Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The Samaritans, having obtained a rescript from Cambyses, Cyrus's successor, through the Persian governors, impede the building of the city and temple.
Vulgate Text: 1 Esdrae 4:1-24
1. When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel, 2. they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said to them: Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; behold, we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us here. 3. But Zerubbabel and Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel said to them: You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God, but we ourselves alone will build to the Lord our God, as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us. 4. Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and troubled them in building. 5. And they hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6. In the reign of Ahasuerus, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7. And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter of accusation was written in Aramaic and translated into Aramaic. 8. Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows: 9. Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa (that is, the Elamites), 10. and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the region beyond the River, in peace. 11. (This is a copy of the letter that they sent to him.) To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men of the province beyond the River, send greeting. 12. Be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem, the rebellious and wicked city, and are rebuilding it, setting up its walls and repairing its foundations. 13. Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and this loss will be injurious to the kings. 14. Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king's dishonor, therefore we have sent and informed the king, 15. that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the chronicles and know that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition has been stirred up in it from ancient times — for which reason this city was destroyed. 16. We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province beyond the River. 17. The king sent a reply to Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their associates who lived in Samaria and in the rest of the province beyond the River, greeting and peace. 18. The letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me. 19. And I issued a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from ancient times has risen up against kings and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20. There have been mighty kings over Jerusalem who ruled over the whole province beyond the River, and tribute, custom, and toll were paid to them. 21. Therefore issue a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city not be rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22. Take heed that you be not slack in this matter; why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? 23. Then when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and made them cease by force and power. 24. Then the work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Verse 1: The Adversaries of Judah
1. The adversaries of Judah — namely the Samaritans, that is, the inhabitants of Samaria, perpetual enemies of the Jews, as is clear from verses 2 and 10. I discussed these in IV Kings XVII, 24.
The children of the captivity — that is, the Jews recently captive, and now returned from captivity.
Verse 2: Esar-Haddon
2. Esar-haddon — This is Esar-haddon, son of Sennacherib, the last king of the Assyrians, about whom see IV Kings XIX, last verse.
Verse 3: You Have Nothing to Do with Us
3. You have nothing to do with us (no partnership or communion in this building of the temple, joined with you) in building a house to our God — because you are schismatics, indeed heretics and idolaters; for together with our true God you worship the idols that you worshipped in Assyria, from which you were transported to Samaria. The Jews therefore refused to have the Samaritans as partners in the building. First, because they were heretics — from which learn what communion with heretics we should flee, especially in sacred matters and the sacraments. Second, because they were enemies of the Jews, and could have committed fraud in the building, fabricating an idol instead of a temple. Third, lest the Samaritans claim the temple as their own construction, or at least want a share in it, and celebrate their superstitions and idol worship therein. Fourth, lest by malicious deceit they mix sand for morite and earth for stones in the construction, so that the temple building would collapse into ruins and eventually fall.
Verse 4: The People of the Land
4. The people of the land — The aforementioned Samaritans, neighbors and inhabitants of the adjacent territory, namely of Samaria.
Verse 5: They Hired Counselors
5. They hired (with money and gifts) counselors — that is, advisors, namely the Persian governors and tax collectors in Samaria, Syria, and Judea — so that while Cyrus was alive, knowing he favored the building of the city and temple, they would supply funds slowly and sparingly, and impede the work by other tricks and evil arts. But when Cyrus died the following year, they approached his son Cambyses and wrote him letters accusing the Jews of being disturbers of the peace and seditious. Thus they obtained a rescript from him ordering the Jews to cease from building. Note here that the letters of both the kings and the governors in this chapter and the next, verses 6 and 7, are written in the Hebrew text in their own language, namely Chaldean, not Hebrew. The same occurs in Daniel. Especially because the Hebrews, recently captive in Babylon, had learned the Chaldean language there, and upon returning had inclined toward it and mixed their ancestral Hebrew language with Chaldean. From this mixture arose the Syro-Hebrew or Chaldeo-Hebrew language, which others call Jerusalemite. Likewise the Latin language, mixed by the Goths with Gothic, produced for us the Spanish, Italian, and French languages.
You may ask: Why did the Jews not appeal to Cyrus, who favored them, and expose to him the frauds and deceits of the Samaritans and the governors? I answer: Because, as Josephus testifies, Cyrus had left home and gone off to war against the Lydians who had rebelled, and then against the Scythians, where he perished the following year. Therefore, while Cyrus was absent, Cambyses governed at home, and the Samaritans corrupted his counselors with gifts to impede the building of the temple. This lasted for two years, as stated in III Ezra, chapter V, last verse, from which it is clear that the eight years commonly attributed to the reign of Cambyses must be reckoned from the time when, while his father Cyrus was occupied with the Lydians and Massagetae, Cambyses himself presided over the affairs of the empire at home. For after two years, when Cyrus was killed, Cambyses alone reigned for only six years. See Josephus.
Verse 6: In the Reign of Ahasuerus
6. In the reign of Ahasuerus — that is, of Cambyses. So says Josephus, and it is clear from what precedes, for he succeeded his father Cyrus in the kingdom. Note: Ahasuerus in Chaldean, Artaxerxes in Persian, was a common title of the kings of Persia and Babylon, just as Pharaoh was the common title of the kings of Egypt, and later Ptolemy, and Caesar was the title of the Romans. That this is so is clear from this chapter and from Esther I, 1, compared with chapter XIII, 1 and chapter XVI, 1. Ahasuerus — or as it is said in Chaldean, Achasuerus — is derived from achas, meaning "great," and ros, meaning "head" — that is, "great head," meaning a great king and prince. Hence with nearly the same letters transferred into another language, but with the vowels changed, in Greek he is called Oxyares, meaning "fierce Mars, martial, warlike"; and Xerxes, which word in Greek, says Herodotus Book VI, means "warrior"; while Artaxerxes means "great warrior." Hence Scaliger, section VI, part II, and other experts in languages assert that these names are nearly the same and signify the same thing — namely: Oxyares, Ochsoserces, Ochsoarses, Xerxes, Ahasuerus, Artaxes, Artaxerxes — or as the Persians pronounce them: Xestes, Artaxestes, or Artaxata. For so it stands in the Hebrew, verse 3.
Verse 7: In the Days of Artaxerxes
7. In the days of Artaxerxes — This is the same Cambyses, who was called Ahasuerus in Chaldean and Artaxerxes in Persian, as I just said following the Septuagint. Hence the name "Artaxerxes" is not in the Hebrew. That this is so is clear from the Septuagint. For what is said here to have been written to Ahasuerus is there read as having been sent to Artaxerxes. Indeed some manuscripts here at verse 6 read: "In the reign of Ahasuerus, who is Artaxerxes" (so the Complutensian edition, and this is clear from the end of the chapter, last verse) "until Darius" — for only Cambyses was a legitimate king between Cyrus and Darius. The same is clear from Josephus. For Ezra, about to describe how the governors wrote to the king, says Cajetan, following the Hebrew manner resumes the time when they wrote, naming the same person by another name — namely the Persian one, which he was accustomed to prefix to his letters. For it seems that Ezra transcribed the letter of the Samaritans from the official chronicles and diaries of the Persians, with its own heading which read: "And in the days of Artaxerxes," so that the one whom Ezra calls "Ahasuerus," the Persian chronicles called by the Persian name "Artaxerxes." Alternatively, Christopher de Castro on Haggai chapter I, at the beginning, holds that Ahasuerus is Cambyses, but that Artaxerxes is Smerdis the Magus, who succeeded Cambyses and fraudulently thrust himself into the kingdom. Worse still, Scaliger holds that Ahasuerus is Xerxes, and Artaxerxes is Longimanus the son of Xerxes — about which more at verse 24. A similar resumption of discourse occurs in Mark XV, 8 and 9, and often elsewhere.
Cambyses was an enemy of the Jews, hence they called him a second Nebuchadnezzar, as Eusebius testifies in his Chronicle. For Cambyses was a despiser of the gods, sacrilegious, and a parricide: he killed his own brother, says Justin; and he married his own sister, whom he afterward murdered. Hence by the just vengeance of the divine will he killed himself: for as he was leaping onto his horse, the scabbard of his sword fell off, and the naked blade was driven into his thigh, from which wound he died shortly after, say Herodotus and Justin.
Cajetan notes that although the Samaritans under Cyrus impeded the building of the temple from public and royal funds through the counselors, the Jews did not cease from building altogether, but continued it at their own private expense. Hence the Samaritans impeded this too by means of letters sent to Cambyses.
Verse 8: Beelteem
8. Beelteem — is an official title meaning "prefect of accounts" or "master of wisdom," says Lyranus. Arias, however, holds it to be a proper name meaning "possessor of taste" or "of judgment" or "of reason" or "of eloquence." For taam in Hebrew and Chaldean means "over, taste," and metaphorically "wisdom"; in Hebrew Baal and in Chaldean Beel means "lord, prefect, president." Therefore "Beelteem," or as the Hebrews pronounce it, Baaltaam, means the same as "president of the council and deliberation" that was conducted in the senate and council — that is, the Chancellor. For it was his role to report all proceedings to the king, record them in writing in the public registers, and seal them with his hand and signet. So says Josephus.
Verse 10: Osnappar
10. Osnappar — This is Esar-haddon, or Sennacherib, or some other of his relatives or kinsmen.
Verse 13: If the Walls Are Restored
13. If the walls (of the city of Jerusalem, which the Jews are building) are restored, they will not pay tribute, etc. — because trusting in their walls they will rebel and assert their freedom (for which they are most eager). From this it is clear that the Jews, though freed from Babylon, nevertheless remained subject to Cyrus and the Persians as taxpayers and tributaries. Furthermore, that Cyrus had given the Jews permission to rebuild not only the temple but also the city.
Verse 14: We Eat the Salt of the Palace
14. Now because we eat the salt of the palace — meaning: We are mindful of the sustenance and salary (for this word is derived from "salt") that you have given us in the court, and to show our grateful spirit toward you who feeds us, we warn you of the danger that threatens you from the building of the city of Jerusalem, so that you may prevent it. Thus Pythagoras by this symbol: "Do not pass by the salt and the table," admonished his followers of gratitude, as if to say: In prosperous times, let not the memory of the gratitude owed to friends who made you a sharer of their salt and table slip away. For salt signifies a banquet, because in it all things are seasoned with salt to give them flavor. In Hebrew it reads: "because we have been salted with the salt of the palace." So say the Septuagint, meaning: because we were raised in your palace. It can also be rendered: "We salted the temple," that is, we utterly destroyed it — for in ancient times, when people wanted to desolate a place, they would sow salt in it.
Verse 24: The Work on the House of God Ceased
24. Then the work on the house of the Lord (the building of the temple) in Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
You ask: Who was this Darius? Scaliger and Severus Sulpicius, Book II of his History, hold him to be Darius Nothus, who was the illegitimate or spurious son of Artaxerxes Longimanus, and reigned after him for 19 years. For Scaliger contends that the Ahasuerus mentioned in verse 6 is Xerxes; that the Artaxerxes of verse 7 is Longimanus, son of Xerxes; that the Darius of this verse is Nothus; and that the Artaxerxes who in chapter VII, 1 sent Ezra and Nehemiah to Jerusalem is Artaxerxes surnamed Mnemon, son and successor of Darius Nothus. Therefore, according to Scaliger, the temple was built under Darius Nothus, the city of Jerusalem under Artaxerxes Mnemon, and the 70 weeks that flowed until the coming of Christ (about which Daniel prophesied in chapter IX) should be reckoned from the second year of Darius Nothus.
So says Scaliger, who while he alone plays the Aristarchus (severe critic) of all chronologists, in turn provokes all of them as even sharper critics against himself. For that the temple and city were built not under Darius Nothus, but under Darius the son of Hystaspes, who succeeded Cambyses, is clear first from the common consensus of chronologists, interpreters, and doctors. Secondly, from Josephus, who expressly teaches this. Thirdly, from III Ezra, chapter IV, verse 43, where this Darius vowed to build the temple if he were made king — about which more presently. Fourthly, because according to Scaliger, from Cyrus and the dissolution of the Babylonian captivity to the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem, 144 years would have elapsed — for that is the interval from Cyrus to Darius Nothus. But although Scaliger admits this, Haggai disagrees in chapter II, 4, where those who had originally been carried captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, still living, saw the new construction of Zerubbabel's temple and held it as of little or no account compared to the former temple of Solomon.
But from the burning of Solomon's temple by the Chaldeans to Darius Nothus, 176 years elapsed, as Scaliger himself says. Who, I ask, in that age lived to be 176 years old? Furthermore, if Ezra was sent by Artaxerxes Mnemon to Jerusalem, then Ezra lived nearly two hundred years — for he was begotten by Seraiah the High Priest, who was killed by the Chaldeans in the first year of the Babylonian captivity. Moreover, Zerubbabel and Joshua the son of Jozadak, who under Cyrus presided over the return from captivity and afterward were present for this rebuilding of the temple under Darius, would have been 130 or 140 years old — yet in III Ezra chapter III, 4, Zerubbabel is called "a young man, one of the bodyguards of Darius." This Darius was therefore not Nothus, but Hystaspes. So say Josephus, Book XI of the Antiquities, chapter IV; Eusebius in his Chronicle; St. Jerome on Daniel chapter IX; Bellarmine, Genebrard, Torniellus, Salian, and generally the more recent scholars. I shall resolve Scaliger's arguments at Nehemiah chapter XII, 10 and chapter XIII, 28; for he claims that Sanballat, who is discussed there, was a contemporary of Jaddua the High Priest and Alexander the Great, but this is false. Therefore in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, the building of the temple was resumed after a nine-year suspension, and in the sixth year of the same king it was completed — namely, the construction of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The courtyard, or outer part of the temple, and consequently the entire temple in all respects, was completed in the sixth year of Darius, as Josephus says, Book XI, chapter IV, 16. Moreover, the reason that moved Darius to rebuild the temple was Zerubbabel, who was a most beloved and favorite courtier of Darius. While Darius was still a prince, Zerubbabel suggested that he make a vow to build the temple if he were made king. When Darius was elevated to the kingship after a question was proposed — "What is the strongest thing of all?" — and one said wine, another women, a third the king — Zerubbabel said truth, and discoursed on this subject so wisely and elegantly that Darius ordered him to ask whatever he wished. Hearing this, Zerubbabel began as follows in III Ezra chapter IV, 43: "Remember your vow which you vowed to build Jerusalem on the day when you received the kingdom, and to send back all the vessels that were taken from Jerusalem, which Cyrus set apart when he conquered Babylon and wished to send them there. And you vowed to build the temple which the Idumeans burned when Judea was laid waste by the Chaldeans. And now this is what I ask, O lord, and this is what I request: this is the majesty which I ask of you — that you fulfill the vow which you vowed to the King of heaven with your own mouth. Then King Darius rose and kissed him, and wrote letters to all the stewards and governors and officials to escort him and all those who would go up with him to build Jerusalem. And to all the governors who were in Syria and Phoenicia and Lebanon he wrote letters to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to Jerusalem, that they might build the City with them."
Finally, "Darius" in Persian means phronimon, that is, "prudent," says Hesychius. For prudence and foresight are the first endowment of a king, for governing properly. Hence Herodotus, Book I, near the end, recounts this dream of Cyrus as he was marching against the Scythians (where he also perished): "Cyrus seemed in his dreams to see the eldest of the sons of Hystaspes having wings on his shoulders, one of which overshadowed Asia, the other Europe. Darius, the eldest son of Hystaspes the Achaemenid, son of Arsamenes, was then about twenty years old, left behind in Persia because he was not yet old enough for military service. When Cyrus awoke, he pondered his vision within himself. Considering it a matter of great moment, he summoned Hystaspes and said to him privately: 'Your son Hystaspes has been discovered plotting against me and my kingdom.'"
He added that he had learned this from the dream just described, which he related to Hystaspes.
"Therefore," he said, "return to Persia with all speed, and see to it that when I have subdued the Massagetae and return there, you present your son to me to stand trial."
But Cyrus was killed and left Cambyses as his successor, and Darius succeeded him. Hence "Darius" in Greek means "the coercer" or "restrainer," says Herodotus Book VI — for deresetai means "he will be beaten," from dero, meaning "I strike, I flog, I flay." In Hebrew, however, "Darius" means "investigator," from the root דרש daras, meaning "he sought, he investigated" — this is the work of a prudent man, which Darius was, for in Persian "Darius" means "prudent." Or "Darius" means the same as "generation and duration"; for דור (dor) means "generation and duration." Fittingly so: for the line of Darius endured in the Persian empire down to Darius Ochus.