Mithredath

Biblical Record

The name "Mithredath" occurs twice in Ezra. Because the two references differ in period and context, they are usually taken to refer to two different people.

• Mithredath, treasurer of Cyrus (Ezra 1:8): This episode follows the decree in which Cyrus, king of Persia, permitted the Jews to return. Cyrus commanded Mithredath to bring out the temple vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem. Mithredath counted the vessels and handed them over to Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah. The verses that follow, Ezra 1:9-11, list the gold and silver vessels and their numbers. A treasurer is an official in charge of storehouses or wealth. The Hebrew text uses a Persian loanword for this title, which is generally understood to denote a royal treasury official.
• Mithredath in the time of Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:7): In the days of King Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their companions wrote to the king. The text states that the letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language. Ezra 4 recounts the efforts of opponents to obstruct the returned Jews' work on the temple and the city walls, and this letter forms part of that narrative.

Significance in Scripture

The first Mithredath appears in the scene in which the vessels of the Temple in Jerusalem are restored to their proper place. The plundering of the vessels is recorded in 2 Kings 25 and 2 Chronicles 36, and Belshazzar's feast, at which those vessels were used, is described in Daniel 5. By recording that the vessels passed through the hands of a Gentile king's official and were returned through formal procedures, Ezra 1 shows that the return from exile and the rebuilding of the temple took place with the approval of the Persian royal court.

The second Mithredath is mentioned only by name, as one of the figures who illustrate the opposition faced by the returned community. Neither man is mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Debated Questions

• Meaning of the name: Mithredath is a Persian name, often interpreted as meaning "given by Mithra," after the Persian deity Mithra. Its Greek equivalent is Mithridates.
• Are the two men the same person?: Several decades separate the reign of Cyrus from that of Artaxerxes. For this reason, most commentaries regard them as different individuals who bore the same name.
• Chronology of Ezra 4: Many interpreters read Ezra 4:6-23 as a collection of episodes of opposition from the reigns of Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes, who came after Cyrus. On this reading, the Mithredath of 4:7 belongs not to the period of the temple's rebuilding but to a later time.
• Identity of the letter writers: Because the text gives few details, interpreters differ on whether Mithredath and his associates in 4:7 were Persian officials or members of local opposition groups.
• The account in 1 Esdras: The same events also appear in 1 Esdras, preserved in the Greek tradition, where the name Mithridates occurs. This book is not included in the Protestant or Roman Catholic canons, but some Eastern Orthodox traditions accept it as Scripture.

Beyond this, the text says nothing about Mithredath's faith or character.

In the Korean Church

Mithredath is rarely the subject of a sermon in his own right. His name comes up mainly in expositions of Ezra 1, in explaining the return of the temple vessels, or in expositions of Ezra 4, in introducing the opposition.