Nehemiah Asks King Artaxerxes for Permission to Rebuild the Wall of Jerusalem
The King noticed Nehemiah’s distress and asked about his well-being, to which Nehemiah relayed the dire situation in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 2:4-5
The king said to me, “What is your request?” With a prayer to the G-d of Heaven, I answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city where my fathers are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”
Pictured here is a clay inscription from an alabastron fragment reading: "Artaxerxes, the King" from the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology.
Overview
In the Bible
In the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes (Artaxerxes I, Son of Xerxes/Ahasuerus)…
The king said to me, “What is your request?” With a prayer to the G-d of Heaven, I answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city where my fathers are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”
"וַיְהִ֣י בְּחֹ֣דֶשׁ נִיסָ֗ן שְׁנַ֥ת עֶשְׂרִ֛ים לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֥סְתְּא הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ (אַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתָּא הָרִאשׁוֹן , בְּנוֹ שֶׁל קְסַרְקְסֵס/ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ)...וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לִי֙ הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ עַל־מַה־זֶּ֖ה אַתָּ֣ה מְבַקֵּ֑שׁ וָֽאֶתְפַּלֵּ֔ל אֶל־אֱלֹהֵ֖י הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ וָֽאֹמַ֣ר לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אִם־עַל־הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ ט֔וֹב וְאִם־יִיטַ֥ב עַבְדְּךָ֖ לְפָנֶ֑יךָ אֲשֶׁ֧ר תִּשְׁלָחֵ֣נִי אֶל־יְהוּדָ֗ה אֶל־עִ֛יר קִבְר֥וֹת אֲבֹתַ֖י וְאֶבְנֶֽנָּה."
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