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2 - The Second Temple Period

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2015

By
Alan F. Segal
Edited by
Judith R. Baskin  and
Kenneth Seeskin
Judith R. Baskin
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
Kenneth Seeskin
Affiliation:
Northwestern University, Illinois
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Summary

When Cyrus, the ruler of Persia, conquered Babylon in 539 bce, the exiled Israelites living there saw him as a redeemer empowered by God. The book of Ezra, which recorded the permission of the Persian government to construct a new Jerusalem Temple to YHWH, portrayed Cyrus as if he too were a worshiper of YHWH:

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put 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 at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the lord, the God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem.’” (Ezra 1:1–2)

The author of Isaiah 45:1 was so convinced of the divine presence behind the events surrounding Cyrus's rise to power that he called Cyrus “the Messiah,” a leader anointed by God to fulfill a certain destiny; he believed that it was the destiny of Cyrus to return the people of Israel to their homeland and end the period of tribulation described in Isaiah 40:1–2.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture , pp. 34 - 57
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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