Dinaites Dinaeans
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Ezra 4:9) — one of the Assyrian peoples resettled by Asnapper into Samaria, after the Israelites had been carried into captivity by Shalmaneser. Together with the other settlers, they tried to hinder the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple under Zerubbabel, and for a time succeeded in halting the work by writing a letter to Artaxerxes (the false Smerdis) about the harm of permitting the building of the Temple to king and kingdom. But when, at the command of Darius, the work resumed, the Dinaites again interfered (Ezra 5:3–6) with the building; Darius, however, commanded them to assist the builders. It is now impossible to determine with precision where they dwelt.