Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 4:11

This [is] the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, [even] unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time.

11. unto him, even unto Artaxerxes ] R.V. unto Artaxerxes the king.

the men on this side the river ] R.V. beyond the river. The A.V. does not recognize that the senders of the letter place themselves in the position of the recipient; the expression “beyond the river” applied to a country would to a Persian subject convey as distinct an idea of a particular district as ‘Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul’ would to a Roman subject whether living in Italy or Gaul.

and at such a time ] R.V. ‘and so forth’, i.e. ‘et ctera’. See note on Ezr 4:10. Probably a long and wearisome salutation is thus briefly dispatched.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 11. And at such a time.] The word ucheeneth has greatly perplexed all commentators and critics. The versions give us no light; and the Vulgate translates it et dicunt salutem, “and they wish prosperity.” Some translate it and so forth; and our translators supposed that it referred to the date, which however is not specified, and might have been as easily entered as the words and at such a time.

In our first translation of the Bible, that by Coverdale, in 1535, the passage stands thus: “And other on this syde the water, and in Canaan.”

In that by Becke, 1549, it is thus: “And other on this syde the water, and in Ceneeth:” and in the margin he enters “or peace,” “or health.”

In Cardmarden’s Bible, printed at Rouen, 1566, it stands thus: “And other that are nowe on thys syde the water.”

In that printed by Barker, 1615, we find the text thus: “AND OTHER that are beyond the river, and Cheeneth;” on which is the following marginal note: “To wit, Euphrates: and he meaneth in respect of Babel, that they dwelt beyond it.” And the note on Cheeneth is, “Which were a certain people that envied the Jews.” All this is merely guessing, in the midst of obscurity; most of these having considered the original word Ceeneth as the name of a people; and in this they follow the Syriac, which uses the word Acaneth.

Calmet thinks we should read ubaeth, “and at this time; ” as if they had said, “We wish thee to enjoy the same health and prosperity at all future times, which thou dost at present.” This is not remote from the meaning of the Chaldee original.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

This is the copy of the letter they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king,…. Which Ezra brought with him from Babylon, and is contained in the five following verses:

thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time; this was the inscription of the letter, or the beginning of it.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(11) On this side the river.Literally, beyond the river Euphrates, as written for the Persian court.

And at such a time.Rather, and so forth; meaning, Thy servants, as aforesaid, alluding to the superscription.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

11. This is the copy After this verse (Ezr 4:12-16) we seem to have an exact transcript of the substance of the letter that they sent. What precedes in Ezr 4:9-10 was a sort of paraphrase of the introduction to the letter. See note on Ezr 4:8.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The Letter To Artaxerxes

v. 11. This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king, at least a summary of the contents, if not an exact copy. Thy servants, the men on this side the river, and at such a time, that is, “and so forth,” all the compliments of the introduction being omitted.

v. 12. Be it known unto the king that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, they had been returning from Babylon for a matter of some seventy years then, and small companies were still coming in from the East, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, on which they were still building, and joined the foundations, they were still excavating and working to strengthen the foundations.

v. 13. Be it known now unto the king that, if this city be builded and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, the individual poll-tax, tribute, property-tax, and custom, all import and export duties, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings, and so their action would finally prepare damage for the king.

v. 14. Now, because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, literally, “because with the salt of the palace we are salted,” said of living on any one’s bounty, and it was not meet for to see the king’s dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king, making known to him the following facts, suggesting the following procedure,

v. 15. that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers, this duty being performed by the keeper of the royal archives; so shalt thou find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city and hurtful unto kings and provinces, whose inhabitants are addicted to uproar and rebellions, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time; for which cause was this city destroyed.

v. 16. We certify the king that, if this city be builded again and the walls thereof set up, all its defenses finished as in the days of its greatest power, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river, the implication being that the Jews would cause the entire territory south and west of the Euphrates to declare and maintain its independence.

v. 17. Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum, the chancellor, and to Shimshai, the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, all the communities of colonists, and unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time, the usual complimentary remarks at the opening of a letter being omitted.

v. 18. The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.

v. 19. And I commanded, by issuing a decree or edict, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection, rising up in haughty rebellion, against kings and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.

v. 20. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river, this being true of David and Solomon; and toll, tribute, and custom was paid unto them, all the surrounding countries being tributary to their kingdom at that time.

v. 21. Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me.

v. 22. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? They should make no mistake in averting this damage, since it might so easily grow to be a pest.

v. 23. Now, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai, the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews and made them to cease by force and power, evidently using even troops to enforce their demand. This excursus, showing to what extent the hostility of the Samaritans went and how long it lasted, was inserted for the sake of completeness in characterizing them. The author now returns to his history of the building of the Temple, the last verse of the chapter connecting with v. 5 above.

v. 24. Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. The foundation had been laid and the altar of burnt offering erected in its former place, but no more work was done. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia, 520 B. C. The false church is ever the enemy of the true Church and is continually striving to deprive it of its rights and liberties, in order to hinder the spread of the Gospel.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Ezr 4:11 This [is] the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, [even] unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time.

