Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 9 · Doctrines 1 · Question 44
44. Quest. VnderUnder which of the Persian kings Mordecai liued and of his age.
1. Some take the great king Assuerus, who married Esther, to be Cambyses the sonne of Cyrus: as Paul. Burgens. calleth this Assuerus, & filium Cyri, & maritum Esther, both the sonne of Cyrus, and the husband of Ester, addit. 3. in 9. c. Dan. But this cannot be: for Cambyses is held by most Chronologer…, to hauehave raigned but 7. yeares, the Hebrewes giuegive vntounto him but 6. yeares: but this Assuerus married not Esther till the 7. yeare of his raigne toward the ende thereof in the 10. monethmonth, Estb. 2. 17. and c. 3. 12. mention is made of his 12. yeare.
2. Some take this Assuerus the husband of Esther, to be Darius Hystaspic the 3. king of Persia: so Iun. in his annotat. Esth. 1. 1. in the first edition; and Esther called Adassa, he thinketh to be A…ossa Darius wife, mentioned by Herodot. lib. 3. Of the same opinion seemeth Lyranus to be, that the next king vntounto Cam…yses, was this Assuerus: But Darius Hystaspicis succeeded C…byses: so also Genevens.
3. Ioseph. lib. 11. thinketh that this Assuerus was Artaxerxes Longimanus, surnamed the long-hand, the 5. king of Persia: But Eusebius in his Chronicle …felleth him by this argument, that, seeing Ezra liued in the daies of this Artaxerxes, it is like he would hauehave made some honourable mention of Esther and Mordecai. Herein though Eusebius doe truly contradict Iosephus, yet his reason is not so forcible: for seeing there is a speciall historie written of Esther and Mordecai their acts, which booke is like to hauehave beene made by Ezra, or some other of the Prophets then liuing, it was not needefull in the other bookes of Ezra and Nehemiah, to make mention of them; seeing in those bookes they meddle not with the Persian affaires, but with such things as happened about the building of the citie and Temple at Ierusalem. But this reason rather may be vrged, that Artaxerxes …, who is that Darius called also Artashasht, who gaue licence to build the Temple, which was finished in his 6. yeare, and in his 7. sent Ezra, and in his 20. Nehemiah, with new commissions to repaire the citie: it is not like, that he would be so mooued and incensed against the Iewes, to roote them out, as Assuerus was.
4. A fourth opinion there is, that this Assuerus was Artaxerxes Mnemon, which succeeded Darius Nothus, the 7. king of Persia: which is the opinion of Exsebius, Isidore, Beda, Sulpitius, to whome subscribeth Pererius: But these two obiections may be made against this opinion. 1. that if Esther had beene the Queene in Nehemiahs time, it is like he would hauehave vsed her mediation to the king, or Mordecaies, and not hauehave pressed himselfe vponupon the king. 2. whereas Mordecai is said to hauehave beene one of those which was carried away in the captiuitie of Iechoniah, Esth. 2. 6. from which captiuitie vntounto the raigne of Artaxerxes Muemon are accounted by the most Chronologers 250. yeares, as Pererius confesseth, then could it not be that Artaxerxes vnderunder whome Esther and Mordecai liued. Hereunto Pererius answereth, that whereas the words stand thus, Mordecai, which was the sonne of Iair, the sonne of Shemei the sonne of Kish, a man of Iemini, which had beene carried away, &c. with the captiuitie of Iechoniah. &c. he would hauehave the relatiue (which) referred to the nearest antecedent, Iemini, whome he supposeth to hauehave beene then carried into captiuitie: But herein Pererius is greatly ouerseene, for Iemini is here taken for the tribe Beniamin: as Kish the father of Saul is said to be of Iemini, 1. Sam. 9. 1. and Shemei is called the sonne of Iemini, 2. Sam. 16. 11. Then this Iemini could not possibly goe into captiuitie with Iechoniah. Therefore other answer better, that it is referred to Kish, that he went into captiuitie: so Burgens. and Iunius in his last edition: Ioseph. Scal. l. 6. de emendat. tempor.
But hereunto Thoring maketh a double answer. 1. They must shew vsus an other Kish out of Scripture, beside the father of Saul, which if they can not doe, eadem facilitate contemnitur, qua probatur, it may as easily be reiected, as it is prooued: yet this may be admitted, that this was an other Kish beside that auncient Kish the father of Saul, as this Shemei was diuers from him that railed vponupon Dauid. 2. He hath then a better answer; that if they will count so many generations, namely these foure, of Mordecai, Iair, Shemei, Kish, from the captiuitie of Iechonia…, they will make Mordecai, either scarse yet borne, or a very young man, who was now auncient, and nourished Esther as his daughter, he was as a father vntounto her: for in true account there were not aboue an 150. yeares runne since the captiuitie of Iechoniah to the raigne of this Artaxerxes: and if foure generations of men were then worne out, Mordecai must be held a very young man, or not so graue a personage, as the storie maketh him.
