1. The edict of Cyrus and its consequences ch. 1

 

God had warned his people Israel that disobedience to the Mosaic Covenant might result in exile from the Promised Land if that disobedience was wide-spread and prolonged (cf. Lev. 26:14, 33; Deut. 28:36, 48, 63). This is really what happened. The Assyrians under Shalmaneser V took over the Northern Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 17:1-6; cf. 15:29) and deported the people to Assyria (2 Kings 17:6) in 722 B.C. The Neo-Babylonian Empire replaced Assyria as the major political force in the ancient Near East in 605 B.C. Later that same year the Babylonian army under Nebuchadnezzar invaded the Southern Kingdom of Judah and took some of the Jews captive to Babylon (2 Kings 24:1-4). Two more invasions and deportations by Nebuchadnezzar followed in 597 and 586 B.C. (2 Kings 24:10-17; 25:1-7). However, God had also promised that if His people in exile repented and returned to Him He would restore them to the Promised Land (Lev. 26:40-45; Deut. 30:1-5).

Over a century before the exile began Isaiah not only prophesied that Israel would experience exile but that she would eventually return to the land. Isaiah revealed that the name of the king who would allow Israel to return would be Cyrus (Isa. 44:28; 45:1). Cyrus inherited the throne of Anshan, a small state near the Persian Gulf, in 559 B.C. Due to his great leadership ability he was able to unite the Persian people. He then attacked the neighboring Medes and took their capital city, Ecbatana, without a battle. The Median soldiers abandoned their king to side with Cyrus. He then welded these two great peoples into the Medo-Persian Empire. He next conquered Lydia and Anatolia (the western part of modern Turkey) in 547-546 B.C. The Babylonian Empire was then in a weakened condition. Cyrus invaded its capital, Babylon, by diverting the waters of the Euphrates River that ran through the city and marching under the city wall on the dry riverbed. This took place in 539 B.C. This victory enabled Cyrus to establish Medo-Persia as the major political power in the ancient Near East.¹⁶

"From east to west, it [the Persian Empire] was as wide as the continental United States."¹⁷

Cyrus adopted a policy toward conquered peoples within his empire that was opposite to that of his Assyrian and Babylonian predecessors. They had deported defeated people from their homelands to minimize the threat of revolution. Cyrus on the other hand decided to allow these people to return to their former homes believing that this would please them and would discourage them from rebelling.

"Cyrus was one of the truly enlightened rulers of ancient times. Instead of crushing national sentiment by brutality and deportation as the Assyrians had, it was his aim to allow subject peoples as far as possible to enjoy cultural autonomy within the framework of the empire. Though he and his successors kept firm control through a complex bureaucracy--most of the high officials of which were Persians or Medes--through their army, and through an efficient system of communications, their rule was not harsh. Rather, they preferred to respect the customs of their subjects, to protect and foster their established cults and, where they could, to entrust responsibility to native princes."¹⁸

 Cyrus' edict 1:1-4 

"It is not strange according to the Semitic style to start a book with a waw["And"or "Now"], especially when the author intended to write a continuation of the history of his people. He connects the history which he wants to write with the already-written history of his people by using the conjunction and.'"¹⁹

One of Cyrus' first official acts after capturing Babylon was to allow the Jews to return to their land. This took place in his "first year"(v. 1) as king over all Medo-Persia including Babylonia (i.e., 538 B.C.). The writer of Ezra regarded 539 B.C. as the beginning of Cyrus' reign probably because when Cyrus defeated Babylonia he gained authority over Palestine that had until then been under Babylonian sovereignty.

Chronology of Ezra 1-6

539

Cyrus conquered Babylon and took over the Babylonian Empire.

538

Cyrus' first year. He issued his decree.

537

Sheshbazzar returned with almost 50,000 Jews.

The returnees rebuilt the altar in Jerusalem, offered sacrifices, and celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles.

536

The returnees laid the temple foundation.

Reconstruction ceased due to opposition.

535

534

533

532

531

530

Cyrus died and Cambyses II began reigning.

529

528

527

526

525

Cambyses conquered Egypt.

524

523

522

Cambyses died and Darius I (Hystaspes) began reigning.

521

520

Haggai urged the people to resume temple construction, and they did so.

Darius confirmed Cyrus' decree.

Zechariah began ministering.

519

518

517

516

515

The people completed temple construction and celebrated the feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread.

About 150 years earlier Jeremiah had prophesied that the Babylonian captivity would last 70 years (Jer. 25:12; 29:10).

