Bible Word of the Day
Artaxerxes (King of Persia During the Captivity)
Meaning
Artaxerxes I also called Longimanus (which meant longhand) was the fourth king of the Persian Empire. He ruled from 464 BC to 424 BC. Before him where Cyrus, Cambyses and Darius (both Cyrus and Darius are mentioned in the Bible). In Persian his name was pronounced “Artakhshathra.” Artaxerxes was the second son of Xerxes also called Ahasuerus, who was murdered in the summer of 465 BC by his all-powerful vizir Artaban. The murderer accused the king’s eldest son Darius of the crime, with the result that Darius was slain by his younger brother Artaxerxes, who then took the throne.
Artaxerxes was the king we read about in the book of Ezra, who in the seventh year of his reign let Ezra return to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. However, when the local Gentile leaders in the area of Jerusalem, who fought against the Jewish people complained. King Artaxerxes put a halt to the rebuilding of the city walls. However, in the twentieth year of his reign Artaxerxes let Nehemiah return and complete the rebuilding of the city walls. Nehemiah gives an accurate picture, showing him to have been a kindly monarch, who noticing the sadness of his cupbearer, asked him his wish and granted it. Also, we have to remember Artaxerxes viewed the Jewish people in a favorable light. His father Xerxes (Ahasuerus) was married to the Jewish woman named Esther and it was Mordecai, her uncle who had saved the life of Xerxes. We can read about Esther and how God used her in the book of Esther.
“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, the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.” (Book of Ezra 7:1-6)
“And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently, up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit.” (Book of Ezra 7:21-22)