Artaxerxes
What we know — and how we know it
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.
Where in scripture
EzraNehemiahIn the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in Syrian, and delivered in the Syrian language.
Ezra 4:7
Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows,
Ezra 4:8
This is the copy of the letter that they sent: To King Artaxerxes, From your servants the men beyond the River.
Ezra 4:11
Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them to cease by force of arms.
Ezra 4:23
The elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
Ezra 6:14
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,
Ezra 7:1
Some of the children of Israel, including some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.
Ezra 7:7
Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of Yahweh’s commandments, and of his statutes to Israel:
Ezra 7:11
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.
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).