This chapter should be called The Trouble Begins. The problem started when the Assyrian king, Esarhaddon (680-669 BCE), replaced the Israelis who were exiled to Assyria with people, pagans, who worshipped false gods. After arriving in former Israeli territory, they were being severely attacked by wild animals. They inquired about the God of Israel and began worshipping Him with their other gods. These are the people we read about in chapter 4.
In verses 1-5, we are told what happened in the early years of the return. “When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard the exiles had returned and were rebuilding the Temple. . .” I wonder if these people were “enemies” of the Jews before the Jews shunned them. Of course, the Jews of that day had just returned from exile because former generations had added pagan worship to their worship of Yahweh. I believe these people came with a sincere desire to help, but they became real enemies because the Jews decided not to make the same mistakes their ancestors had made.
In verses 4-5, we find these pagans had no hesitation about lying to King Cyrus. They just made-up things to cause trouble. This sounds just like many people today. “This went on during his entire reign and lasted until King Darius took the throne.” The time frame was about 10 years, 532-522 BCE.
“And afterwards, when King Ahasuerus began to reign, they wrote him a letter of accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem and did the same thing during the reign of Artaxerxes.” This can be confusing without a time frame.
Ahasuerus was a title and not a name; it may have meant ruler or king. But the person referred to here was Cambyses II, the son of Cyrus. Cyrs died about 530 BCE and Cambyses ruled from 530-522 BCE when his son, Darius I became king. The reference to Artaxerxes refers to the grandson of Darius I, and he ruled from 45-424 BCE during the time Nehemiah was rebuilding the exterior walls of Jerusalem.
You will see that chapter 4 gives an account of the opposition the Jews faced but not in a time-oriented manner. This is just to show us how much people with a negative agenda can cause in our lives.