Artaxerxes (Heb. *Artajshashtâ*, “great king” or “great king”; Aram. *Artajshaí’te*; Old Persian, Artakhshatrâ; Bab. Artakshatsu; Gr. Artaxérx’s). In ancient languages the name was written in various ways, and the forms given are only a few of those variants. The Greek form is the best known. 42. A stream in Transjordan. Three kings bore this name in Persian history, but only the first of them is mentioned in the Bible: Artaxerxes I Longimanus (465-423 BC), King of Persia, 3rd son and successor of Xerxes I. Like his father, he was a weak king, lover of pleasures and power, and easily influenced by his courtiers and women. He spent most of his life in various cities where he had palaces, while the empire was ruled by trusted friends and relatives, and his generals conducted military campaigns. If he ruled for more than 4 decades it was mainly because his brother-in-law, Megabises, suppressed an Egyptian rebellion and kept the empire intact. However, Megabises rebelled once when the king’s perfidy became unbearable for him. Artaxerxes continued the policy of religious toleration practiced by his predecessors, although, according to Ezr 4:7-23, he forbade the rebuilding of Jerusalem once. But, according to Ezra’s cp 7, in his 7th regnal year (457 BC, according to the Jewish civil year beginning 6 months later than the Persian one) he sent the Jewish scribe Ezra to Jerusalem with great privileges to reorganize the structure administrative and judicial of Judah as a Jewish state within the Persian Empire, albeit in harmony with the laws of Moses. Ezra also received generous financial support from the king and permission to take to Palestine any Jews who wished to return to their homeland. Thousands of exiles took advantage of that opportunity. 43. Tombs of the Persian kings Artaxerxes I (left) and Darius I at Naqsh-i-Rustam, near Persepolis. Later Artaxerxes appointed Nehemiah, his Jewish cupbearer, as governor of the province of Judah and sent him to Jerusalem to complete the wall of the city (reconstruction that had encountered obstacles due to the antagonism of neighboring nations; Neh_1 and 2). The permission was given in the 20th year of the monarch’s reign (444 BC, according to the same Jewish calendar). After 102 Nehemiah served as governor of Judea for 12 years, he was asked to return to the Persian court, but was later allowed to return for a 2nd term (5:14; 13:6, 7). The arguments in favor of identifying the Artaxerxes of Ezr_7 and Neh_1 and 2 with Artaxerxes I are discussed in CBA 3:349-353, 371-376, 400,401.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
name of several Persian kings. Among them, the following stood out: 1. A. I, called Longimano, long hand, due to his magnanimous character, son of Xerxes, king between 465-424 a. C. In his time the Egyptians and the Syrians revolted. He was defeated by the Athenian general Cimon. He concluded with the Greeks the peace Callias, in 449 a. C., with which the Medical Wars between Persians and Greeks ended. Possibly this was the A., Persian king, who is spoken of in Esd 4, 6 ss, when the opposition of the Samaritans to the construction of the walls of Jerusalem; in 6, 14 it says that they were built according to the order of Cyrus and Darius, and the Aramaic complements “and of A. king of Persia”, as in 7, 1 ss and 8, 1. The same is read in Nehemiah, cupbearer of the king, twenty-one; which was named, in 444 a. C., by A. Governor of Judah 5, 14; 13, 6. 2. A. II Mnemón, the one of good memories, reigned from 404 to 359 or 58 a. c.
It is also possible that this is the A. referred to by Esdras.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
Proper name or possibly a title such as pharaoh or caesar used for various kings of Persia. It is the name or title of three Persian kings in the OT.
1. The pseudo Smerdis of Ezr 4:7-23, magician usurper who pretended to be Smerdis. He reigned for about seven months and forbade the Jews to build the temple.
2. Persian king (Ezr 7:1-8; Neh 2:1; Neh 5:14; Neh 13:6), surnamed Longimanus, who acceded to Ezra’s request (Ezr 7:6) in 457 BC. JC and Nehemiah (Neh 2:1-8) in 444 to go to Jerusalem giving them power, resources and authority.
3. Possibly another king who must have reigned before 516 BC. JC (Ezr 6:14).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
Name of various kings of Persia. The one who reigned in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah was A. I, known in history as the “Longímano” (Long Hand), who ruled from 465 to 425 BC During the first sixteen years of his reign he had constant conflicts with the Greeks who attacked their possessions to the NO. His general Megabizos, who was satrap of Syria, Israel, and Transjordan, reconquered Egypt, but later rebelled against him. It is likely that it was in this period that the Samarian authorities recommended the inadvisability of rebuilding Jerusalem, because that would constitute a challenge to his authority (Ezra 4:7-24). Later, however, he appointed Nehemiah, his cupbearer, governor of Judea, authorizing him to rebuild (Neh 2:6-8). There is some doubt as to whether it was A. I, or A. II, who authorized Ezra’s mission.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
tip, BIOG REYE HOMB HOAT
see, ASUERO = “he whose lordship is the law”; also “big boss”. Name of various kings of the Persian dynasty. The main ones are: (a) Artaxerxes I Longimanus (465-424). He ascended the throne by violently removing his predecessor. (b) Artaxerxes II Mnemon (404-358), son of Darius II, fought against Cyrus the Younger as Xenophon masterfully relates in his “Anabasis”. (c) Artaxerxes III Ocos (358-338), energetic and cruel guy who eliminated the whole family; This is how historians present it to us. Several of these are mentioned in the Bible. Ezra refers that Artaxerxes ordered the construction of Jerusalem to stop (Ezra 4:7-23); this coincides with the anti-Jewish intrigues that reigned in the court of Babylon. This Artaxerxes is undoubtedly Artaxerxes I Longimanus, who ruled when Ezra and Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem (Ezra 4:7; 6:14; 7:1; 8:1; Neh. 2:1; 5:14; 13 :6). (See ASUERO).
