Tat´nai (Pers., perhaps gift), a Persian governor, who succeeded Rehum in the rule of Samaria, and probably of other provinces north of Judea. He appears to have been a more just person, and more friendly to the Jews, than his predecessor. An adverse report of their proceedings at Jerusalem reached him; but he resolved to suspend his judgment till he had examined into the matter on the spot. He accordingly repaired thither, accompanied by another great officer, named Shethar-boznai, and their colleagues, and finding that the Jews alleged the authority of a royal decree for their proceedings, he sent to the supreme government a temperate and fair report, founded on the information he had obtained, suggesting that the statement made by the Jews as to the decree of Cyrus and other matters should be verified by reference to the archives at Babylon. Then, without one word to influence the decision or to prejudice the claim advanced, Tatnai concludes with intimating that he awaits the royal orders. This official letter of the Persian governor is quite a model of exactness, moderation, and truth, and gives a very favorable idea of the administrative part of the Persian government. This took place in the second year of Darius, B.C. 519. The rescript being favorable to the claim of the Jews, whose statement had been verified by the discovery of the original decree of Cyrus, Tatnai and his colleagues applied themselves with vigor to the execution of the royal commands (Ezra 5, 6).
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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