King Cyrus of Persia

[2 Chronicles 36:22-23] “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.”‘”』 

Cyrus the Great (c. 610 BC – December 4, 530 BC), also known as Cyrus II, or “古列” (Gǔliè) in Chinese, rose from being a minor chieftain in southwestern Iran. Through a series of victorious campaigns, he defeated three empires: Media, Lydia, and Neo-Babylon. He reigned as King of Persia from 559–530 BC, King of Media from 549–530 BC, King of Lydia from 547–530 BC, and King of Babylon from 539–530 BC. He was the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, an unprecedented superpower whose territory stretched from Asia Minor in the west to the Indus River in the east.

In contrast to the oppressive rule of Assyria and Babylon, King Cyrus was broad-minded and adopted a tolerant, conciliatory policy towards conquered nations. He issued decrees to rebuild the temples of various peoples and allowed a certain degree of autonomy to avoid internal unrest within the vast empire. Consequently, during the more than two centuries of Persian imperial rule (549–330 BC), the Middle East largely maintained peace, and culture and art flourished. This was a crucial period for the formation of the Jewish nation in the New Testament era.

Cyrus’s name appears about 20 times in the Bible. Three times in 2 Chronicles (2 Chronicles 36:22-23), three times in Isaiah (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1, 13), three times in Daniel (Daniel 1:21; 6:28; 10:1), and mostly in the Book of Ezra. More than two centuries before his ascension, the prophet Isaiah had already prophesied that Cyrus would be an instrument used by God to rebuild the Temple and the holy city (Isaiah 44:28-45:3). The LORD God spoke of Cyrus through the prophet Isaiah, saying, “He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid'” (Isaiah 44:28). And again, “Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him” (Isaiah 45:1). The LORD also declared, “I stir him up in righteousness… he shall set my exiles free” (Isaiah 45:13).

The prophet Ezra meticulously recorded Cyrus’s decree, permitting any Jew who wished to return to their homeland to bring back the gold and silver sacred vessels from the Temple that had been plundered, and to rebuild the Temple (Ezra 1:1-11; 5:13-16; 6:1-5). At that time, over 42,000 people, along with over 7,000 of their servants, returned to Jerusalem in the name of the LORD God (Ezra 2:64-65). “Some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, made freewill offerings for the house of God, to rebuild it” (Ezra 2:68). The Israelites “gathered as one man in Jerusalem” at that time. They built the altar and offered sacrifices. As King Cyrus of Persia had permitted, they prepared craftsmen and timber (Ezra 3:1-7). When the time was right, God took charge of fulfilling His promise, “stirring up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia” to allow His people to return to their homeland and continue God’s plan. From the time of King Cyrus until the reign of Darius, there were those who hindered and sabotaged the work of rebuilding the Temple (Ezra 4:5). But ultimately, the work of rebuilding the Temple was completed (Ezra 6:15).