called those who had returned under the Royal command and protection those

that had 'escaped' or those who were 'left'.

When the wall was finished 'the houses were not yet builded' (Neh. 7:1

-4), and when the feast of the seventh month was kept (Neh. 8) 'the

foundation of the temple was not yet laid' (Ezra 3:1 -6).  When the people at

last dwelt in their 'ceiled houses', the house of the Lord still lay waste

(Hag. 1:1 -4).

Our next inquiry must be in connection with the various kings and the

dates that are given in Ezra -- Nehemiah, so that we may, as far as possible,

pursue the chronology of the Scriptures a little further.  We have arrived at

405 b.c.  (by taking 4004 as the date of Christ's birth), and have noted that

there is only a small discrepancy between the system we have followed and

that which we now feel obliged to adopt, namely, that of The Companion Bible.

It is quite immaterial, but it will simplify our study immensely, if we

acknowledge the difficulty of adjusting these dates to modern reckoning and

adopt the dates given in The Companion Bible for the Ezra -- Nehemiah period.

It will make no difference in the long run, as there is no data upon

which to build an unbroken chronology from Nebuchadnezzar to Christ, our

latest point must be Malachi, which leaves an unchartered gap of about 400

years, in which all apparent discrepancies are swallowed up.

'The twentieth year of Artaxerxes' (Neh. 1:1; 2:2).  Here are two

references to a particular year.  Can we arrive at any certainty as to this

period?  The first thing will be to inquire as to the king named Artaxerxes.

Strictly speaking, Artaxerxes is not a private name, but an appellative

like Pharaoh, that could belong to any number of kings.  Artaxerxes really

means 'Great King' (arta, 'great', and kshatza, 'king').  The testimony of

the Behistun Rock (see The Berean Expositor, Vols. 4 and 5, pages 78 -81)

enables us to see that this Artaxerxes was the great king Astyages (of

Herodotus), the Arsames (of Darius Hystaspes' Inscription), the husband of

Esther, the father of Cyrus, the Ahasuerus of Esther 1:1 and Darius the Mede

of Ezra 6:14 and Daniel 5:31.  The interested reader will find in Appendix 57

of The Companion Bible a very full analysis of the testimony of antiquity to

the person and relation of the Persian kings mentioned in Scripture.  The

subject, however, is too technical to discuss here.  We give the following

genealogy taken from the history of Herodotus, the Behistun Rock, and the

cylinder of Cyrus.

It will be perceived that 'the Queen' of Nehemiah 2:6 is none other

than Esther, who, being a Jewess, would further Nehemiah's request to visit

the city of his fathers.