Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezra 4:7

"And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian [character], and set forth in the Syrian [tongue]." — Ezra 4:7 (ASV)

In the days of Artaxerxes. —This must be Gomates, the Magian priest who impersonated Smerdis, the dead son of Cyrus, and reigned only seven months: note that the expression used is “days,” and not “reign” as in the previous verse.

This Artaxerxes has been thought by many commentators to be the Longimanus of the later parts of this book and of Nehemiah, and they have identified the Ahasuerus of Ezra and Esther with Xerxes. This identification would explain the reference to “the walls” in Ezra 4:12.

However, in Ezra 4:23-24, the sequence of events is strict, and the word “ceased” links the parts of the narrative into unity. Moreover, the Persian princes often had more than one name. At the same time, there is nothing to make such an anticipatory and parenthetical insertion impossible.

In the Syrian tongue. —The characters and the words were Syrian or Aramaic; this explains the transition to another language at this point.