Artaxerxes I (Longimanus, reigned 465–424 BC), son of Xerxes, is, the ISBE says "all are agreed", the king at whose court Ezra and Nehemiah served (Ezra 7; Nehemiah 2). It was he who sent Ezra to Jerusalem with authority to teach the law, and who gave Nehemiah leave and timber to rebuild the city walls. The ISBE notes that his reign was disturbed by revolts in Egypt and Syria, and speculates that the ruin Nehemiah mourned may date from the Syrian rebellion. (Source: ISBE 1915, "Artaxerxes.")
Empires and rulers of the Old Testament world
Artaxerxes: the king of Ezra and Nehemiah
RulerPersia
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- Ezra 7:1bsb
Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
- Nehemiah 2:1bsb
Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence,
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