APHARSITES ə fär’ sīts (אֲפָֽרְסָיֵ֗א, RSV Persian). The Apharsites of Ezra 4:9 are prob. the “Persians” (פַּרְסַא), written with a prosthetic aleph. Cf. the RSV “Persian.” The meaning is not certain.

Bibliography C. F. Keil, Books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (1950), 66.