Ezra 1:8

1:8 King Cyrus of Persia entrusted ¹  them to ²  Mithredath ³  the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar ⁴  the leader of the Judahite exiles. ⁵ 

Ezra 1:1

The Decree of Cyrus

1:1 ⁶ In the first ⁷  year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message ⁸  spoken through ⁹  Jeremiah, ¹⁰  the Lord stirred the mind ¹¹  of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated ¹²  a proclamation ¹³  throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict ¹⁴  the following: ¹⁵ 

Ezra 1:7

1:7 Then King Cyrus brought out the vessels of the Lord’s temple which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and had displayed ¹⁶  in the temple of his gods.

Ezra 4:5

4:5 They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time ¹⁷  of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius ¹⁸  of Persia. ¹⁹ 

Ezra 1:2

1:2 “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia:

“‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple ²⁰  for him in Jerusalem, ²¹  which is in Judah.

Ezra 3:7

Preparations for Rebuilding the Temple

3:7 So they provided money ²²  for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and olive oil for the people of Sidon ²³  and Tyre, ²⁴  so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the seaport ²⁵  at Joppa, in accord with the edict of King Cyrus of Persia.

Ezra 4:3

4:3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right ²⁶  to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

[1:8]  ¹ tn Heb “brought them forth.”

[1:8]  ² tn Heb “upon the hand of.”

[1:8]  ³ sn A Persian name meaning “gift of Mithras.” See HALOT 656 s.v. מִתְרְדָת.

[1:8]  ⁴ sn A Babylonian name with the probable meaning “Shamash protect the father.” See HALOT 1664-65 s.v. שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּר.

[1:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “Sheshbazzar the prince to Judah”; TEV, CEV “the governor of Judah.”

[1:1]  ⁶ sn In addition to the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, there are two deuterocanonical books that are also called “Ezra.” Exactly how these books are designated varies in ancient literature. In the Septuagint (LXX) canonical Ezra is called Second Esdras, but in the Latin Vulgate it is called First Esdras. Our Nehemiah is called Third Esdras in some manuscripts of the LXX, but it is known as Second Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. (In the earliest LXX manuscripts Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as one book, as they were in some Hebrew manuscripts.) The deuterocanonical books of Ezra are called First and Fourth Esdras in the LXX, but Third and Fourth Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. The titles for the so-called books of Ezra are thus rather confusing, a fact that one must keep in mind when consulting this material.

[1:1]  ⁷ sn The first year of Cyrus would be ca. 539 B.C. Cyrus reigned in Persia from ca. 539-530 B.C.

[1:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “the word of the Lord.”

[1:1]  ⁹ tc The MT reads מִפִּי (mippi, “from the mouth of”), but this should probably be emended to בְּפִי (bÿfi, “by the mouth of”), which is the way the parallel passage in 2 Chr 36:22 reads. This is also reflected in the LXX, which is either reflecting an alternate textual tradition of בְּפִי or is attempting to harmonize Ezra 1:1 in light of 2 Chronicles.

[1:1]  ¹⁰ sn Cf. Jer 29:10; 25:11-14. Jeremiah had prophesied that after a time of seventy years the Jews would return “to this place.” How these seventy years are to be reckoned is a matter of debate among scholars. Some understand the period to refer to the approximate length of Babylon’s ascendancy as a world power, beginning either with the fall of Nineveh (612 b.c.) or with Nebuchadnezzar’s coronation (605 b.c.) and continuing till the fall of Babylon to the Persians in 539 b.c. Others take the seventy years to refer to the period from the destruction of the temple in 586 b.c. till its rebuilding in 516 b.c.

[1:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “spirit.” The Hebrew noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) has a broad range of meanings (see BDB 924-26 s.v.). Here, it probably refers to (1) “mind” as the seat of mental acts (e.g., Exod 28:3; Deut 34:9; Isa 29:24; 40:13; Ezek 11:5; 20:32; 1 Chr 28:12; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 6) or (2) “will” as the seat of volitional decisions (e.g., Exod 35:5, 22; Pss 51:12, 14; 57:8; 2 Chr 29:31; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 7). So also in v. 5.

[1:1]  ¹² tn Heb “caused to pass.”

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “a voice.” The Hebrew noun קוֹל (qol, “voice, sound”) has a broad range of meanings, including the metonymical (cause – effect) nuance “proclamation” (e.g., Exod 36:6; 2 Chr 24:9; 30:5; 36:22; Ezra 1:1; 10:7; Neh 8:15). See BDB 877 s.v. 3.a.2.

[1:1]  ¹⁴ sn For an interesting extrabiblical parallel to this edict see the Cyrus cylinder (ANET 315-16).

[1:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in writing, saying.”

[1:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he gave them.”

[4:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “all the days of.”

[4:5]  ¹⁷ sn Darius ruled Persia ca. 522-486 B.C.

[4:5]  ¹⁸ sn The purpose of the opening verses of this chapter is to summarize why the Jews returning from the exile were unable to complete the rebuilding of the temple more quickly than they did. The delay was due not to disinterest on their part but to the repeated obstacles that had been placed in their path by determined foes.

[1:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “house.” The Hebrew noun בַּיִת (bayit, “house”) is often used in reference to the temple of Yahweh (BDB 108 s.v. 1.a). This is also frequent elsewhere in Ezra and Nehemiah (e.g., Ezra 1:3, 4, 5, 7; 2:68; 3:8, 9, 11, 12; 4:3; 6:22; 7:27; 8:17, 25, 29, 30, 33, 36; 9:9; 10:1, 6, 9).

[1:2]  ²² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “silver.”

[3:7]  ²⁷ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[3:7]  ²⁸ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[3:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “to the sea”

[4:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “not to you and to us.”