Ezra 4:7

Artaxerxes = the great king. Used here of the Cyrus of Ezra 4:3 . See App-57 , and p. 618. Ezra 4:7-23 may also be retrospective of Nehemiah 2:20 Nehemiah 6:5 ,

companions = colleagues or associates.

the Syrian tongue: i.e. in Aramaic characters as well as in the Aramaic language. Compare Esther 1:22 ; Esther 8:9 , where "writing" (Hebrew. kathab, to grave) is the same word as in this book.