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According to Josephus, having reigned for 6 years, returning from Egypt he dies in Damascus. Some consider Cambyses to be the Nebuchadnezzar of the book of Judith; but he is not, as has been shown before and will be shown in what follows. Third to reign over the Persians were the two Magi brothers for 7 months. And it was the year of the world 4071. Fourth to reign over the Persians was Darius, son of Hystaspes, for 36 years. And it was the year of the world 4072. Darius, son of Hystaspes and Parysatis, while still a private citizen, prayed to God that if he should become king of the Persians, he would rebuild the temple in Jerusalem and return all the sacred things of the Jews, along with the captives and their ancestral customs. Of these vows, Zerubbabel the son of Salathiel had been a hearer and his counselor. Therefore he reminded him, being an intimate friend even before his reign. Cyrus indeed issued the first recall for the Jews to their own land from the captivity under Nebuchadnezzar in the first year of his reign, at the same time generously providing for the building, and he permitted Zerubbabel, son of Salathiel, son of Jeconiah, son of Joakim, king of Judah, as being from the royal line of Judah, to lead the return, with Jesus the son of Josedek ruling and acting as high priest with him; at which time, after the foundations of the temple and the altar had been laid, the building of the sanctuary in Jerusalem was hindered until the 2nd year of the reign of Darius, as is written in Esdras. That in the times of Artaxerxes, king of the Persians, Balsamus and Mithridates and Tabellius and Rathumus and Beeltethmus and Samellius the scribes and the rest of their associates, dwelling in 290 Samaria and in the other places, wrote down the following letter against the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem: To King Artaxerxes, lord, your servants Rathumus the recorder of events and Samellius the scribe, and the rest of their council, and the judges in Coele-Syria and Phoenicia. And now, be it known to the lord king that the Jews who have come up from you to us in Jerusalem are building the rebellious and wicked city, and they are restoring its marketplaces and walls, and are laying the foundation of a temple. If, therefore, this city is built and its walls are completed, they will not endure to pay tribute, but will even stand against kings. And since the work on the temple is proceeding, we think it well not to overlook such a matter; and the rest of the letter. Equivalent to these things were written to Artaxerxes, as it says, after the return from Babylon before the reign of Darius son of Hystaspes, as the following parts of the scripture show after the copy of Artaxerxes' letter, which having been read, Rathumus and Samellius the scribe and their associates departed in haste to Jerusalem with a force of horsemen and a crowd, and began to hinder those who were building. And the building of the sanctuary was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of the Persians, at which time Zerubbabel son of Salathiel, being a dearest friend to Darius son of Hystaspes and honored because of their great intimacy, having been esteemed as one of the three bodyguards above the other two bodyguards in the proposition concerning women and truth, was urged by him to ask for whatever he wished. And he, reminding him of his vows, which he had vowed to rebuild Jerusalem on the day Darius received his kingdom, and all the vessels which Cyrus had set apart, when that same Cyrus had vowed to cut off Babylon, Zerubbabel asked that same Darius, king of the Persians, to fulfill the vows which he had vowed with his mouth to the king of heaven. And then Darius, rising up, kissed him and wrote him letters to all the stewards and toparchs and generals and satraps, that they should send him on his way, and the Jews with him, to build Jerusalem. And to all the toparchs in Coele-Syria and Phoenicia and to those in Lebanon he wrote letters to transport 291 cedar timbers

