Bible Dictionary
ARCHIVES
Archives were rooms or storehouses where royal records and important state documents were kept. Ezra describes such a place in the royal treasury at Babylon.
Definition
Archives were rooms or storehouses in which important royal or state documents were kept. In Ezra, the expression refers to a house of archives rather than merely a house of rolls.
Biblical Usage
Ezra describes the search for a royal document in the house of the archives. The passage places this repository within the royal treasure-house.
Historical Background
The archives formed part of the royal treasure-house and preserved important state records.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>ar'-kivs (the more correct the Revised Version (British and American) rendition of beth ciphrayya', in Ezr 6:1, "house of the archives" instead of "house of rolls" as in the King James Version): A part of the royal treasure-house (5:17), in which important state documents were kept.</p>