References (19)
In order for the word of the Lord (Yahweh) through Jeremiah to be fulfilled, it happened in the first year of the reign of the Persian king Cyrus (Koresh) [538/539 BC], the Lord influenced the mind of the Persian king Cyrus (Koresh) so that he proclaimed the following throughout his kingdom, which was also proclaimed in writing:
"Thus says Cyrus (Koresh), king of Persia: The Lord (Yahweh), the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has commanded me to build a house for him in Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you belongs to his people—may his God (Elohim), the Lord (Yahweh), be with him—and let him go up ..."
[The last sentence is incomplete. The book ends with a cliffhanger. As the final book of the Hebrew Bible, it points forward. There is a continuation of the story!]
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia [539 BC] – so that the word of the Lord (Yahweh) through Jeremiah's mouth might be fulfilled [; ] – God (Yahweh) stirred up the spirit [heart, see ] of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he proclaimed (announced) throughout his kingdom, both verbally and in writing:
Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth, the Lord (Yahweh), the God of heaven (Elohim), has given to me, and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
And King Cyrus brought all the accessories from the house of the Lord (Yahweh) that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods.
Cyrus, king of Persia, commanded the treasurer Mitredath [80 years later, another Mitredath served under Artaxerxes I, see ] to bring them (the temple objects) and list them for Sheshbatsar [probably another name for Zerubbabel, see and ; ], the prince of Judah.
They gave money to the stonecutters and carpenters and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians so that they would bring cedar wood from Lebanon, via the sea to
Jaffa, as the Persian king
Cyrus had permitted.
But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other prominent leaders of Israel said to them: "It is not for you and us (together) to build a house for the Lord (Yahweh) our God (Elohim); we ourselves will build it for the Lord (Yahweh), the God (Elohim) of Israel, just as Cyrus, king of Persia, has commanded us."
They bribed counselors with the intention of thwarting their plans every day from the time of Cyrus, the [first] king of Persia, until [539 BC] the reign of Darius, the [third] king of Persia [522-486 BC].
[The first three kings of the Persian Empire were: Cyrus (539-530 BC), Cambyses II (530-522 BC), and Darius I (Darius the Great) (522-486 BC). The story continues from in , but in between there is a flash forward showing that even after the temple was completed under Zerubbabel, the Samaritans continued to oppose the rebuilding of Jerusalem.]
But inthe firstyear ofhisreign, Cyrus, king of Babylon, commanded that this house of God be rebuilt.
Moreover, King Cyrus (Koresh) brought from the temple in Babylon the vessels of gold and silver that had belonged to the house of God, but which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon. King Cyrus (Koresh) gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed as governor,
If the king agrees, let a search be made in the royal archives in Babylon to find out whether King Cyrus gave orders to build this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king inform us of his decision on this matter."
"In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus gave this command concerning the house of God in Jerusalem []: The house shall be rebuilt and be a place where sacrifices are offered. The foundation shall be laid. It shall be built 60 cubits [27 meters] high and 60 cubits [27 meters] wide
The elders of the Jews continued to build and made progress in the work through the prophetic words of Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Iddo. They built and completed it as the God of Israel had commanded and as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes (Hebr. Artachshaste) [who reigned from 465 to 424 BC, see , ], king of Persia, had commanded.
Who says of Cyrus, "He is my shepherd and shall fulfill all my desires,"
and says to Jerusalem, "She shall be rebuilt,"
and to the temple, "My foundation shall be laid."
Thus says the Lord (Yahweh) to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand [his power] I strengthen
to subdue nations before him,
and to loosen the belts of kings,
to open doors before him,
so that the gates will not be shut:
Daniel remained there [continued to serve the kingdom] until the first year of King Cyrus' reign [and well into his reign].
[The name Cyrus is of Persian origin, meaning "like the sun." In modern Persian, the name is Kourosh. In ancient Elamite inscriptions, the name is "Kuras." From this name comes the Greek Kyrios, meaning "lord." The Latin form of the Greek has since become the English Cyrus. The Hebrew transliteration is Koresh, see ; .
Daniel was born around 620 BC in Jerusalem. As a teenager, he was taken to Babylon in 605 BC. He remained there for at least 69 years. He gained influence in two great powers. Kings came and went, but Daniel always played a prominent role. When the Persian king Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BC, Daniel also found favor with him in the new Persian empire. Since Daniel had visions in the third year of Cyrus' reign, this means that he was in the country in 536 BC. At that time, he was over 80 years old. It is also at this advanced age that he is thrown into the lions' den, see Dan chapter 6. Although he is able to see the first group of Jews, led by Zerubbabel, return to Jerusalem, see Ezra 1:1-3, it is most likely that Daniel remained and died in Babylon. There are six different traditions about where he was buried: Babylon, Kirkuk and Miqdadiyah in Iraq, Susa and Malamir in Iran, and Samarkand in Uzbekistan.]
Daniel was successful (promoted, honored, wealthy, and powerful) during the reign of Darius and (also) during the reign of Cyrus (Hebr. Koresh) of Persia.
[The text can be read in two ways. Either it describes how Darius and Cyrus are two contemporary leaders. In that case, Darius is the governor whom Cyrus appointed over the city of Babylon, and who historically could be a general named Gubaru, see . The Hebrew conjunction Vav is usually translated as "and," but can also be translated as "also." In that case, the second part becomes an explanation and clarification: "also, that is, during the reign of the Persian Cyrus." Dan then indicates that the Median Darius, see , is the same person as the Persian Cyrus. What complicates the interpretation is that the same people have different names in different regions, which also applies to Daniel and his friends, see . Hopefully, future archaeological finds mentioning Darius' name will help in the interpretation here.]
[Daniel is now in his 85th year. Two years earlier, the new Persian king Cyrus had given the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem, see . However, few Jews had left, and for those who did, the circumstances were difficult. The vision occurs when Daniel is away from the city of Babylon and is by the Tigris River. The text does not say why, perhaps he was there on administrative business or to urge the Jews to return?
The structure of the last part of the Book of Daniel is:
1. Prologue –
2. Revelation –
3. Epilogue – .]
In the third year of the reign of Cyrus (Koresh), king of Persia [536 BC], Daniel, also known as Belteshassar [the name he was given when he was taken captive ], received a message (word) revealed to him. [He sees another vision.] The message is true and concerns a great war (a difficult time, a great tribulation). He understood the message, and in the vision he gained insight into what it was about.
