Oops of the Day

The  Samaritans wrote Persian King Artaxerxes  asking him to force the Jews to stop rebuilding their temple.  That king was Esther’s son.

Ezra 1 – 7 & Ezra 8 – 10

Fact of the Day

No! There were two kings named Artaxerxes.  

• 559  BC – King Cyrus became King of Persia 
• 539 BC – King Cyrus also became King of Babylon and freed the Jews his 1st year (Ezra 1:1ff)
• 537 BC – The Jews began rebuilding the temple in their 2nd year (Ezra 3:8).
• 522 BC – King Darius became King of Persia after fighting 19 others claiming to be king, among them Artaxerxes I (Ezra 4:4-7).
• 520 BC – Work on the temple stopped until the 2nd year of King Darius (Ezra 4:24).
• 514 BC – The temple was completed the 6th year of King Darius (Ezra 6:15)
• 465 BC – Esther’s Son, Artaxerxes II, son of Xerxes (Aha-xuerus) became King of Persia (Ezra 7:7)
• 458 BC – Ezra arrived in Jerusalem the 7th year of King Artaxerxes II (Ezra 7:7)