5. An other opinion is, that Mordecai liued vnderunder Xerxes the fourth king of Persia, who is also called Assuerus, which is the opinion of Iosephus Scalliger, lib. 6. de emendat, tempor. likewise Thom. Lydiat. lib. de emendat. tempor. in ann. 3514. and of Iunius edition 3. the reasons thereof are these. 1. The name Achashverosh, which Scalliger pronounceth Oxyares, commeth neere the name Xerxes, which is after the Greeke pronuntiation, the other is the Hebrew name. 2. the name of Queene Esther hath great affinitie with Amestris, as Herodotus, or Amystris, as Ctesias, the wife of Xerxes. 3. Assuerus is set forth by the largenes of his kingdome, and the greatnes of his riches, Esth. 1. and Xerxes was the rich king of Persia, the fourth from Cyrus inclusiuely, that is, including Cyrus, Dan. 11. 2. 4. Assuerus was the next king before the first Artaxerxes whome Darius Nothus succeeded, Ezr. c. 4. v. 7. and 24. But Xerxes was the next predecessour to Artashasht, or Artaxerxes, who was called Longimanus, who was Xerxes sonne.
But against this last assertion, that this Assuerus was Xerxes, it will be thus obiected. 1. that Xerxes is held of the most, not to hauehave raigned aboue 20. or 22. yeares at the most, and he was married to Esther but in the 7. yeare, and in the 8. might Darius his sonne be borne, who was not aboue 13. yeares olde when his father died: yet in the second yeare of his raigne he had children, Ezr. 6. 10. where the Iewes are bid to pray for the kings life and his sonnes.
Burgensis here answereth, that it is spoken by way of supposition, si filios habuisset, if he had had sonnes: But Thoring in his replie to Burgensis additions, doth here finde fault with him: for it was neuer heard of, that prayer should be made, pro non existentibus in rerum natura, for them which had yet no beeing or existence in nature.
But they which hold Xerxes to be this Assuerus, will answer, that Darius mentioned, Ezr. 6. 10. was Darious Nothus, not this Artaxerxes Longimanus: now this is after prooued to be otherwise, because to the building of the Temple from the going forth of the word, are but 7. weekes, that is, 49. yeares: but there were in their owne reckoning an 100. yeares from Cyrus to Darius Nothus: see hereof further, qu. 58. following.
6. Bullinger thinketh this Assuerus to be Cyaxares the father of Darius the Mede, who with Cyrus surprised Babylon, Dan. 9. 1. But this cannot be: 1. in Esthers time the Monarchie of the Persians and Medes was ioyned together, Esth. 1. 3. 2. Assuerus chiefe seare was at Susis. ibid. but Ecbatane was the chiefe citie of Media. 3. while the Monarchie of Babel stood, the Iewes were held in captiuitie vnderunder the Babylonians, not vnderunder the Medes.
7. Wherefore it is most probable that this Assuerus was Darius Hystaspis, which is the second opinion before rehearsed, for it is shewed before that he was neither Cambyses, nor Longimanus, Mnemon, or Xerxes: who is he then more like to be then this Darius? the arguments brought for Xerxes may be answered by applying them to Darius. 1. the name Assuerus might be a common name to them both: and it seemeth that by Assuerus is meant Darius the next to Cambyses, who is that Artashasht named Ezr. 4. 6. 2. Darius was also of great riches and power. 3. his Queenes name Atossa commeth nearer Hadassa the other name of Esther, then Amestris to Esther. 4. that Artashasht mentioned Ezr. 4. 7. was not Longimanus Xerxes sonne, but Cambyses rather.
It beeing thus shewed that Mordecai liued in Darius time,… the third king of Persia, neither could his age be so great, as Lyranus at the first seemed to thinke, that is, 259. or as Annius Viterbiens. 198. nor yet so small, as Lyranus in his second computation counteth, giuing vntounto Mordecai but 93. yeares. But his age might be an 110. or thereabout: whereof 70. yeares were spent in the captiuitie, and about 30. yeare from Cyrus first: H. Br. in prolegom. and he might be 10. yeare old when he went into captiuitie.