**AFARSACHEI** (*Apharsachei, Apharsatachei, A-pharsei*). - A tribe imported by the Assyrians into Samaria at the time of the second colonization carried out by Esarhaddon or by his son Ashurbanipal.
The Aramaic name presents three forms: 1) *afarskehê* (*Ezra 4:9*); 2) *afarshê* (*ibid. 5:6; 6:6*); 3) *afarshtêhê* (*ibid. 4:9*). The first and second names are generally considered identical; the first has only the additional adjectival ending *kêvê*. They are understood either as a people or as a category of low-ranking officials (cf. the cuneiform *šuparsak*, Old Iranian *aparasarak*). The third name is identified by some (L. Meyer) with the preceding ones, in one or the other sense, while others distinguish it from them.
Together with the other inhabitants of Samaria, the A. opposed the reconstruction of the city and of the Temple of Jerusalem, begun by the Jews returning from Babylon (*Ezra 4-6*).
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