1In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:
2“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah.
3Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.
4And let every survivor, wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”
5So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—prepared to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.
6And all their neighbors supported them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuables, in addition to all their freewill offerings.
7King Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods.
8Cyrus king of Persia had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
9This was the inventory: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 silver utensils,
1030 gold bowls, 410 matching silver bowls, and 1,000 other articles.
11In all, there were 5,400 gold and silver articles. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Ezra 1 Verse Notes
Ezra 1:1-4
Cyrus's Decree: Biblical vs. Cyrus Cylinder Accounts
The biblical account in Ezra 1 states that King Cyrus of Persia, inspired by the Lord, decreed the return of the Judean exiles to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. However, the Cyrus Cylinder, an actual artifact, credits the Babylonian god Marduk for Cyrus's actions of returning peoples and their gods to their habitations. This discrepancy highlights a rhetorical strategy by Cyrus to appeal to local deities and a theological interpretation by the biblical author.
Summarized by AI · Cities of the Bible · Lecture 4: Babylon and Megiddo · watch the clip
Cyrus Cylinder and the Return from Exile
The Cyrus Cylinder, an ancient clay artifact, contains a declaration by the Persian King Cyrus the Great, allowing exiled peoples, including the Judeans, to return to their homes, rebuild their cities, and reconstruct their temples. This edict aligns with the biblical narratives in Ezra and Nehemiah, which describe the return of the exiles and the rebuilding efforts in Jerusalem.
Summarized by AI · Everyday Life in Ancient Israel · Lecture 1: Cultural Context | What is Archaeology? · watch the clip
Ezra 1:2-4
Cyrus's decree for the Judeans
According to the Book of Ezra, Cyrus issued a proclamation allowing the Judeans to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. While Cyrus told the Babylonians that Marduk called him, he told the Judeans that the Lord, the God of Heaven, called him by name to restore Jerusalem and its temple. This passage suggests a Judean perspective on Cyrus's actions, attributing his decree to their God.
Summarized by AI · Judaism Before Jesus · Lecture 1: Out of the Ashes | Restoration After the Exile · watch the clip
