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(The views expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Ezra 4:6–16, “And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort: Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites, And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time. This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time. Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations. Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings. Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king; That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed. We certify the king that, if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river.”
The Samaritans wrote to a different king of Persia. Cyrus had sent the Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple but Ahasuerus was king when the letter came from the Samaritans, complaining about the Jews. Even later, in the reign of Artaxerxes, the leaders of the Samaritans sent another letter suggesting that the Jews in Jerusalem were planning to rebel against the Persian king. They talked about the ancient Assyrian king who sent Israel into exile and sent them into the Land to take their place. Answer was the Assyrian noble who actually resettled the Israelis under Esarhaddon. They tried to destabilise the Jewish position and prevent them from rebuilding the Temple. They also suggested that these Jews would become rebellious and refuse to pay their taxes to the king. After that, the suggested that these Jews, all 50,000 of them, would soon refuse to accept that the Persians were overlords and that the Persians would lose all their territories to the west of the Euphrates River.
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