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The Hebrew version of Ezra lists Bishlam among the officials who wrote to Artaxerxes, but the Greek translation read the word as the phrase “in peace,” changing the letter to be sent peaceably to Mithredath.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Ezra 4:7
Hebrew Bible
6 At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus they filed an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 And during the reign of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes of Persia. This letter was first written in Aramaic but then translated.[What follows is in Aramaic.] 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:
LXX Ezra 4:7
Septuagint
6 Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, at the beginning of his reign, he wrote a letter against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 And in the days of Artaxerxes, Tabeel, in peace with Mithredath and the rest of the fellow-slaves, wrote to the king of Persia. The tribute collector wrote a document in Aramaic, also having been translated. 8 Rehum, Baaltam, and Shimshai the scribe wrote one letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes.
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Notes and References
... The name Bishlam has puzzled exegetes. The Septuagint translated very literally: ἐν εἰρήνῃ and reads 'Tabeel Mithredath wrote in peace ...' (the Peshitta as well). This interpretation is followed by Klostermann and some commentaries (Rudolph, Galling, Blenkinsopp, Fried). 1 Esdras 1:12 (Βεσλεμος) and the Vulgate (Balsamus, III Ezra 2:16; Beselam, Vulgate Ezra 4:7) construe a personal name here. This view is followed by other commentaries (Williamson, among others). Rainey interprets the name as a misreading of Bēlšunu, a governor of the satrapy Eber-Nari. He was governor in the middle of the fourth century BCE. It is difficult to see in him the same person as mentioned in Ezra 4:7. The proposal of Steiner (mentioned above) to see the name as a corruption of a theophoric Aramaic personal name *bēlšalām, 'Bel (Marduk) is peace', still has the strongest case. ...
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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