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
Clay inscription from an alabastron fragment reading: "Artaxerxes, the King" from the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology.
In the Bible
And it came to pass in the month Nisan, 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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