the twentieth year of Artaxerxes.12 The time that is specifically in view relates to the account in Ezra 4:12, which describes that the city’s reconstruction of its walls had been forcefully interrupted and cancelled until further notice by King Artaxerxes himself (see Ezra 4:21, 23 and commentary on Ezra 4 above). Accordingly, it would explain the extraordinary reaction by Nehemiah: He “wept,” “mourned,” “fasted and prayed” (Neh 10:4). Both options appear possible a priori. However, attempts to