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Artaxerxes
Son of Xerxes and Vashti, in the Babylonian exile and the return. Named in scripture at Ezra 4:7.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 1
Archaeology — physical evidence · 1
Life, role & deeds
BibleHe sent Ezra to Jerusalem with authority to teach the Law, and later let Nehemiah rebuild the city walls.
Ezra 7:11–26; Nehemiah 2:1–8
Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg) — CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
ArchaeologyArtaxerxes I is well documented in Persian and Greek sources and at Persepolis; the Jewish Elephantine papyri are even dated by his regnal years.
Persepolis Fortification and Treasury tablets; Greek historians (Thucydides, Histories 1; Ctesias, Persica); and the Elephantine Aramaic papyri dated by his regnal years — see Cowley, Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century B.C. (Clarendon, 1923) and Porten, Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt (TAD)
Where in scripture
EzraNehemiah
Ezra 4:7Ezra 4:8Ezra 4:11Ezra 4:23Ezra 6:14Ezra 7:1Ezra 7:7Ezra 7:11Ezra 7:12Ezra 7:21Ezra 8:1Nehemiah 2:1Nehemiah 5:14Nehemiah 13:6
Family
In their own words — 5 recorded sayings
“And now the sense of the letter which you sent to us has been made clear to me, And I gave orders for a search to be made, and it is certain that in the past this town has made trouble for kings, and that outbursts against authority have taken place there. Further, there have been great kings in Jerusalem, ruling over all the country across the river, to whom they gave taxes and payments in goods and forced payments. Give an order now, that these men are to do nothing more, and that the building of the town is to be stopped, till I give an order. Be certain to do this with all care: do not…” — Ezra 4:18-22
“Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, all peace; And now it is my order that all those of the people of Israel, and their priests and Levites in my kingdom, who are ready and have a desire to go to Jerusalem, are to go with you. Because you are sent by the king and his seven wise men, to get knowledge about Judah and Jerusalem, as you are ordered by the law of your God which is in your hand; And to take with you the silver and gold freely offered by the king and his wise men to the God of Israel, whose Temple is in Jerusalem, As well as all the…” — Ezra 7:12-26
“And the king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing that you are not ill? this is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was full of fear;” — Nehemiah 2:2
“Then the king said to me, What is your desire? So I made prayer to the God of heaven.” — Nehemiah 2:4
“And the king said to me (the queen being seated by his side), How long will your journey take, and when will you come back? So the king was pleased to send me, and I gave him a fixed time.” — Nehemiah 2:6
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).