Person Old Testament
Tattenai
Also known as Tattenai =ESV, NIV; Tatnai =KJV
Tattenai was the Persian governor of the province Beyond the River who questioned the Jews' authority to rebuild the temple. Mentioned in 4 verses across 1 book, first at Ezra 5:3.
Why it matters. Persian governor who questioned the Jews' authority to rebuild
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Tattenai
Tattenai is mentioned in Ezr.5.3,6 and Ezr.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.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 4 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.