Apharsachites, Apharsathchites, Apharsites

Words used in the book of Ezra to designate certain groups of people in Samaria who joined in writing King Artaxerxes of Babylon to stop the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Apharsathchites (Ezr 4:9, KJV) could refer to a specific ethnic group or to government leaders; a similar Old Persian word meant “messengers.” Apharsachites (Ezr 5:6; 6:6, KJV) could be a shortened form of Apharsathchites or could be derived from an old Persian word for “investigators.” Apharsites (Ezr 4:9, KJV) is similar to the Hebrew word for “Persians” and has been translated that way.