Ezra 4:5-7
4:5 a The people paid a heavy price for their uncompromising commitment to holiness.• King Cyrus reigned until 530 BC. Darius (Darius I) took the throne of Persia in 521 BC. Work on the Temple resumed in 520 BC and was finished in 515 BC (see 6:15 b).
Summary for Ezra 4:6-23: 4:6-23 c These verses are a parenthetical discussion of later opposition to Jewish rebuilding efforts. The account actually belongs with much later events in the reign of Xerxes (486–465 BC) and Artaxerxes I (465–424 BC), but it is included here because it fits with the theme of opposition. Chronologically, 4:6 d fits between chs 6 e and 7 f, while 4:7-23 g fits before Neh 1 h.
4:7 i The exact date of these events is unknown, but they might have occurred around the same time as an Egyptian revolt in 448 BC (a few years before Artaxerxes I sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem in 445 BC). If so, the enemies of Judah and Artaxerxes probably thought that the Jews would revolt as the Egyptians had.
• Aramaic was the international diplomatic language of the Persian Empire.
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