Bible Person

Shethar-boznai

Meaning: that makes to rot; that seeks those who despise me · Male · 4 cross references

Shethar-boznai is a Persian official who joins efforts to scrutinize and potentially hinder the rebuilding of the temple. He is one of the administrative opponents who inadvertently help preserve the record of restoration politics. First appears in Ezra 5:3.1

AI summary: Shethar-boznai matters because the cross references present him as part of the imperial process that tests the legitimacy of the Jews' rebuilding work. Though opposed at first, his involvement leads to documentation, decree, and eventual continuation of the project under Persian authority. He thus stands at a point where resistance is folded into providential progress. Taken together, the material presents Shethar-boznai as an imperial official whose challenge becomes part of the temple's vindicated rebuilding.1

Central Figure

Shethar-boznai

Meaning: that makes to rot; that seeks those who despise me

Star of splendour, a Persian officer who vainly attempted to hinder the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 5:3, 6; 6:6, 13).