Sunday, May 12, 2019

Bible Character Studies: King Artaxerxes


Artaxerxes was the fifth king of Persia and reigned from 464-423 B.C. (41 years). He died in Susa in 424 B.C. He was the third son of Xerxes. His queen was Damaspia. They had five children. His son Xerxes 2nd succeeded him.

From the book of Nehemiah, we see that the man is perceptive, noticing his cupbearer’s sad demeanor; he is caring, asking the reason for his servant’s sadness; and he is intuitive, recognizing that behind Nehemiah’s assessment of the situation, is a request. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by the length of time Nehemiah will be away; the trip would take 3-5 months, and even with a return to Susa between terms, he will be gone over 12 years. He is generous. He also not only grants Nehemiah’s further bold request for letters of safe passage, but goes further and sends an armed guard with him, and supplies of timber (a precious commodity) from the royal forest for building.

He is favourable to the Jews, possibly because of the influence of his step-mother, Esther, as he was growing up. His kind letter addressed to Ezra in Ezra chapter 7 demonstrates his generosity to the rebuilding project.

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