Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Ezra , Artaxerxes comes before Darius | Ezra 4:23 | power_of_grace | 127496 | ||
Ezra 4:23 states As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compeled them by force to stop. Ezra 4:24 Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the 2nd year of the regin of Darius King of Persia. What I don't understand is Darius reigned from 521 to 486 BC the Temple was completed in 516 BC King Artaxerxes reigned from 465 to 424 BC. How could Artaxerxes give the order to stop work on the temple some 50 plus years before he became King. |
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2 | Ezra , Artaxerxes comes before Darius | Ezra 4:23 | EdB | 127502 | ||
I think your getting tangled up with the fact Darius in not just a proper name it was also a title like king. It is very similar to Caesar of Rome, there was one Julius Caesar but later all the emperors took the name Caesar as a title. Here is a very brief discussion from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia you might want to check a copy out for the complete story. DARIUS The name of three or four kings mentioned in the Old Testament. In the original Persian it is spelled "Darayavaush"; in Babylonian, usually "Dariamush"; in Susian(?), "Tariyamaush"; in Egyptian "Antaryuash"; on Aramaic inscriptions, daôreyaôwesh; in Greek, , DareŒños; in Latin, "Darius." In meaning it is probably connected with the new Persian word Dara, "king." Herodotus says it means in Greek, , "restrainer," "compeller," "commander." Hope this clears some of the mystery. EdB |
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3 | Ezra , Artaxerxes comes before Darius | Ezra 4:23 | power_of_grace | 127734 | ||
I think you misunderstand my question. It is not Darius who I'm questioning it is Artaxerxes. He wrote the letter to stop work on the temple, Artaxerxes wasn't king until 465 BC that's 50 years after the temple was completed. How could Artaxerxes stop the building. At this period in time he would probably still be a child, considering he reigned until 424 BC. Which would mean if he was 1 year old in 519 BC he would have been 95 years old at the end of his reign | ||||||
4 | Ezra , Artaxerxes comes before Darius | Ezra 4:23 | EdB | 127773 | ||
This is a very difficult and confusing passage. And I know of two views. One that conflicts with other information and for that reason I discount it. In the explanation I discount they move the completion of the Temple up to 450 BC but too many other places establish the temple was complete in 519-515 BC. However the view I think is right is this the writer of Ezra was recording the historical events of the rebuilding of the temple and Jerusalem. As he got to Ezra 4:4 He is talking about people that try to discourage or stop. In verse 5 and 6 he relates the history of attempts during Darius time and again in Ahasuerus time. It is almost like he is doing a breaking news report because in verse 7 he says and in days of Artazerxes they tried again. He then explains what takes place in the mosty current attempt. Ending in verse 23 where he states the Artaxeres issue a edict to cease work. Then in verse 24 and on into chapter 5 we see revert back to history telling how Darius stopped the building and how it later resumed. As I said this passage is very difficult but if you read verses 4-7 you get a hint of what is going on. However if you approach this as something is wrong it is very hard to see. The fact remains in chapter 6:15 it clearly states the temple work was restored and completed in 6 th year of Darius which as I stated is around 519-515 BC. If this was a mistake or a lie I would imagine every scribe would have caught this since it is so close together. However in every commentary I read that offers an explanation they matter of factly agree the writer is digressing back and forth in time. EdB |
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