Lexical Definition

‎תַּתְּנַי‎ Tattᵉnay (tat-ten-ah'-ee) Tattenai ^N:N-M-P
of foreign derivation

Tatnai.

• § Tatnai = "gift"
• Tattenai, a Persian

1) a Persian governor in Syria who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem

Extended Information

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.5.3

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎תַּתְּנַי‎ proper name, masculine Persian prefect in Syria; — Ezra 5:3; Ezra 5:6; Ezra 6:6; Ezra 6:13 Θανθανας, A Θαθθαναι; ᵐ5^L Τανθαναιος, Σισιννης; also 3 Esdr 6:3; 7:26 Jos^{Ant. «JOSEPHUS:Antiquities 11»xi.} 12,89, etc. (Lag^{Psalt. Hieron.162 n.}; AS^{§135 n.}; Mey^{Entst. J. 32} assumes Old Persian * Thithnaya, or *Thathnaia); but Uštanni, Uštanu, was prefect in Syria under Darius, according to contract tablets. See Strassm^{Darius 27, 82}; names probably identical; Meissn^{ZAW xvii (1897), 191 f.} reads therefore ‎ושׁתני‎ (‎וַשְׁתָּנִי‎ Hpt), compare Buhl Gu^Ezr-Neh.63; Scheft⁹⁴, however, thinks ‎תתני‎ = ‎תסני‎ Old Persian th¹sna, Avestan s¹sna (teaching), and this transposed in New Babylonian Uštanu

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Male • Persian official • Persian governor who questioned the Jews' authority to rebuild

Man living at the time of Exile and Return

Tattenai was the Persian governor of the province Beyond the River who questioned the Jews' authority to rebuild the temple.

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.5.3;
• only referred to as Tattenai תַּתְּנַי.

Tattenai is mentioned in Ezra 5:3,6 and 6:6,13 as the governor of the province Beyond the River during the reign of Darius king of Persia. When the Jews resumed rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, Tattenai and his associates questioned their authority to do so and wrote to Darius to investigate the matter. After Darius confirmed Cyrus' decree authorizing the rebuilding, Tattenai allowed the work to continue and even provided support for it from the royal treasury. Tattenai's actions reflect the Persian policy of respecting the religious practices of subject peoples while maintaining oversight of their activities.

All entries for Tattenai: תַּתְּנַי