7:12 God of heaven. It is noteworthy that great Artaxerxes, calling himself “king of kings,” nevertheless recognized that the God of Ezra was “the God of heaven,” as indeed Cyrus also had before him (Ezra 1:2,3). It is possible that Artaxerxes was either a son or stepson of Queen Esther; if so, she and Mordecai had no doubt instructed him concerning the true God.