Imprisonment of Jewish Leaders

410–400 BCE

Fragmentary papyrus page of Hebrew writing. — Elephantine letter, dated to year 17 of King Darius II (November 25, 407 BCE). See Request about the Rebuilding of the Elephantine Temple) and Darius and Xerxes, Kings of Persia. The letter is addressed to Bagoas, the Persian governor of Judea, petitioning him for permission to rebuild the Jewish temple in Elephantine, which had been destroyed three years earlier at the instigation of the local governor Vidranga and the priests of the Egyptian god Khnum.

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About Imprisonment of Jewish Leaders

Several Jewish men and women (and perhaps non-Jews as well) were arrested and imprisoned in Elephantine and Thebes, having apparently broken into some houses and taken property from them. They returned the goods, but it is not clear whether they were then released from prison. What led to this event is unknown, but perhaps it was related to the ongoing conflict with the priests of Khnum (see “Request about the Rebuilding of the Elephantine Temple”). This letter dates to the last decade of the fifth century BCE.

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Imprisonment of Jewish Leaders

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Imprisonment of Jewish Leaders

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Letters from Elephantine

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