Ezra 7:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Artaxerxes mentioned in the context of Ezra's journey from Babylon to Jerusalem is believed by Josephus to refer to Xerxes, the offspring of Darius, who succeeded him. Additionally, the books of the Chronicles indicate that this Xerxes is identified as a forebear of the Artaxerxes in question. Darius, during whose reign the temple was constructed, ruled for thirty-six years; Xerxes followed for twenty years, after which Artabanus reigned for seven months (although chroniclers often count this as a year), leading to a forty-year reign of Artaxerxes.