, the adversaries resorted to active sabotage, using intimidation and psychological tactics to discourage the returning exiles from continuing the work.

Verse 5

This verse highlights the extreme longevity of the opposition, which successfully frustrated the work for approximately 16 years, spanning the entire remainder of Cyrus’s reign and the reign of Cambyses, until the second year of Darius I.

Verse 6

Verses 6–23 constitute a chronological insertion to show the continuous nature of opposition against Jerusalem across different Persian kings (Ahasuerus/Xerxes and Artaxerxes), even though the temple was finished under Darius (v. 24).

Verse 7

The focus here shifts from the temple to the rebuilding of the city walls, which occurred later. The letter was written in Aramaic (described as 'Syrian tongue'), the official administrative language of the western Persian Empire.

Verse 8

Rehum and Shimshai held high provincial authority (chancellor and scribe, respectively), indicating that the opposition was official, bureaucratic, and highly organized.

Verse 9

This extensive list names the various ethnic groups settled in Samaria by Assyrian kings, forming a multi-national coalition that opposed the restoration of Jewish identity and power.

Verse 10

Asnappar is generally identified with the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. This detail emphasizes that the 'people of the land' were foreign transplants whose loyalty was tied to the imperial power, not to the local traditions.

Verse 12

The adversaries strategically use inflammatory language, labeling Jerusalem a 'rebellious and bad city.' They focus on the rebuilding of the walls, which was interpreted as an act of political self-determination and rebellion against Persia.

Verse 13

This accusation employs a powerful economic argument: a fortified Jerusalem would inevitably withhold imperial taxes (toll, tribute, custom), thereby damaging the king’s financial interests.

Verse 14

The phrase 'we have maintenance from the king’s palace' (literally, 'we eat the salt of the palace') signifies their obligation as officials to protect the king’s honor and revenue, lending authority to their claims.

Verse 15

The request to search the royal records (the 'book of the records of thy fathers') demonstrates their knowledge of Jerusalem's history of rebellion against previous empires, appealing to established legal precedent.

Verse 16

The final threat elevates the political stakes, suggesting that if Jerusalem is rebuilt, the Persian king will lose all control over the entire Trans-Euphrates province ('this side the river').

Verse 19

The king's official investigation confirmed that Jerusalem had historically been a center of insurrection. This historical finding provided the legal justification necessary for him to issue a decree against the rebuilding.

Verse 20

The records also showed that powerful Jewish kings had once ruled the entire province, validating the fear that a rebuilt, fortified Jerusalem would seek regional dominance.

Verse 21

Artaxerxes did not issue a permanent edict, but a temporary suspension ('until another commandment shall be given from me'), indicating caution rather than outright hostility toward the Jews.

Verse 23

The officials immediately enforced the king’s decree, using official 'force and power' to halt the rebuilding of the city walls (the action addressed in the correspondence).

Verse 24

This verse returns to the main chronological narrative begun in verse 5, concluding that the original *temple* work was stopped until 520 BC, when the prophet Haggai and Zechariah encouraged its resumption.

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Ezra4

Opposition to Rebuilding the Temple

Administrative Opposition Through Letters

The Accusation Letter to Artaxerxes

Artaxerxes Halts the Work

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