Ver. 11. Thy servants ] Not thy subjects only, but thine officers.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Ezr 4:11-16

11bTo King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men in the region beyond the River, and now 12let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city and are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13Now let it be known to the king, that if that city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, custom or toll, and it will damage the revenue of the kings. 14Now because we are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore we have sent and informed the king, 15so that a search may be made in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that that city is a rebellious city and damaging to kings and provinces, and that they have incited revolt within it in past days; therefore that city was laid waste. 16We inform the king that if that city is rebuilt and the walls finished, as a result you will have no possession in the province beyond the River.

Ezr 4:11 b The message to Artaxerxes (Artaxerxes I Longimanus, 465-424 B.C.), the Persian king (cf. Ezr 4:7), begins here and runs through Ezr 4:16.

Ezr 4:12 let it be known to the king The two VERBS in this verse and Ezr 4:13; Ezr 4:22; Ezr 5:8 are the same.

1. known (BDB 1095), Qal PASSIVE PARTICIPLE

2. be (BDB 1089) Peal IMPERFECTS used in a JUSSIVE sense

finishing the walls It is obvious that we have jumped from the finishing of the temple (cf. Ezra 1-5) to the finishing of the walls (cf Ezr 4:16; Ezr 4:21; Ezra 7-10, and Nehemiah).

Ezr 4:13-16 The Samaritans’ accusation was based on three things: (1) they will not pay taxes; (2) they have rebelled in the past; and (3) they will rebel again and take away the Province Beyond the River.

Ezr 4:13 will damage the revenue of the kings This Aramaic VERB (BDB 1102, Haphel IMPERFECT) is used several times in the OT, here in reference to a Persian king (cf. Ezr 4:15; Ezr 4:22; Dan 6:2), as is the related Hebrew VERB (BDB 634, cf. Est 7:4).

There seem to be three consequences in the letter allowing the Jews to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

1. loss of tax revenue

2. loss of face (reputation)

3. loss of land (the Jews once controlled Palestine and they would try to do it again)

of the kings This PLURAL refers to future kings of the Persian Empire or is an example of the Hebrew grammatical feature called the PLURAL OF MAJESTY.

Ezr 4:13 we are in the service of the place This is literally we eat the salt of the palace, which was a Near Eastern metaphor for friendship and association (BDB 1100). Possibly this is a reference to a vow symbolized by eating salt.

the king’s dishonor The term dishonor (BDB 1100) is literally nakedness, which became a metaphor for shame or dishonor.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

men. Chaldee. ‘enosh. See App-14.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

the Enemys Short-Lived Triumph

Ezr 4:11-24

The promoters of this letter were descendants of the heathen colonists who had been sent into the land by the Assyrians, 2Ki 17:24. It was written to the then reigning monarch, Artaxerxes, which Ezra seems to have copied from the records of Persia, because it stands in the original in the Chaldee language. Notice that now the Israelites are first called Jews, i.e., Judahites, Ezr 4:12. They urge that the Temple-building should be stayed for the kings own sake. Secret enmity to Gods kingdom is often hidden under pretended devotion to Caesar, Joh 19:12. We, too, have our maintenance from the God of heaven, we have eaten the salt of the palace, Ezr 4:14; and we should never allow His name to be dishonored without doing our best to prevent it. The king was imposed upon by their representations, and ordered the work to cease. But it is probable that something was due to the supineness of the Jews, who were already half-hearted in their endeavors, Hag 1:2-9. The rebuilding of the Temple stopped during the reigns of Cambyses and the Magia Smerdis; but in the second year of Darius Hystaspes it was recommenced, and was then finished in four years, or nineteen years after its commencement, Zec 8:9; Hag 2:18.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Reciprocal: 1Ki 21:8 – she wrote Ezr 3:3 – for fear Ezr 4:10 – at such a time Ezr 4:17 – at such a time Ezr 5:6 – copy Ezr 7:11 – the copy Ezr 7:12 – unto Ezra

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge