Artaxerxes'
Restoration
Decree



The Decree


Lets stop and look at this a bit. First, this is a COPY (verse 11), NOT the original of the decree given to Ezra by king Artaxerxes of Babylon. Is this an EXACT copy? We do NOT know. If this decree was written in HEBREW (not very likely) it could very well be an exact copy. Otherwise, this MUST be a TRANSLATED copy of the decree. Since NO two languages can be translated word-for-word, but ONLY idea-for-idea, this MUST also be a PARAPHRASED copy, most likely a SHORTENED copy, with ONLY the parts SIGNIFICANT to the restoration being preserved in the Bible. Does this make a difference or does this cause a problem? We do NOT know. However, since God caused this decree to be preserved in the Bible, MOST likely He preserved EVERYTHING we NEED to know concerning it, and did NOT preserve the rest.

The next point to consider is that this decree was addressed to EZRA (verse 12) by king Artaxerxes. In effect, the king appointed Ezra to carry out the decree.

Now WHO was included in this decree? Some say that according to verse 13 ALL the children of Israel were included, both the northern ten tribes carried off by the Assyrians as well as the Jews who were removed by the Babylonians. Is this true? What does Artaxerxes say? Should we believe Artaxerxes who made the decree and was there? Or, should we believe what men SPECULATE thousands of years later? It seems to me that we should believe king Artaxerxes since HE is the one who was there and HE is the one who made the decree.

So, WHAT did Artaxeres say? Look at verse 13. It says, '... that all they of the people of Israel, ..., in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go to Jerusalem, ... .' Note several things here. First ONLY the children of Israel WITHIN the boundries of Artaxerxes' realm (kingdom) are included in this decree. The fact that Artaxerxes made a distinction between the children of Israel WITHIN his kingdom versus those OUTSIDE of his kingdom presupposes that Artaxerxes KNEW that all of the people of Israel were NOT under his authority, and therefore "ALL" of the people of Israel were NOT included in this decree.

In fact, MOST of the people of Israel within the realm (kingdom) of Artaxerxes were Jews from the southern Kingdom of Judah. The Assyrians, when they destroyed the northern House of Israel, resettled most of the Israelites NORTH of Nineveh, where there was little population and lots of land for them. By the time of Artaxerxes, the Assyrians had been pushed north out of Nineveh by the conquering Babylonians, and later the by Medes and Persians. This in turn pushed the northern ten tribes of Israel even further north to around the Black Sea and into the Carthapinian Mountains between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, an area NEVER part of the Persian Empire. As a result, there were VERY FEW Israelites from the northern tribes in Artaxerxes' realm, and apparently he knew it.

Note next that Artaxerxes in verse 13 did NOT COMMAND all Israelites in his realm to return to Jerusalem. He gave EACH and EVERYONE a CHOICE as to whether to go. Did ALL CHOOSE to return? Not hardly. Were ALL FORCED to return? Not at all! Why do I say this? Well, first do some population extrapolations. How many did David number? About how big was the population at the time of the Assyrian captivity? And at the Babylonian captivity? What was the estimated population of Israelites both inside and outside the realm of Artaxerxes? About how many actually returned to Jerusalem? How many were in Judah at Jesus' time? No matter how you figure it, only a SMALL FRACTION could have returned.

When the Jews returned to Jerusalem, their hold was tenuous at best. Read the rest of Ezra and Nehemiah. They were obviously outnumbered by the surrounding heathens. And there was also a shortage of women as many Jews married women from the other nations around them. If all of Israel had returned, neither of these things would have been a major factor.

Now as to those that went. What kind of people were they? Were they the rich and famous? Were they that were comfortable living in the Persian Empire? Just what kind of people would CHOOSE to give up the 'good life' and return to a place filled with enemies and hardship? ONLY those with a VISION and/or ONLY those who were disenfranchised in the Persian Empire. For example, look at Israel since 1948. ALL Jews, regardless of location, may CHOOSE to settle in Israel. NONE is FORCED to go. So, WHO has emigrated there? Mostly European Jews who had no reason to stay where they were and every reason to leave. What about the millions of American Jews? VERY FEW have left for Israel. Why? Why should they give up the 'good life' and emigrate to a land continually beset by surrounding enemies? So, the question is, 'Why would most Jews in the Persian Empire want to endure the hardship of Jerusalem when they had everything they wanted under the Persians?'

Were the Jews oppressed by the Persians? There is no Biblical nor historical record that they were any more oppressed than the Jews are today in the United States. Read Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, & Esther and it becomes glaringly apparent that the Jews really had it good under the Persians. As an aside, it appears (but I cannot find the reference) that when the Babylonians at the time of Belshazzar were conquered by the Medes and Persians that Babylon was actually breached by the northern Israelites stopping the Euphrates River and then going in under the wall. If this is true, then the northern Israelites were allies with the Persians, although not living within the confines of the Medo-Persian Empire. Naturally, it would follow that all of the children of Israel, both the northern House of Israel and the southern House of Judah, would have enjoyed an elevated status among the Persians. Now stop and think about it? In a society like that, HOW MANY would actually CHOOSE to leave it and go to the 'wilderness?' Not many, that is for sure!


It is time to stop again and digest what we have just read. First, in verse 14, note that Ezra was 'SENT of the KING and HIS COUNSELLERS, ...' or in other words was COMMANDED by KING ARTAXERXES to carry out this decree. Ezra represented the king in this endeavor and therefore had FULL authority to do whatever that was needed to get the job done.

Then, in verse 15, it says, 'And to carry the silver and gold, which the KING and HIS COUNSELLERS, have FREELY offered unto the God of Israel, ...' Now stop and think about this for a while. If the Israelites were a slave people, or even ordinary citizens of Bablylon, would it make any sense whatsoever that the TOP ECHELONS of the Persian Empire would FREELY give of their WEALTH to a God of a FOREIGN people? This ALONE indicates that the Israelites in the Persian Empire were VERY HIGHLY REGARDED, so much so that the LEADERS themselves were WILLING part with their GOLD and SILVER. Can you visualize Queen Elizabeth or President Bush or any other modern Head of State FREELY giving LARGE chunks of their wealth to ANY but the MOST HIGHLY ESTEEMED people in their circle of aquaintances? It would NOT happen TODAY, and it did NOT happen in the Persian Empire!!!

When we read verse 16, we see that even the Israelites throughout the Province of Babylon, one of the many provinces of the Persian Empire, FREELY offered GOLD and SILVER for the House of God in Jerusalem. Note what this verse says, 'And all of the silver and gold ... with the FREEWILL offering of the PEOPLE, ... offering WILLINGLY for the house of THEIR God which is in Jerusalem:' Was the House of the Babylonian Gods in Jerusalem? NO WAY!!! Which PEOPLE had the House of THEIR God in Jerusalem? ONLY one at that time, the ISRAELITES!!! Think about this. If the Israelites were SLAVES or ordinary citizens of the Persian Empire, HOW COULD THEY AFFORD TO GIVE SILVER AND GOLD of the quantity needed by Ezra for the House of God in Jerusalem? Again, this verse bespeaks of a people that were part of the UPPER class in the Persian Empire!!! As a whole, the Israelites MUST have been one of the RICHEST, if not the RICHEST, peoples in the Province of Babylon!!!


STOP!!! Verse 20 says that '... WHATSOEVER MORE ..., bestow it out of the KING'S TREASURE HOUSE.' Ezra was given the keys to Fort Knox! No matter how much Ezra needed, he could take it out of the treasury! His ONLY limit was how much the treasury held! Imagine President Bush giving ANY group, no matter how powerful, the keys to the government bank account or to Fort Knox!!! Obviously, the Israelites in the Persian Empire were VERY HIGHLY REGARDED!

And in addition, Ezra was also given limited access to EVERY treasury 'beyond the river' which probably means any and all of the dozens of treasuries WEST of the Euphrates River. Is there ANY question about the STATUS of the ISRAELITES in Persian society??? There shouldn't be, as it is OBVIOUS from these verses that the ISRAELITES were AT or near the VERY TOP.


Now we see in verse 25 that Ezra was COMMANDED to set up a GOVERNMENT, consisting of MAGISTRATES and JUDGES over ALL of the PEOPLE beyond the river (Euphrates?) that KNOW the LAWS of God. So, WHICH PEOPLE KNEW the LAWS of God? The ISRAELITES, of course! Now WHY didn't Artaxerxes command Ezra to set up a government over ALL of the ISRAELITES instead of ONLY those beyond the river? OBVIOUSLY only PART of the ISRAELITES were beyond the river!!! Ezra was NOT given AUTHORITY over those Israelites who CHOSE to REMAIN in Babylon, nor was it possible for the king to give Ezra authority over those NOT within the boundries of the Persian Empire.

As an aside, some believe that the wife of Artaxerxes was Esther, the Jewess. If this was true, it would explain a lot of WHY this king was so generous to the Israelites. It would also explain why the Israelites were so highly esteemed by the king and those in power. I have no idea whether Esther was his wife or not. You may want to read the book of Esther just to see why the Israelites might have gained such high esteem, regardless of whether Esther was the wife of Artaxerxes or not.

The Conclusion