רְח֣וּם בְּעֵל־טְעֵ֗ם וְשִׁמְשַׁי֙ סָֽפְרָ֔א כְּתַ֛בוּ אִגְּרָ֥ה חֲדָ֖ה עַל־יְרוּשְׁלֶ֑ם לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֥שְׂתְּא מַלְכָּ֖א כְּנֵֽמָא׃
Командир Рехум и писец Шимшай написали письмо против Иерусалима царю Артаксерксу такого рода—
Rashi
had been mourning when he saw that Cyrus had curtailed the construction of the Temple, for he had ordered to commence it, and he reneged because of the missive of the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin: Rehum the adviser and Shimshai the scribe, as is written in the Book of Ezra (4:5).
Daf Shevui to Megillah
Again, the rabbis read into the syntax of the word. Shimshai was the king’s scribe (see Ezra 4:8). He writes to the king asking him to stop the Jews from rebuilding the Temple. Shimshai hated the Jews. When Ahashverosh opened the book, Shimshai tried to erase the tale of how Mordecai saved the king. But every time he erased something, the angel Gavriel would rewrite it.