Ezra 4:8

8. At this verse begins the first long section (Ezr_4:8 to Ezr_6:18) written in the Aramaic language (see Introd.), which the Compiler has probably extracted bodily from Aramaic records.

Ezr_4:8 introduces briefly the description of the letter of accusation against the Jews sent by Rehum and Shimshai.

Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe] Rehum was probably the chief official of the Samaritan community. The name is considered by some to be of Persian origin, and a contraction of some longer Persian name, e.g. Rheomithres, which is found in Arrian. It appears also in Jewish lists (see Ezr_2:2; Neh_3:17; Neh_10:25), but that need not exclude its foreign origin.

the chancellor] Literally ‘the lord of judgement’. Sayce suggests ‘lord of official intelligence’, the Aramaic word for ‘judgement’ being practically identical with the Assyrian word ‘dhem’, used of the official reports sent to the king by provincial rulers. Here the title apparently belongs to the chief officer of the district.

In the LXX., Syr. and Vulg. the title not being understood appears as a proper name; 1Es_2:16 makes the same error ‘Rathumus and Beeltethmus’.

Shimshai] Perhaps the same name as the Persian ‘Sisamnes’.

the scribe] i.e. the governor’s secretary. Each governor of a Persian province was attended by this official (Herod. III. 128), who acted as a check upon the governor as well as for administrative purposes.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ezr 4:8 Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:

Ver. 8. Rehum the chancellor] Or, president of the council. It is of the Chaldee termination; the whole history also following to Ezr 6:19, is Chaldee, transcribed, as some think, out of the rolls and registers of the Chaldees, and here inserted.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ezr 4:8-9. Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter, &c. — These two, as it was their office, put into writing, or drew up, a letter, agreeable to what had been resolved on in a council of the great men, or governors, mentioned in the foregoing verse. The Dinaites, &c. — These nine nations came out of Assyria, Persia, Media, Susiana, and other provinces of that vast empire; who, with one consent, joined in this letter or petition.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, counselor.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 8. Rehum the chancellor] With this verse the Chaldee part of the chapter begins; and the same language continues to the end of Ezr 6:18. These men wrote to Darius in their own language; and the king in the same dialect returns an answer, chap. v. This circumstance adds authenticity to what is written: so scrupulous was the inspired penman, that he not only gave the words which each spoke and wrote, but he gave them also in the very language in which they were conceived and in the character peculiar to that language.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(8) Rehum the chancellor.—The lord of judgment, the counsellor of the Persian king, a conventional title of the civil governor.

Shimshai the scribe—The royal secretary.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions,.... who all signed the letter; namely, the governors of the following nations:

the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites; which were colonies from several parts of Chaldea, Media, and Persia, and were settled in the several cities of Samaria, as several of their names plainly show, as from Persia, Erech, Babylon, Shushan, and Elimais; some account for them all, but with uncertainty; according to R. Jose (k) these were the Samaritans who first were sent out of five nations, to whom the king of Assyria added four more, which together make the nine here mentioned, see Kg2 17:24.

(k) Pirke Eliezer, c. 38.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The chancellor - literally, “Lord of judgment;” the title, apparently, of the Persian governor of the Samaritan province. Every Persian governor was accompanied to his province by a “royal scribe” or “secretary,” who had a separate and independent authority.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Beelteem. Syriac, "the son of Baltam." The term designates the office of Reum, "the master of reason," president of the council, treasurer, &c. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "chancellor." --- From. Protestants, "against." (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "concerning."

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

8. The chancellor — Hebrew, Lord of counsel, that is, a royal counsellor. He seems to have been the Persian governor and judge of the district of Samaria, and of the colonists mentioned in the next verse. The Sept. and Vulg. take the word as a proper name — Baaltam.

The scribe — Probably the secretary of the governor, or chancellor, and the one who translated this letter against Jerusalem into the Aramaean language.

In this sort — The two following verses (9-10) are to be regarded, not as an exact transcript, but a running paraphrase, giving the sentiment and general form of expression at the beginning of the letter. The introduction to the letter was in this sort, or after this manner. Hence the repetition in Ezr_4:11, after which follows what we may regard as an exact copy.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rehum the chancellor. Literally, "the lord of judgment." It may be conjectured that Rehum was the sub-satrap (uJposatraphv, Xen.), of the province of Samaria. And Shimshai the scribe. Or "secretary." Herodotus tells us that in every Persian province the governor had a secretary attached to him, who was appointed by the crown, and acted as a check upon his nominal master (Herod., 3:128). The position assigned to Shim-shai in this chapter (see especially vers. 9, 17, 23) is such as might be expected under these circumstances.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rehum was the secretary Rehum was the secretary and the master of words to compose the epistle.

and Shimshai was the scribe And Shimshai was the scribe: he is Shimshai the son of Haman. So it is customary to mention the scribe and the secretary together because they need each other; one composes and dictates, and the scribe writes, as it says (I Kings 4:3): “Eliphoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes, Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahlud, the secretary,” and in another place it says (Isa. 36: 22): “And Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah etc. and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph the secretary, came.”

they wrote a letter These two, Rehum and Shimshai, wrote the letter as Mithredath Tabeel had commanded them, and they all were dwellers of the cities of Samaria.

about Jerusalem about the building of the Temple, which is in Jerusalem.

as is stated Aram. כְּנֵמָא, as is stated, and that is similar to the expression of the Gemara: “as we wish to say further.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.