Tag Archives: Darius

Ezra: Priest & Scribe – Part II

In my previous article Ezra: Priest & Scribe – Part I we learned that the most reasonable explanation of Ezra’s lineage places him as a contemporary of Darius “the Great” son of Hystaspes also known as “Artaxerxes.” Now we will look once again at the chronology of Ezra with this perspective in mind. If Ezra was in fact a contemporary of Darius “the Great” then we should expect additional confirmation from the Old Testament record.

For those who are not familiar with the chronology of the 2^nd temple era, it is worth briefly going over it once more to establish the context. In 536 BC, Cyrus gave a decree which allowed the Judean captives to return and build the Temple in Jerusalem. Ezra 1:1-3 tells of these events. Incidentally, for those willing to dig a little deeper, the Cyrus Cylinder found in the ruins of Babylon also offers some intriguing confirmation of Ezra’s record below.

Ezra 1:1-3 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of YHWH by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, YHWH stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia….. Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, YHWH God of heaven ….. he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem…. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of YHWH God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.

As I explained in my article The Fifth Command for the next 16 years the enemies of the Jewish people harassed them in their efforts to build the temple. In fact they did not get much further than laying some of the foundation stones.

The chart below is a summary of the Persian rulers from Cyrus to Artaxerxes I. It will provide a handy reference for those trying to figure out how the Persian kings related to the 2^nd temple era chronology.

In 520 BC (2^nd yr. of Darius), YHWH gave the Judean captives a divine command “to restore and build Jerusalem.” Joshua, the high priest, and Zerubbabel, the governor, listened to the words of YHWH as witnessed by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah and construction on the temple resumed. (Ezra 6:14) Four years later, the temple was finished in the 6^th year of Darius.

Now here is where modern Biblical scholarship takes a detour. Ezra 6 ends with the completion of the 2^nd temple in the 6^th year of Darius.(516 BC) Ezra 7 starts with Ezra, the priest & scribe, setting off on his journey to Jerusalem in the 7^th year of “Artaxerxes.”

Today, most Biblical scholars have assumed that this “Artaxerxes” is a reference to Artaxerxes I (Longimanus). This requires them to insert a gap of about 58 years between Ezra 6 & 7. They do this despite the fact that Darius (son of Hystaspes) is in fact called “Artaxerxes” in Ezra 6:14. Let’s take a look.

Ezra 6:14-15 ¹⁴ And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, {and} Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵ And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

It is imperative to note in the verses above, that it clearly states the Jewish people “builded and finished” the temple according to the “commandments” of God of Israel, Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia. Notice it states unequivocally that the temple was finished by the 6^th year of Darius. That means all the secular rulers mentioned in Ezra 6:14 must have ruled at some point previous to the 6^th year of Darius.

Who then is the “and Artaxerxes” mentioned in Ezra 6:14? It couldn’t be the “Artaxerxes” of Ezra 4:7 because this “Artaxerxes” stopped construction of the temple. Who then could it be? Many Biblical scholars have assumed, contrary to the clear context of the verse, that this “Artaxerxes” is a reference to Artaxerxes I – Longimanus. This despite the fact that he reigned almost 60 years after the temple was completed.

Most likely the translators use a single Hebrew letter to further the “Artaxerxes Assumption.” In Hebrew, the letter waw, is often used as a conjunction but as most Hebrew lexicons explain it also has a much wider, though less common, use as well. Below is the TWOT Hebrew lexicon explaining the use of waw.
TWOT_Hebrew_Lex_Waw1 For those who read the entire excerpt you saw the waw can also be used as a “hendiadys,” i.e. two words with one meaning. Take a look at the little chart below. It shows waw as it appears in the Hebrew text of Ezra 6:14.

Ezra 6:14-15 ¹⁴ And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and even Artaxerxes king of Persia.

Since there is no reasonable basis to assume the “Artaxerxes” of Ezra 6:14 was another Persian king the translators should have used waw as a hendiadys not a conjunction. Their decision to use the waw as a conjunction was premised upon the necessity to show that Ezra was a contemporary of Artaxerxes Longimanus. There is simply no other reason to add another Persian king to the chronology of Ezra 6:14-15. I encourage you to work it out yourself.

Now take a look at the Ezra 6 and 7 in this context. In the 6^th year of Darius “even” Artaxerxes the 2^nd temple is completed. Just a few verses later it shows that the temple had been completed and Ezra decided to go up to Jerusalem and teach the people the Torah. Ezra 7 states he received permission to go up to Jerusalem in the 7^th year of “Artaxerxes.” With what we now know, this is perfectly reasonable. No need for another Persian king and a gap of 58 years. Ezra simply went up to Jerusalem in the 7^th year of Darius also known as Artaxerxes. This confirms the Biblical evidence concerning Ezra’s lineage as we saw in Ezra: Priest & Scribe – Part I. This also has far reaching implications for Bible prophecy teachers who hold to the “Artaxerxes Assumption”.

Those of you who have the heart of a Berean, I encourage you to search this out for yourselves. For those of you too proud or stubborn to look, I humbly ask you to reconsider. The uncomfortable implications of this can no longer be ignored as too much is at stake.

