4:7 Artaxerxes. Artaxerxes I, successor to Ahasuerus (Xerxes) and king of Persia from 465 to 424 b.c.

wrote to Artaxerxes. There is no information about the content of this letter, but considering the context it was doubtless an effort to prevent rebuilding the wall.

Aramaic. This was the language of international diplomacy in the ancient Near East.