EZRA 4 — OPPOSITION TO THE REBUILDING

Chapter 4 is arranged by theme, not strictly by time. Verses 1–5 describe opposition to the temple building in the days of Cyrus (538–530 BC) and up to the accession of Darius (522 BC). Verses 6–23 jump forward to opposition in the reigns of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I, 486–465 BC) and Artaxerxes I (465–424 BC), and they concern the rebuilding of the city and its walls, not the temple. Verse 24 then returns to the temple, whose work was halted until the second year of Darius (520 BC). The writer groups the examples of opposition together to show a pattern, and the topical arrangement explains why the account seems out of order. From verse 8 through 6:18, the text is in Aramaic, the language of Persian official correspondence, rather than Hebrew. The chapter shows that the work of God meets opposition, that opposition can come in the form of help as well as hostility, and that political accusation can halt a project.

The Aramaic section of Ezra preserves the form and style of Persian-period official correspondence, which is well documented. The Elephantine papyri, written in Aramaic by a Jewish community in Egypt in the fifth century BC, include letters to Persian governors and the Judean authorities that are strikingly similar in structure and phrasing to the letters in Ezra. The title for officials such as Rehum, bᵉʿēl-ṭᵉʿēm, is attested in Aramaic documents. The reference to Osnappar as Ashurbanipal, and to the resettlement of peoples by Assyrian kings, is confirmed by Assyrian records, which describe the deportations and the settlement of foreign peoples in conquered territory. The kings Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) and Artaxerxes I are well attested historically. The use of Aramaic as the diplomatic language of the empire is confirmed by many inscriptions.