Bible Strands
Ezra 5:6
This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Tattenai, governor of the region west of the Euphrates, along with Shethar-bozenai and their regional officials, transmit a written report to King Darius while the Jewish elders await a response to their halted construction.
The words — The Hebrew פַּרְשֶׁגֶן (parShegen) means "copy" or "text," paired with אִגֶּרֶת (iggeret) for "letter," to specify the official document being forwarded. The administrative designation עַבְרַה נְהָרָה ('avah nahar) literally translates to "region beyond the river," identifying the jurisdiction of the senders.
The thread — This formal correspondence follows the same documentary pattern found in Ezra 4:9, Ezra 4:11, and Ezra 4:23, where regional authorities record and escalate temple-related disputes to Persian kings.
Why it lands — The verse records the procedural escalation of a local administrative conflict, requiring the reader to observe the official channels that precede the reported divine protection in Ezra 5:5.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar–boznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent unto Darius the king:
Cross-references
- Ezra 4:9 From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges and officials over Tripolis, Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,
- Ezra 4:11 (This is the text of the letter they sent to him.) To King Artaxerxes, From your servants, the men west of the Euphrates:
- Ezra 4:23 When the text of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.
- Ezra 5:3 At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”
- Ezra 6:6 Therefore Darius decreed: To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region: You must stay away from that place!