1:1 Ahasuerus. Also known as Xerxes (486–465 b.c.), Ahasuerus was the Persian king mentioned in Ezra 4:6. He was renowned for consolidating his father Darius’s empire, for his successful building projects, and for his wars against the Greeks from 480–470 b.c.

Ethiopia. In Hebrew, “Cush,” the region south of Egypt, now part of northern Sudan.

127 provinces. The reference here to the large number of divisions within the twenty larger administrative districts, or satrapies, in the Persian Empire is intended to impress.