Who was Artaxerxes in the Bible?
Artaxerxes Longimanus, an emperor, during the exile and the return
Artaxerxes was a Persian king who ruled during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. Artaxerxes appears in 12 verses across 2 books of the Bible.
What does the Bible say about Artaxerxes?
Artaxerxes was a Persian king who ruled during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. In the seventh year of his reign, he authorized Ezra the priest and scribe to lead a group of Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem. Artaxerxes gave Ezra a letter granting him authority to teach the law, appoint magistrates and judges, and requisition supplies from the provincial treasuries. In Artaxerxes' twentieth year, his cupbearer Nehemiah learned that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and asked the king for permission to return and rebuild them. Artaxerxes sent Nehemiah to Judah as governor, with letters authorizing him to obtain timber for the walls. He is probably to be identified with Artaxerxes I Longimanus, who ruled the Persian Empire from 465 to 424 BC.
Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.
Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.
Where does Artaxerxes appear in the Bible?
Artaxerxes is referenced in 12 verses across 2 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.
- Ezra 4:7
- Ezra 4:11
- Ezra 4:23
- Ezra 7:1
- Ezra 7:7
- Ezra 7:11
- Ezra 7:12
- Ezra 7:21
- Ezra 8:1
- Nehemiah 2:1
- Nehemiah 5:14
- Nehemiah 13:6
What else appears in these passages?
These turn up in the same passages as Artaxerxes.
Common questions
How many times does the Bible mention Artaxerxes?
Artaxerxes appears in 12 verses across 2 books, most often in Ezra, which accounts for 9 of them.
Which books of the Bible mention Artaxerxes?
Ezra, Nehemiah.
Where can I read every verse about Artaxerxes?
This page lists 12 of them. Protos carries all 12, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.
