ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Ezra 4

4:1–24 Enemies Stall the Project by Conspiring against It. The rebuilding project encounters opposition from other groups in the region, and the work ceases.

Ezra 4:1–2 the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin. The area where the returned exiles lived was officially a Persian province called Beyond the River (v. 10; that is, beyond the Euphrates from the perspective of Persia). Its administrative center was in Samaria, the capital of the former northern kingdom of Israel. Its population was largely descended from peoples settled there by Esarhaddon king of Assyria (see 2 Kings 17:24–33). Assyria had been resettling exiles from other lands in this area since conquering it in 722 b.c. Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do. Indeed, a priest had been sent to teach these peoples’ ancestors the religion of Yahweh (2 Kings 17:24–28), though the account in 2 Kings reports that they worshiped other gods as well (2 Kings 17:29–41).

Ezra 4:3 we alone will build to the Lord. Their stated reason for refusing the offer of help was that Cyrus’s decree applied only to the returning exiles. No doubt they also understood that the actual intent of the offer was to sabotage the project.

Ezra 4:4–5 The real attitude of these residents, now called the people of the land, becomes clear. They showed their opposition all the days of Cyrus . . . even until the reign of Darius, that is, right up to the completion of the temple in 516 b.c. They apparently turned local officials against the project. Even though the project had the full authority of King Cyrus, these local enemies took advantage of the distance of Jerusalem from the imperial capital in Persia.

Ezra 4:6–23 This section interrupts the historical narrative (1:1–4:5), which resumes at 4:24.

Ezra 4:6 This verse jumps forward to events during the reign of Ahasuerus (also called Xerxes, 486–464 b.c.), a key figure in the book of Esther (see Est. 1:1).

Ezra 4:7–23 The author jumps forward again to another hostile episode, when leaders in the province sent a formal letter of complaint to King Artaxerxes I (reigned 464–423 b.c.).

Ezra 4:7–8 The occasion of this letter against the Jewish community is not known, but apparently the people had attempted to rebuild the city walls even before the arrival of Nehemiah in 445 b.c. The letter was in Aramaic, the language used by Persian diplomats. When the letter is introduced (v. 7b), the language changes from Hebrew to Aramaic until 6:18. It returns to Hebrew from 6:19 to the end of the book. Citing the letters in Aramaic gives authenticity to Ezra’s account.

Ezra 4:9–10 The people sending the letter give their names, professions, and national origins. Their ancestors were among the foreigners brought in by the conquering Assyrians to resettle the northern kingdom of Israel after 722 b.c.

Ezra 4:11 Beyond the River. See note on 4:1–2.

Ezra 4:12 that rebellious and wicked city. Actually, the kings of Israel and Judah had often sought compromise with their Assyrian and Bab­ylo­nian oppressors. The writers of this letter assume that the Persian rulers will be easily convinced that the returned exiles are ready to rebel.

Ezra 4:13–16 The threat of an independence movement in Jerusalem is exaggerated. The imperial records would include those of Assyria and Babylon.

Ezra 4:17–22 The king allowed the work of rebuilding to be stopped by force. This may explain why it was later reported that the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins (Neh. 1:3).

Ezra 4:24 The word then picks up the story from v. 5, going back to the period soon after the first return. It is implied that the temple rebuilding had ceased soon after it began, within about two years after c. 537 b.c. (see 3:8). It resumed in the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia, 520 b.c., about 15 years later.