Room 52
Inscribed ‘son of Xerxes, son of Darius The Great’
Ezra 4
Xerxes (Ahasuerus) Son of Darius in 486 BC, ruled an empire stretching from India to Ethopia. He was assassinated and succeeded by his son Artaxeres (456-424 BC)
Artaxerxes temporarily halted the rebuilding of the Jerusalem (Ezra 4:7-23) and commissioned Ezra to visit the city in 458 BC
Nehemiah is sent 13 years later as his cup bearer (a high ranking officer ) to Jerusalem as civil govenor
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The Silver Bowl of Artaxerxesis inscribed: ‘Son of Xerxes, son of Darius’. All three of these kings are mentioned in Ezra 4.
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During the course of Nehemiah’s duties to the king, he could have handled this silverware.