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More Articles related to the prophecy of 70 Weeks and 2nd temple era chronology:
The “Artaxerxes” Assumption – The best kept secret of Old Testament chronology.
The Fifth Command – Why do prophecy teachers ignore it?
Ezra: Priest & Scribe – Part I – Defining “Artaxerxes” in the context of Ezra.
Ezra: Priest & Scribe – Part II – Ezra, Darius even “Artaxerxes”.
Nehemiah: The Governor– Nehemiah’s place in the 2nd temple chronology
Queen of Persia – Part I – Defining Esther is the context of the 2nd Temple era.
Queen of Persia – Part II – Defining Esther is the context of the 2nd Temple era.
A New Testament Cipher – The key to unlocking the prophecy of Daniel’s 70 Weeks.
Ezekiel’s 13th Month– Key to understanding Biblical “time” in the 2nd Temple era
6 milestones – Seventy Weeks – Defining the purpose of the Messiah within Daniel’s 70 “weeks”.
The Messiah Factors (Part I): Decoding 13 & 14 – Symbolism of the Messiah
The Messiah Factors (Part II): The Countdown – Proving Yeshua/Jesus is the Messiah promised in Daniel 9.

Ezra: Priest & Scribe – Part I

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During the 2^nd temple period, few Old Testament characters hold a more prominent position than Ezra. The Bible identifies him as a Priest and Scribe. It is believed that he was the author of both the book of Ezra as well as Chronicles. Both of these accounts provide a vivid record of the triumphs and tragedies of the Judean captives’ efforts in rebuilding the 2^nd temple and Jerusalem. After the completion of the temple in the 6^th year of Darius, Ezra, who still resided in Persia, saw the need to return to Jerusalem and teach the people the law of YHWH.

Today, the chronology of Ezra is an important cornerstone for most of today’s teachings on Daniel 9, the greatest Messianic prophecy in the Bible. Daniel 9, also known as the prophecy of “seventy weeks,” is the only prophecy in the Bible that specifically links a dateable secular event with the coming of the Messiah. Daniel 9:25 states the following:

Daniel 9:25 ²⁵ Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks,

Without the chronology of Ezra, there would be no way to determine the starting point for “the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.” (For more on the subject see my articles The Fifth Command and The “Artaxerxes Assumption”.) Considering the importance of Ezra’s writings to our understanding of the Seventy Weeks prophecy you might assume this Old Testament chronology would be well established upon a reasonable Biblical basis. For those who have taken the time to look, you will find instead it is one of the best kept secrets of Old Testament chronology.

Do you find that hard to believe? I encourage you to see for yourself. Choose any of today’s most respected teachers on the prophecy of Seventy Weeks and see what reasonable Biblical evidence they provide to show Ezra was a contemporary of “Artaxerxes” Longimanus. To be sure you will find their “Artaxerxes Assumption” but what you will not find is any reasonable Biblical evidence to support it.
So what does the Bible say about Ezra?

It may surprise you to learn there is substantial Biblical evidence to determine Ezra’s place in 2^nd temple era chronology. Probably the best place to start is in the beginning.

Ezra 7:1 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

In the verse above, it says that Ezra was the son of Seraiah. What’s fascinating about this statement is Seraiah, son of Azariah, was the last high priest of Solomon’s temple. 2 Kings 25:8-21 tells us that Seraiah was taken by Nebuzaradan to Riblah in the 19^th year of Nebuchadnezzar and there he was killed.

2 Kings 25:1-21 ⁸ And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: ⁹ And he burnt the house of YHWH, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. ¹⁰ And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. ¹¹ Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away………..¹⁸ And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door…………. ²⁰ And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah: ²¹ And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.

I think most everyone would agree, it is reasonable to assume that Ezra could not have been conceived after the death of his father, Seraiah. Let’s further assume, for the sake of argument, that Ezra was born the year his father was killed. (Not really a reasonable assumption considering the events that took place in Jerusalem but it’s the earliest he could have been born so let’s go with it) The 19^th year of Nebuchadnezzar by many accounts was 584 BC.

Ezra 7:1-8 Now after these things……… This Ezra went up from Babylon;……. unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. ⁸ And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

In order to establish Ezra’s place in the chronology of the 2^nd Temple era all we now need to do is determine the date for the 7^th year of “Artaxerxes”. If you’ve read my articles The Fifth Command and The “Artaxerxes Assumption you know that the term “Artaxerxes” is simply a title which was applied to several Persian kings. For the sake of brevity, I will not list all the possible Persian Artaxerxes, only those whose reign lasted at least 32 years as required by Nehemiah 5:14. Those Persian kings are Darius “the Great” Artaxerxes, Artaxerxes Longimanus, and Artaxerxes Memnon. With the above information, it is a simple matter to calculate Ezra’s minimum age during the reign of “Artaxerxes”. In the table below you will see the youngest Ezra could have been in the 7^th year of each “Artaxerxes”. Please keep in mind that Ezra was also alive 14 year later at the dedication of the wall in Jerusalem and took an active part in those ceremonies.

The question is simple: Which of the above Persian Kings most reasonably qualifies as a contemporary of Ezra? Keep in mind the words of king David:

Psalm 90:9-10 ⁹ For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. ¹⁰ The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

In my next article, Ezra the Priest and Scribe – Part II we will look at the chronology of Ezra 6 &7. What does the Bible say about the 7^th year of “Artaxerxes” and who does it identify as this “Artaxerxes”? Why is this relevant to the prophecy of Seventy Weeks?

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