Who was king artaxerxes in the book of nehemiah

Then, the king noticed his sadness and inquired about the reason. Learning that the remnant of jews in judah were in distress and that the walls of jerusalem were broken down, he asked the king for permission to return and rebuild the city. He also returned the treasures that taken from the temple under the reign of. While in the presence of king artaxerxes, nehemiah prayed before responding to the kings question of what he wanted. In the 20th year of artaxerxes i of persia, nehemiah, cupbearer to the king in susa the persian capital, learns that the wall of jerusalem is destroyed. Artachshashta in the book of ezra during ezras appearance artaxerxes ii. Nehemiah realized that prayer is a necessary leadership habit that enhances communication with god and secures vision for ministry clinton, 1993, p. The old testament book of nehemiah takes place during a time of exile and captivity for the jewish people.

The decrees of artaxerxes i and the seventyweeks prophecypart two. The book of nehemiah is closely related to ezra, of course, and. He was a son of king xerxes ahasuerus and is often referred to as artaxerxes i longimanus. The two became separated with the first printed rabbinic bibles of the early 16th century, following late medieval latin christian tradition.

In the twentieth year of artaxerxes longimanus, nehemiah was sent to. In the book of revelation the return of christ at the end of the seven last plagues, as described in the book of revelation. Nehemiah 2 new international version niv artaxerxes sends nehemiah to jerusalem. Stationed in the winter palace at susa, nehemiah heard from his brother hanani that the walls in jerusalem were broken down and its gates had been destroyed by fire. Although he saw several insurrections over the course of his reign, artaxerxes rule is generally regarded as a peaceful one. The book of nehemiah jerusalem walls summary overview. Nehemiah yahweh has comforted, is a famous cupbearer, who never appears in scripture outside of this book. The decrees of artaxerxes i and the seventyweeks prophecy. The queen also sitting by him which is here noted as an unusual thing, for commonly the kings of persia dined alone. King xerxes was murdered shortly before king artaxerxes ascended the throne. Portrayal in the book of ezra and nehemiah a king artaxerxes hebrew. Josephus wrongfully claims that the ahasuerus xerxes of the book of esther is this artaxerxes i.

Ezra is also responsible for leading the jews back to. This is based on the fact that the books of ezra and nehemiah were originally one. And it came to pass in the month nisan, in the twentieth year of artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him. In the book of nehemiah, chapter 8, verses 19 we see them working together. Ahasuerus, the hebrew version of artachshashta aramaic in ezra 4 and nehemiah artaxerxes i. I was wondering if xerxesahasuerus the king in esther, and mentioned in ezra 4. May 05, 2015 the last great king of the persians, artaxerxes i, authorized the return of ezra to the holy land to deal with deficiencies in the practice of worship among the people of god, and nehemiah, who.

So nehemiahs first stay lasted from 445 to 433 bc and the second stay probably followed soon after. Xerxesahasuerus and artaxerxes biblical issues online. Nehemiah is a separate book in our current versions of the biblical text. Artaxerxes of persia amazing bible timeline with world history. Further as weve seen above there is a great deal of additional chronological and historical evidence that suggest that darius i whom the book of ezra describes as an artaxerxes before the throne name was taken by his grandson was also the king the book of esther describes as ahasuerus. The murderer accused the kings eldest son darius of the.

The book of nehemiah is the continuation of the account that begins in the book of ezra. We know that this is the same artaxerxes as found in the book of ezra due to ezra and nehemiahs joint participation in jerusalem cf. The last great king of the persians, artaxerxes i, authorized the return of ezra to the holy land to deal with deficiencies in the practice of worship among the people of god, and nehemiah, who. Chronological order for ezrahaggaizechariahnehemiah. Date of book nehemiah was a jewish captive and served as the cup bearer to king artaxerxes during the twentieth year of his reign 444 bc see notes below at kings of persia neh. King artaxerxes not only allowed nehemiah to return to jerusalem, he even. The name nehemiah means comforted of yah international standard bible encyclopaedia or god comforts nothing is known of nehemiah except what is written in the book bearing his name. In this fascinating account, nehemiah, the jewish cupbearer to the persian king artaxerxes 1, successfully petitions to take a group back to jerusalem to rebuild the city walls after hearing they are in disrepair. This was done despite the samaritans opposition and the city was repopulated. I read that he was a few days ago, and now that i am reading through those three books, i. He also instituted extensive moral and liturgical reforms in rededicating the jews to yahweh.

