Ezra 4:8

Rehum the chancellor. With Ezra 4:8 the first Aramaic section of Ezra begins. The document which the compiler of the book—perhaps Ezra himself—used, was apparently written in Aramaic from this point on and taken over without change. Rehum is a Semitic name borne also by several Jews in the days of Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:2) and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:17; 10:25; etc.). This name occurs also in the Aramaic papyri of Elephantine. It is not strange to find this name borne by a Samaritan, since many Samaritans were of Aramaean (Semitic) stock. The Aramaic word translated “chancellor” is also found in Jewish documents from Elephantine, and seems to mean “private secretary,” or “accountant,” being perhaps the title of the assistant governor.

Shimshai. This name appears also in the Aramaic texts from Elephantine, as well as in Babylonian texts, in the form Shamshai, meaning “my sun.” His title, “scribe,” shows that the letter was actually written by him and that the previously mentioned Rehum had composed or dictated it.