Ezra 4:7
And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.
The Artaxerxes named here is the false Smerdis, an unscrupulous impostor whose reign was brief. His rule followed that of Cambyses, a period in which work on the temple progressed only very slowly. In his days came the opposing letter against the rebuilding, written at the instigation of the Samaritans, who induced him to issue a decree forbidding the Jews to rebuild both their temple and their city. Under that prohibition the temple lay neglected for over a year, while the people dwelt in their own houses and labored for temporal prosperity.