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Name or title applied in the Bible to two Persian kings.
1. The Persian ruler who ordered the building of Jehovah’s temple in Jerusalem to stop. (Ezra 4:7-24) Between the reigns of Cyrus the Great—who allowed the return of the Jews to Jerusalem (537 BCE)—and Darius the Great—who lifted the ban on temple construction (520 BCE)—possibly three kings ruled: Cambyses II, his brother Bardiya (or perhaps the wizard Gaumata, who is believed to have masqueraded as Bardiya and reigned for seven months), and Nidintu-Bel (whom Darius defeated and executed after only two months on the throne). Cambyses is likely the “Ahasuerus” mentioned at Ezra 4:6, to whom opponents of the temple’s rebuilding made their first protest. Therefore, the ruler referred to as “Artaxerxes” at Ezra 4:7 and later verses is either Bardiya or Gaumata, whose reign lasted only seven months (522 BCE).
While the Jews were busy rebuilding the temple, the inhabitants of the cities of Samaria sent a letter to the Persian king to complain about them. (Ezra 4:7; 4:1-3) In order to achieve their goal, they used deception, claiming that the Jews were rebuilding the city of Jerusalem and its walls. (Ezra 4:11-16) As a result of these false accusations, “the work on the house of God” was stopped. (Ezra 4:24.)
2. Artaxerxes Longimanus, son of Xerxes I, is the king alluded to in Ezra 7:1-28 and Nehemiah 2:1-18; 13:6. While most reference works give the year 465 B.C. CE as that of his accession to the throne, there are good reasons for setting that date at 475 B.C. CE (See PERSIA, PERSIAN.)
Artaxerxes Longimanus granted permission to both the priest Ezra and Nehemiah to make trips to Jerusalem. (Ezr 7:1-7; Ne 2:1, 7, 8) Ancient historians attribute to him a character that was often benign and generous, consistent with his actions during the seventh year of his reign (468 BCE). ), when he granted Ezra “all his request” by a decree that provided silver and gold and vessels for his use in the temple, in addition to provisions of wheat, wine, oil, and salt. (Ezra 7:6, 12-23; 8:25-27) This generous contribution may well explain why Ezra 6:14 mentions Artaxerxes Longimanus, along with Cyrus and Darius, as one of those whose orders contributed to the †˜building and completion†™ of the temple, despite the fact that the construction itself had been completed some forty-seven years earlier, in 515 B.C. CE Furthermore, the king’s decree authorized Ezra to appoint magistrates and judges to teach God’s law (as well as the king’s) and to apply capital punishment to transgressors when necessary. (Ezra 7:25, 26)
During the twentieth year of his reign (455 BCE), Artaxerxes Longimanus granted Nehemiah permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city’s walls and gates. (Ne 2:1-8) This date is of singular importance because at Daniel 9:25 the above edict is related to the reckoning of the time of the promised coming of the Messiah.
At Nehemiah 13:6, the “thirty-second year of Artaxerxes” is mentioned, corresponding to 443 B.C. CE, year in which Nehemiah returned for a time to the court of this king.
Source: Dictionary of the Bible
(heb. ˒artaḥšastâ’with vocalization variants, from Old Persian, arta-xša ra, ‘kingdom of justice’). 1. Artaxerxes I (Longimanus), 464–424 BC During his reign Ezra and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, according to Ezra. 7.1; Neh. 2.1 etc It has been argued that in the first case the Chronicler has confused him with Artaxerxes II (Mnemon), 404–359 BC, but there is no reason to question the biblical account. (See J. Stafford Wright, The Date of Ezra’s Coming to Jerusalem, 1958.)
2. Ezr. 4.7. It is probably also Artaxerxes I, and the date is slightly earlier than Neh. 1.1s, when the king annuls Ezr’s edict. 4.21. Others (less correctly) consider him the pseudo-Smerdis, who reigned for a few months in 522–521 BC
3. The LXX has Artaxerxes instead of *Ahasuerus in *Esther, and some think the king here is Artaxerxes II, 404–359 BC
Bibliography.AT Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire, 1948.
JSW
Douglas, J. (2000). New Biblical Dictionary: First Edition. Miami: United Bible Societies.
Source: New Bible Dictionary