Cyrus proclaimed his edict 67 years after the first Babylonian deportation from Judah (605 B.C.). Important matters were put in writing in the ancient Near East.²⁰

Verse 2 reads as though Cyrus was a believer in Yahweh. However, Isaiah predicted that he would not be (Isa. 45:4-5). Evidently he was a polytheist and worshipped several gods.²¹On the "Cyrus Cylinder,"the clay cylinder on which Cyrus recorded his capture of Babylon, the king gave credit to Marduk for his success. He said he hoped the people under his authority would pray for him to Bel and Nebo.²²Probably Cyrus gave lip-service to all the gods his people worshipped, but the evidence suggests that he did not believe Yahweh was the only true God.

Apparently Cyrus knew about Isaiah's prophecies concerning himself (v. 2; cf. Isa. 41:2; 44:28; 45:1, 4-5, 12, 13).

He ". . . read this, and . . . an earnest desire and ambition seized upon him to fulfill what was so written."²³

The "house in Jerusalem"(v. 2) was, of course, a house of worship, the temple. Cyrus not only gave permission for the Jews to return to Jerusalem (v. 3), but he encouraged them to rebuild the temple (v. 3). He also urged their neighbors to support this project financially (v. 4).

"The Holy City and the house of God are both prominent subjects in Ezra-Nehemiah. Jerusalem occurs eighty-six times, and the phrases temple,' house of the Lord,' and house of God' appear fifty-three times."²⁴

"Although they are neither great literature nor important historical sources, the Murashu documents do provide a significant glimpse into the social and commercial life of a Babylonian city [i.e., Nippur] under Persian rule, and thus help to augment our knowledge of the onomastic practices, occupations and circumstances of the Diaspora. Like their contemporaries at Elepantine [in Egypt], by the fifth century B.C. the exiles at Nippur had become fully integrated into the economic life of their society, fulfilling the injunctions of Jeremiah 19:5ff. Perhaps even more thoroughly than the prophet had intended!"²⁵

 The people's response 1:5-6

Judah and Benjamin were the only tribes the writer mentioned because these were the tribes that made up the Southern Kingdom that had suffered exile in Babylon. Those who gave to the reconstruction project evidently included Jews who decided to remain in Babylon as well as Babylonian Gentiles. Many Jews chose not to return because they did not want to leave their possessions.²⁶This was contrary to the will of God (Isa. 48:20; Jer. 50:8; 51:6; cf. Jer. 29:10; Deut. 30:1-5). They should have returned.

 Preparations for the return 1:7-11

Often warring armies in the ancient Near East carried images of their gods into battle to help secure victory (cf. 2 Sam. 5:21; 1 Chron. 14:12). When one army defeated the other the victors would take the images of their defeated foes captive and lock them up to testify to the impotence of those gods.

"To displace the authority of a city, it was normal practice for a conquering power to carry off the emblems of deity (cf. Jeremiah 48:7)."²⁷

Since the Israelites had no images of Yahweh, Nebuchadnezzar took the temple utensils in their place.²⁸Cyrus released these utensils so the returning Jews could take them back to Jerusalem (cf. Dan. 5:1-4).

"The return of the temple vessels (Ezra 1:7) reverses this and empowers Jerusalem once more in Persian eyes to become the city of Yahweh. Doubtless in this task Cyrus saw himself in typical Achaemenid fashion, as the representative and thus the servant' of Yahweh."²⁹

Sheshbazzar was evidently the uncle of Zerubbabel (1 Chron. 3:17-19).³⁰He seems to have been the leader and governor when the first group of captives returned.³¹Shenazzar was a variation of the name Sheshbazzar.³²The writer named both Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel as having had a part in the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 5:16; Hag. 1:1, 12; Zech. 4:9). It seems most probable that Zerubbabel succeeded his uncle as the chief man in the restoration leadership since Zerubbabel became the governor of Judah (Hag. 1:1, 14; 2:2, 21). These were, therefore, not two names for the same man (cf. 1 Esdras 6:18).

The inventory of temple articles here (vv. 9-11) does not add up. Verses 9 and 10 give the following quantities.

Gold dishes

30

Silver dishes

1,000

Others

29

Gold bowls

30

Silver bowls

410

Other articles

1,000

Total

2,499

However verse 11 says the total was 5,400. Perhaps the writer counted only the larger³³or most important³⁴vessels and the 5,400 figure includes the grand total including many lesser vessels.

"The closing words of the chapter, from Babylon to Jerusalem, mark one of the turning points of history."³⁵

"Throughout chap. 1 the author's purpose was clearly to show the small postexilic Jewish community their legitimate continuity with the preexilic community and with God's plan of redemption. Therefore he used motifs from the exodus; he emphasized God's providence; he mentioned Judah, Benjamin, priests, and Levites; and he explained that even the former articles from the temple had been returned."³⁶