EsdrasChapitre 4

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When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel,

they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here."

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of Israel's families answered them, "You have nothing to do with us in building a house for our God. We ourselves will build for the LORD, the God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, king of Persia, commanded us."

Then the people of the land kept weakening the hands of the people of Judah and making them afraid to build.

They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans throughout the reign of Cyrus king of Persia and on into the reign of Darius king of Persia.

In the reign of Ahasuerus, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic script and set out in the Aramaic language.

Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

From Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges, the envoys, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites,

together with the rest of the peoples whom the great and honorable Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in the province Beyond the River. And now:

This is a copy of the letter they sent him: To King Artaxerxes, from your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River. And now:

Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have arrived at Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city; they are finishing its walls and repairing its foundations.

Now let it be known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, they will pay no tribute, tax, or toll, and the royal revenue will suffer.

Now because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not right for us to watch the king be dishonored, we send this word to inform the king,

so that a search may be made in the record books of your fathers. In those records you will find and learn that this city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that from ancient times revolt has been stirred up within it. That is why this city was laid waste.

We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, you will no longer have any holding in the province Beyond the River.

The king sent this reply: To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River: Greetings. And now:

The letter you sent us has been read out clearly in my presence.

I gave the order, and a search was made, and it was found that this city has risen against kings from ancient times, and that rebellion and revolt have been carried on in it.

Mighty kings have ruled in Jerusalem and governed the whole province Beyond the River, and tribute, tax, and toll were paid to them.

Now give the order to make these men stop, so that this city is not rebuilt until I issue a further decree.

See that you are not negligent in this matter. Why should the damage grow and the kings be harmed?

As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates, they hurried to the Jews in Jerusalem and forced them to stop by force of arms.

So the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a halt, and it stood still until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

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Résumé2

Chapitre 4

Main Theme: Opposition to the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem from local enemies and Persian authorities.

Content: When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building the temple, they offered to join, but Zerubbabel and the leaders refused them, citing King Cyrus's decree. The enemies responded by intimidating the people, bribing advisors, and sending accusations to the Persian kings Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes. Artaxerxes ordered the work to stop, and construction remained halted until the second year of King Darius's reign.

Key Terms/Images:

"The people of the land" – Local ethnic groups settled in the area by the Assyrians who opposed the Jews' temple building.
Letter to the king – Written accusations portraying Jerusalem as a rebellious city in order to stop the construction.
King Cyrus's decree – The basis for the Jews' exclusive right to build the temple, used as an argument to reject cooperation.

Contexte historique

Historical and Cultural Context for Ezra 4

People

The chapter introduces several key figures. "The adversaries of Judah and Benjamin" (v. 1) refers to the peoples settled in the former Northern Kingdom by the Assyrians. They claim they have worshipped the God of Israel since Esarhaddon (681–669 B.C.) brought them there. This aligns with 2 Kings 17:24–41, which describes the mixed religious practices among these peoples.

Rehum, holding the title "beʿel ṭeʿem" (בְּעֵל־טְעֵם, "lord of decrees"), was a high-ranking Persian official, likely a regional governor or commander. Shimsbai was a "sofer" (סָפְרָא), a scribe or secretary—a crucial position in the Persian administration. Ashnappar (v. 10) is most probably the great Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (668–627 B.C.), who continued the deportation policies of his predecessors.

Places

Samaria (שָׁמְרָיִן) served as the Persian provincial capital for the region. The city had been the Northern Kingdom's capital before 722 B.C. and was now the center of the mixed population opposing the Jews. "Beyond the River" (עֲבַר נַהֲרָא) was the official name of the Persian satrapy encompassing the entire area west of the Euphrates, including Syria, Phoenicia, and Judah.

The list of peoples in verses 9–10 mentions groups from various parts of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires: Babylonians, people from Susa (the Elamite capital), and several others. This illustrates the scope of the Assyrian mass deportations.

Events and Customs

The offer of cooperation in verse 2 and its rejection in verse 3 reflect a fundamental tension in the post-exilic period: Who belonged to true Israel? The returnees insisted that only those who had been in exile and now held Cyrus's mandate had the right to build the temple. This excluded those who had remained in the land or were descendants of imported peoples.

"Hiring advisors" (v. 5) was a common practice within the Persian system. Local populations could engage spokespeople at court who could influence royal decisions. This shows that the opponents used official channels rather than merely local harassment.

Key Terms

The chapter shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic in verse 8 and continues in Aramaic until Ezra 6:18. Aramaic was the administrative language of the Persian Empire, so the letters are quoted in their original language. The expression "written in Aramaic and translated" (v. 7) may mean that the letter was written in the Aramaic script and language, or that it was translated for the king.

The terms for taxes in verse 13—"minda" (tribute tax), "bēlō" (consumption tax), and "ḥalāḵ" (road toll)—are Persian loanwords reflecting the empire's complex taxation system. The letter writers argued economically: Jerusalem would threaten the king's revenue.

Chapter-Specific Findings

The Persian administrative system described in the chapter—with regional officials, formal letters, and royal archives—is confirmed by many discoveries. The Persepolis tablets show how correspondence functioned within the Persian bureaucracy. The expression "book of records" (v. 15) refers to the royal archives kept in the capitals; such archives are known from both Assyrian and Persian sources.

The chronology in the chapter is complex. Verses 6–23 form an insertion describing opposition under later kings (Ahasuerus/Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I), before the text in verse 24 returns to the time of Darius. This literary device gathers various examples of opposition thematically, even though they span nearly a hundred years chronologically.

Personnages13

Ahasuerus1 Joshua1 Shismai2 Darius I1 Ashurbanipal1 Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel/Pedaiah)2 Artaxerxes (Persian king)4 Bishlam1 Cyrus (Persian king)2 Esarhaddon1 Mithredath1 Rehum2 Tabeel1

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Mots-clés8

Ezra — A Jewish scribe and priest who helped rebuild the temple in Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon.
Book 4 — The fourth chapter of the book of Ezra, which describes opposition to the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls in Jerusalem.
Rebuilding — The process of restoring or reconstructing something that has been destroyed, such as the temple and the city walls in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem — The holy city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and the capital of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
Exile — A period when the Jews were forced to leave their homeland and live in other countries, especially in Babylon.
Babylon — An ancient Mesopotamian empire known for holding the Jews in exile and destroying the first temple in Jerusalem.
Artaxerxes — A Persian king who reigned during the time when the Jews were in exile in Babylon. He received letters from opponents of the rebuilding of Jerusalem and ordered that the work be stopped.
Opposition — In this context, it refers to individuals or groups who tried to prevent the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls in Jerusalem.