Bishlam is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Bishlam was one of the officials who wrote to Artaxerxes, king of Persia, opposing the rebuilding of Jerusalem. He appears only once in Scripture, in Ezra 4:7, where he is named alongside Mithredath, Tabeel, and “the rest of their companions” as a writer of a letter to the Persian king. These men were adversaries of the returned Jewish exiles who were working to restore the city and its temple.
The setting is the period after the Jews had returned from Babylonian captivity. Opposition to the rebuilding had already arisen in earlier reigns, and now, in the days of Artaxerxes, the resistance continued through official channels. Rather than confronting the builders directly, Bishlam and his companions appealed to the king by letter, seeking to halt the work through royal authority. The text notes that the letter was written and interpreted in the Syrian tongue, indicating a deliberate effort to communicate their accusation in a form the court would receive.
Scripture records nothing else about Bishlam personally—not his office, his origin, or his fate. He is remembered only as a name attached to this one act of opposition. His brief appearance serves the larger narrative of Ezra 4, which shows how the rebuilding of Jerusalem faced repeated resistance from those who did not want the city restored.
The Name
The meaning of the name Bishlam is not clearly established. It appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, and scholars have not reached agreement on its derivation or sense. Some have proposed connections to Hebrew or Aramaic roots, but no reading is certain enough to state as fact. Since Scripture itself gives no interpretation of the name, its meaning should be regarded as uncertain rather than guessed at.
A Closing Thought
Bishlam’s single appearance in Scripture is a reminder that opposition to God’s work often comes through ordinary means—letters, officials, and quiet appeals to authority—rather than open violence. Yet the rebuilding of Jerusalem went forward in God’s time, and the schemes of its adversaries could not finally prevent what He had purposed. There is comfort here for anyone whose good work is resisted: the outcome does not rest on the loudness of the opposition, but on the faithfulness of God, who sees and remembers even those whose names appear only once.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Ezra 4:7 — And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.