Bishlam
Morrish Bible Dictionary [1]
Officer of Artaxerxes in Palestine at the time of the return of Zerubbabel. He wrote against the rebuilding of the city, which resulted in the building of the temple being stopped by the king. Ezra 4:7 . It will be seen that in the margin instead of Bishlam is read 'in peace,' and this is the reading in the LXX, Arabic, and Syriac Versions.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible [2]
BISHLAM (‘peaceful’?). An officer of Artaxerxes in Pal. at the time of the return from captivity under Zerub. ( Ezra 4:7 ); called Belemus in Esther 2:16 Esther 2:16 .
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [3]
(Heb. Bishlam', בַּשְׁלָם , for בֶּן שָׁלֹם , Son Of Peace, i.e. Peaceful; Sept. translates Ἐν Εἰρήνῃ , so most other versions, but Vulg. Beselam), apparently an officer or commissioner (comp. 1 Esdras 2:16) of Artaxerxes (i.e. Smerdis) in Palestine at the time of the return of Zerubbabel from captivity, and active in the remonstrance sent to the Persian court against the Jews in their efforts to rebuild their temple ( Ezra 4:7). B.C. 522.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [4]
bish´lam ( בּשׁלם , bishlām , "peaceful" (?)): One of three foreign colonists who wrote a letter of complaint against the Jews to Artaxerxes ( Ezra 4:7 = 1 Esdras 2:16). In 1 Esdras the reading is "Belemus." "And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, unto Artaxerxes, king of Persia," etc. ( Ezra 4:7 ). The Septuagint renders Bishlam as en eirḗnē , "in peace," as though it were a phrase rather than a proper name; this is clearly an error.