This question showed the kings affection for him, and that he was not willing to want his attendance longer than was necessary. Thus it makes much more sense here to see nehemiah identify darius as artaxerxes king of babylon than it does to try and apply that titulature to the persian king artaxerxes i longimanus long after the kingdom of babylon had been subsumed into the persian empire. Nehemiahthe man behind the wall biblical archaeology society. But through nehemiah and others god effectively gave israel a new beginning, as predicted by daniel 9. Some years after these eventsin 445nehemiah, king artaxerxes governor, was aided by god to obtain royal permission to rebuild the walls of jerusalem and the city itself. As with the books of ezra and esther, named after his contemporaries, the book recounts selected events of his leadership and was titled after him. He works his way up to being the new governor of jerusalemjudah, thanks to a series of savvy career moves, beginning with a request to the emperor to permit him go help his. I had not been sad in his presence before, 2 so the king asked me, why does your face look so sad when you are not ill. I read that he was a few days ago, and now that i am reading through those three books, i am trying to discern whether this. The author of nehemiah is unknown, however it reads much like an autobiography of nehemiah who was governor of persian judea and the cupbearer to king artaxerxes nehemiah 2. Nehemiah 2 artaxerxes sends nehemiah to jerusalem bible. We have historical and archaeological findings which uphold the fact that the artaxerxes mentioned in ezra and nehemiah is artaxerxes i, who reigned from 464423 b. The murderer accused the king s eldest son darius of the.

This solution is unacceptable, however, since artaxerxes ii lived several years after the events recorded in ezra and nehemiah. The book of nehemiah is the last of the historical books of the bible, originally part of the book of ezra, but split off into its own volume by the church in 1448. Apologetics press kingly chronology in the book of ezra. In the shanti parvan book of consolation, 12th book of the mahabharata, there is also a notable account of the origin of kingship and of rajadharma, or the. Artaxerxes was the second son of xerxes, who was murdered in the summer of 465 by his allpowerful vizir artaban. Mar 01, 2017 nehemiah realized that prayer is a necessary leadership habit that enhances communication with god and secures vision for ministry clinton, 1993, p. It mentions how he, who worked for king artaxerxes, received report from jerusalem by hanani.

Nehemiah was one of the most underrated heroes in the bible, cupbearer to the powerful persian king artaxerxes i longimanus. He works his way up to being the new governor of jerusalemjudah, thanks to a series of savvy career moves, beginning with a request to the emperor to permit him go help his people rebuild and regroup in jerusalem. He prays to god, recalling the sins of israel and gods promise of restoration to the land, and asks artaxerxes for leave to return to jerusalem and rebuild its walls. Artaxerxes asks nehemiah what it is he wants to request from him. Book of ezra and nehemiah covers the events of the jews returning from the babylonian captivity. The book of nehemiah was likely written between 445 and 420 b. Book of nehemiah overview insight for living ministries. And a letter to your forestkeeper, that i might gather some timber from. Ezra and nehemiah both traveled from persia to jerusalem from the court of artaxerxes. Nehemiah led the third 3rd exodus back to jerusalem, 94 years after zerubbabel 1st exodus of approx. His father was the former king xerxes and he ruled the persian empire from 465 b. In the 20th year of artaxerxes i 445 or 444 bc, nehemiah was cupbearer to the king. Nehemiah, who was a contemporary or served around the same time as ezra, was a cupbearer to the king in the persian empire. Mar 05, 2011 nehemiah is a separate book in our current versions of the biblical text.

Much of the book is written from his firstperson perspective. The queen described in the book of nehemiah is queen esther. Nehemiah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The return of the jews from captivity in babylon and the rebuilding of the temple. Artaxerxes i of persia was the fifth king of the achaemenid dynasty. The book of nehemiah does not specifically name its author, but both jewish and christian traditions recognize ezra as the author. Second, some may attempt to solve this difficulty by alleging that artaxerxes ii was the king who reigned during the days of ezra and nehemiahs return to. So after a quick prayer to god, nehemiah asks artaxerxes if he can return to his homeland of judah and help rebuild the city. May 12, 2015 the old testament book of nehemiah takes place during a time of exile and captivity for the jewish people. The book of nehemiah can therefore have been composed up to around 400 bc. A number of dates in the book of nehemiah can be crosschecked with dates in surviving persian records and related accurately to our modern calendar. After this nehemiah undertook a second journey to jerusalem nehemiah. Artaxerxes of persia amazing bible timeline with world. Kingly chronology in the book of ezra apologetics press.

Nehemiahs a cupbearer to king artaxerxesactually a pretty high position at court. In artaxerxes twentieth year, nehemiah, the king s cupbearer, apparently was also a friend of the king as in that year artaxerxes inquired after nehemiahs sadness. Why is the kingship of darius recorded in the book of ezra following events connected with the kingship of artaxerxes ezra 4. Great king, the name or title of several kings of persia. While in the presence of king artaxerxes, nehemiah prayed before responding to the king s question of what he wanted. The king asks how long hell be gone and when hell return, and they set a date. Near 520 bc after the takeover by nebuchadnezzar, ultimately king cyrus of persia arose to power, and he decided to aid the jews to return to jerusalem. Nehemiahs return to artaxerxes at either persepolis, the capital, or susa was in 432. Nehemiah 1, new living translation nlt the bible app. Nehemiah related to him the plight of the jewish people and that the city of jerusalem was undefended. Jewish tradition identifies nehemiah himself as the primary author of this historical book. This report revealed the miserable conditions in jerusalem. Nehemiah, jewish leader who supervised the rebuilding of jerusalem in the mid5th century bc after his release from captivity by the persian king artaxerxes i. King artaxerxes personally knew of ezra and nehemiah.