Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to Ezra · About this commentary
The Letter to the King
Ezra 4:6-16
6 In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. · WEB
A letter is quoted in full, and its argument is that a rebuilt Jerusalem is a tax problem.
The narrative breaks its own chronology here. Accusations under Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes are gathered together, though the building in question belongs to earlier reigns — the compiler groups the opposition by kind rather than by date, filing every hostile letter in one place.
The senders are listed with care: Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe, then a roll of peoples — Dinaites, Apharsathchites, Tarpelites, and the rest — identified as those whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over and settled in the city of Samaria. Resettled populations again, as in the offer to help Ezra 4:2.
Then the letter itself, quoted from its address down: to King Artaxerxes, from your servants, the people beyond the River.
Its argument is not religious. Nothing in it objects to a temple or to the God of Israel. It is about revenue and security, and it is competently built.
First the characterization: the Jews are building the rebellious and bad city, and have finished the walls and repaired the foundations. Note what has changed — the complaint has moved from a temple to walls, which is a military matter rather than a cultic one.
Then the consequence a treasury would care about: if this city is built and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll. Three named revenue streams. A fortified city can withhold payment; an unwalled one cannot.
Then the writers' credentials, in a phrase that gives the whole letter its tone: because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not appropriate for us to see the king's dishonor. They present themselves as loyal dependents raising an awkward matter reluctantly.
And then the move that makes the letter work: that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. They do not ask the king to take their word. They invite him to check the archive, which they know contains a record of rebellion — the same instrument that will later rescue the project when a different archive is searched Ezra 6:1–2.
The closing threat is territorial: you will have no possession beyond the River.
settled What this mark means