ARAMAIC PAPYRI—SACHAU. 609 
flict with Sanballat become so much a thing of the past that the com- 
munity believed it could ignore these things without fear of giving 
offense? Or, were the Jews of Elephantine derived not from Judah 
and Benjamin but from various parts of the old kingdoms of Judah 
and Israel (they might have come to Egypt already before the over- 
throw of both of these kingdoms), so that they could consider them- 
selves as being not direct parties to the political and religious differ- 
ences between Jerusalem and Samaria? However this may be, it 
appears certain, that they did not act in the spirit of Nehemiah when 
they asked the sons of his hereditary enemy for help. 
Arsam (lines 4 and 30) is possibly identical with Arsanes of the 
Greek historian Ktesias, who was governor of Egypt when Darius 
II, Nothus, 424405 B. C. (the king referred to in lines 4, 21, and 
30), acceded to the throne. His temporary absence from Egypt was 
taken advantage of by the priests of Chnemu, who bribed his subor- 
dinates, and with their assistance, under the leadership of Waidrang, 
a Persian magistrate of Elephantine, destroyed the temple of the 
Jewish community. According to lines 16 and 17 a reaction soon 
set in; the enemies of the Jews were deprived of the fruits of their 
plunder and were all killed before their eyes. As to the manner of 
this reaction and by whom it was brought about, nothing is said 
in the document. It may be assumed that Arsam had meanwhile 
returned to Egypt. But, though the evil doers had been punished, 
the effects of their evil deeds were not remedied. The house of God 
still lay in ruins and the congregation was not allowed to rebuild 
it. Who these new adversaries were is not recorded. Hence the 
petition to Bagoas. 
Document IT is a duplicate of Document I, with only shght varia- 
tions. 
Document IIT shows, if I am not greatly mistaken, that the ardent 
wish of the Jewish community of Elephantine, the permission to re- 
build its destroyed temple, was granted, for this short but complete 
papyrus can be interpreted in this sense without stretching the imagi- 
nation. This document is not the written answer of any of the three 
addresses mentioned in Document I, but in my opinion it is a note pre- 
served in the archives of this community of Elephantine concerning 
the oral answer which Bagoas, the Persian governor of Judea, and 
Delaiah, the son of Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, gave Jedo- 
niah, the bearer and writer of the petition. 
TRANSLATION, 
1. Account of that which Bagohi and Delaiah said to me. The account is as 
follows: 
2 “Thou shalt speak in Egypt ? 
8. before Arsames concerning the altar house of the God 
4, of Heaven which had been built in the fortress Yeb 
5. before our time, before Cambyses. 