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κατὰ Ἰώσηππον ςʹ ἔτη βασιλεύσας ἐπανιὼν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου θνήσκει ἐν ∆αμασκῷ. Τὸν Καμβύσην τινὲς Ναβουχοδονόσωρ νομίζουσι τὸν κατὰ τὴν Ἰουδήθ· οὐκ ἔστι δέ, ὡς προδέδεικται καὶ ἐν τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα δειχθήσεται. Περσῶν γʹ ἐβασίλευσαν Μάγοι ἀδελφοὶ δύο μῆνας ζʹ. τοῦ δὲ κόσμου ἦν ἔτος δζαʹ. Περσῶν δʹ ἐβασίλευσε ∆αρεῖος Ὑστάσπου ἔτη λςʹ. τοῦ δὲ κόσμου ἦν ἔτος δζβʹ. ∆αρεῖος Ὑστάσπου καὶ Παρυσάτιδος παῖς ἔτι ἰδιοτεύων ηὔξατο τῷ θεῷ, εἰ βασιλεύσοι Περσῶν, ἀνεγεῖραι τὸν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ναὸν καὶ πάντα τὰ Ἰουδαίων ἀποδοῦναι ἱερὰ σὺν τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις καὶ πατρῴοις ἔθεσι. τούτων τῶν εὐχῶν Ζοροβάβελ ὁ τοῦ Σαλαθιὴλ ἀκουστὴς καὶ σύμβουλος αὐτῷ γεγόνει. διὸ καὶ ἀνέμνησε συνήθης ὢν καὶ πρὸ τῆς βασιλείας. Κῦρος μὲν τὴν πρώτην Ἰουδαίοις ἀνάκλησιν ἐπὶ τὰ σφέτερα προσεφώνη σεν ἐκ τῆς ὑπὸ Ναβουχοδονόσωρ αἰχμαλωσίας πρώτῳ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ, φιλοτιμησάμενος ἅμα καὶ τὰ πρὸς οἰκοδομήν, καὶ τὸν Ζοροβάβελ υἱὸν τοῦ Σαλαθιὴλ υἱοῦ Ἰεχονίου υἱοῦ τοῦ Ἰωακεὶμ βασιλέως Ἰούδαὡς ἐκ βασιλικοῦ γένους τοῦ Ἰούδα ἡγεῖσθαι τῆς ἀνόδου συνεχώρησε, συνεξάρχοντος αὐτῷ καὶ ἀρχιερατεύοντος Ἰησοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ Ἰωσεδέκ· καθ' ὃν χρόνον τῶν θεμελίων ὑποβληθέντων τοῦ ναοῦ καὶ τοῦ θυσιαστη ρίου εἴρχθη ἡ οἰκοδομὴ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἕως τοῦ βʹ ἔτους τῆς βασιλείας ∆αρείου, ὡς ἐν τῷ Ἔσδρᾳ γέγραπται. Ὅτι ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις Ἀρταξέρξου τοῦ Περσῶν βασιλέως κατέγραψεν κατὰ τῶν κατοικούντων ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ καὶ Ἱερουσαλὴμ Βάλσαμος καὶ Μιθριδάτης καὶ Ταβέλλιος καὶ Ῥάθυμος καὶ Βεέλτεθμος καὶ Ῥαμέλιος οἱγραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ οἱ τούτοις συντασσόμενοι, οἰκοῦντες δὲ ἐν 290 Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τόποις τὴν ὑπογεγραμμένην ἐπιστολήν· βασιλεῖ Ἀρταξέρξῃ κυρίῳ οἱ παῖδες σοῦ Ῥάθυμος ὁ τὰ προσπίπτοντα καὶ Ῥαμέλιος ὁ γραμματεὺς καὶ οἱ ἐπίλοιποι τῆς βουλῆς αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ κριταὶ οἱ ἐν κοίλῃ Συρίᾳ καὶ Φοινίκῃ. καὶ νῦν γνωστὸν ἔστω τῷ κυρίῳ βασιλεῖ διότι Ἰουδαῖοι οἱ ἀναβάντες παρ' ὑμῶν πρὸς ἡμᾶς εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ τὴν ἀποστάτιν καὶ πονηρὰν οἰκοδομοῦσι τάς τε ἀγορὰς αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ τείχη θεραπεύουσι καὶ ναὸν ὑποβάλλονται. ἐὰν οὖν ἡ πόλις αὕτη οἰκοδομηθῇ καὶ τὰ τείχη συντελεσθῇ, φορολογίαν οὐ μὴ ὑπομείνωσι δοῦναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ βασιλεῦσιν ἀντιστήσονται. καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐνεργεῖται τὰ κατὰ τὸν ναόν, καλῶς ἔχειν ὑπολαμβάνομεν μὴ ὑπεριδεῖν τὸ τοιοῦτο· καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς τῆς ἐπιστολῆς. Ἰσοδύναμα τούτοις πρὸς Ἀρταξέρξην, ὥς φησι, γεγραμμένα μετὰ τὴν ἀπὸ Βαβυλῶνος ἄνοδον πρὸ τῆς ∆αρείου τοῦ Ὑστάσπου βασιλείας, ὡς τὰ ἑπόμενα δείκνυσι τῆς γραφῆς μετὰ τὴν ἀντίγραφον ἐπιστολὴν Ἀρταξέρξου, ἧς ἀναγνωσθείσης Ῥάθυμος καὶ Ῥαμέλιος ὁ γραμματεὺς καὶ οἱ τούτου συντασσόμενοι ἀναζεύξαντες κατὰ σπουδὴν εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ μεθ' ἵππου καὶ ὄχλου τάξεως ἤρξαντο κωλύειν τοὺς οἰκοδομοῦντας. καὶ ἤργει ἡ οἰκοδομὴ τοῦ ἱεροῦ μέχρι τοῦ δευτέρου ἔτους τῆς βασιλείας ∆αρείου τοῦ Περσῶν βασιλέως, καθ' ὃν χρόνον Ζοροβάβελ ὁ τοῦ Σαλαθιήλ, φίλτατος προϋπάρχων ∆αρείῳ τῷ Ὑστάσπου καὶ διὰ πολλὴν οἰκειότητα τιμηθείς, εἶναι εἷς τῶν τριῶν σωματοφυλάκων εὐδοκιμήσας ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἄλλους δύο σωματοφύλακας ἐν τῇ περὶ τῶν γυναικῶν καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας προτάσει προετράπη παρ' αὐτοῦ αἰτήσασθαι ὃ θέλει. ὁ δὲ ἀναμνήσας αὐτὸν τῶν εὐχῶν αὐτοῦ, ἃς ηὔξατο ἀνοικοδομῆσαι τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐν ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ παρελάμβανε ∆αρεῖος τὸ βασίλειον αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντα τὰ σκεύη ἃ ἐχώρισε Κῦρος, ὅτε ηὔξατο ἐκκόψαι Βαβυλῶνα ὁ αὐτὸς Κῦρος, ἠξίωσε Ζοροβάβελ τὸν αὐτὸν ∆αρεῖον βασιλέα Περσῶν πληρῶσαι τὰς εὐχάς, ἃς ἐκ στόματος ηὔξατο τῷ βασιλεῖ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Καὶ τότε ἀναστὰς ∆αρεῖος κατεφίλησεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἔγραψεν αὐτῷ τὰς ἐπιστολὰς πρὸς πάντας τοὺς οἰκονόμους καὶ τοπάρχας καὶ στρατηγοὺς καὶ σατράπας, ἵνα προπέμψωσιν αὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς μετ' αὐτοῦ Ἰουδαίους οἰκοδομῆσαι τὴν Ἱερουσαλήμ. καὶ πᾶσι τοπάρχαις ἐν κοίλῃ Συρίᾳ καὶ Φοινίκῃ καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῷ Λιβάνῳ ἔγραψεν ἐπιστολὰς μεταφέρειν ξύλα 291 κέδρινα