Page 92 - Biblical Backgrounds

the decree. They did not find the decree in Babylon, where Jewish leaders thought it would be. Instead,
they found it at Ecbatana in Media. Hence, the decree must have been issued when the court was there
during the summer of the year 539–538. Darius fully honored the decree and ordered that the costs of
construction should be paid out of the royal treasury (Ezra 6:1–15). The temple was completed in the
sixth year of Darius (Ezra 6:15), on the third day of the month Adar, which would have been March 12,
515 BCE.” 132

Darius died around November 486 BCE. Not long before his death, specifically from 492-490 BCE, he
experienced a series of revolts from Greeks in Asia Minor and across the Aegean Sea from warring
factions who increasingly opposed his invasions.

Darius was succeeded by his son Xerxes (485–465). Xerxes was the king’s Greek name. In the Old
Testament, he is known as Ahasuerus (Ezra 4:6; Esther 1:1; etc.), a rough equivalent of his Persian name.
As Ahasuerus, he appears as the husband of Esther. Xerxes inherited major challenges as king of Persia.
First, he had to suppress a revolt in Egypt, which had sparked just before his father’s death, and then he
had to deal with Greek revolts. Within about a year, he thoroughly stopped the Egyptian rebellion.

Xerxes wanted to make sure he was ready to deal effectively with the Greeks. He sent his agents to buy
off the city-states of northern Greece, which left Athens and Sparta and their allies in southern Greece
to stand alone. Extensive military preparations took place in 483–81 for the great march into Greece.
After a series of battles, the Greeks managed to hold off Xerxes and his army. Warring off Persia was
probably a huge step for the Greeks, leading up to their glorious days ahead. Disappointed with his
failure, Xerxes returned home and concentrated on furnishing Susa and finishing Persepolis. Many
sources agree that after this point, Xerxes’ character weakened as expressed in his fierce temper and
lack of self-control in his relations with women.

According to Vos H.F., after this catastrophe in Greece, Xerxes completed his search for a new queen. He
chose Esther in the seventh year of his reign (Esther 2:16) in 479. At this point, the Bible begins the story
of Esther. 133

In 465 BCE, Xerxes was assassinated by conspirators amongst his trustees. The next son in line was killed
by the younger son who ascended the throne.
After Xerxes, Artaxerxes I ruled Persia (464–424). Records of his reign are sparse, so it is not as well-
documented as other Persian administrations. During the first twenty years of his reign, he was involved
in considerable warfare, but a treaty with Athens in 445 brought an end to that. Thereafter, the reign of
Artaxerxes seems to have been peaceful, and the king enjoyed a reputation for mildness and
magnanimity (greatness of mind).

It is generally agreed that the reference in the narratives of Ezra and Nehemiah is to Artaxerxes I rather
than Artaxerxes II (404–359 BCE). Ezra led a second contingent of Jews to Jerusalem in the seventh year
of Artaxerxes I, or 458 (Ezra 7:1, 8). It is clear, then, that the narrative of Ezra has a gap of over fifty-
seven years between chapters 6 and 7. Chapter 6 ends with the dedication of the temple in 515 BCE, the

132 Vos, H. F. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible manners & customs: how the people of the Bible really lived (p.
327). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers.
133 Ibid., p. 340.

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