Ezra Chapter 1

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, etc.] Not in the first of his reign over Persia, for he had been many years king over that, and now had all the kingdoms of the earth given him, (<150102>Ezra 1:2), but over Babylon, and the dominions belonging to it, which commenced with Darius upon the taking of Babylon; he reigned in all thirty years, as Cicero f7 from a Persian writer relates; or twenty nine, according to Herodotus f8; but in what year this was is not certain; Africanus f9, has proved, from various historians, that it was the first year of the fifty fifth Olympiad, perhaps about the twentieth of…”

“PROCLAMATION OF CYRUS FOR BUILDING THE TEMPLE. (Ezr 1:1-6) in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia--The Persian empire, including Persia, Media, Babylonia, and Chaldea, with many smaller dependencies, was founded by Cyrus, 536 B.C. [HALES]. that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled--(See Jer 25:12; Jer 29:10). This reference is a parenthetic statement of the historian, and did not form part of the proclamation.”

“By the first year of Cyrus is to be understood the first year of his sovereignty over the Jews, or 538 B.C. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Fulfilled - Nebuchadnezzar carried many of the Jews into captivity in the first year of his reign (the fourth of Jehoiakim). He reigned forty - five years, his son Evil - merodach twenty - three, and his grandson Belshazzar, three years, which make up the seventy years foretold by Jeremiah. First year - Of his reign in Babylon: for he had been king of Persia for many years. Ezra 1:2”

“1:1-3 The first three verses of Ezra appear almost verbatim in 2 Chr 36:22-23, suggesting continuity between the books. 1:1 King Cyrus II reigned over Persia from 559 to 530 BC. Cyrus and his Persian forces defeated the city of Babylon in October, 539 BC, just as Daniel had predicted (Dan 5). • the prophecy . . . through Jeremiah: God had promised to return his people after seventy years in exile (Jer 25:11-12; 29:10). • God’s power over the heart and mind of this pagan king moved him to enact the decree that follows (see also Isa 13:17; 41:2, 25; Jer 50:9). God is sovereign, even when rulers and nations do not…”

“Now in the: Ch2 36:22, Ch2 36:23 Cyrus: Cyrus is said to have been the son of Cambyses, king of Persia, and Mandane, daughter of Astyages, king of Media. he was born about 600 years before Christ, and died at the age of 70, after a reign of 30 years. He was mentioned by name, and his conquests foretold, by the prophet Isaiah, about a century before his birth. Josephus states the partiality he evinced towards the Jews, arose from the circumstance of these prophecies being shown him, probably by Daniel. by the mouth: Jer 25:12-14, Jer 29:10, Jer 33:7-13 the Lord: Ezr 5:13-15, Ezr 6:22, Ezr 7:27; Psa 106:46; Pro…”

“In the first year of his rule over Babylon, Cyrus king of Persia proclaimed throughout his whole kingdom, both by voice and writing, that the God of heaven had commanded him to build His temple at Jerusalem, and called upon the Jews living in exile to return to Jerusalem, and to build there the house of the God of Israel. At the same time, he exhorted all his subjects to facilitate by gifts the journey of the Jews dwelling in their midst, and to assist by free-will offerings the building of the temple ( Ezr 1:1-4). In consequence of this royal decree, those Jews whose spirit God had raised up prepared for their…”