Ezra 1:2, Ezra 1:3, Ezra 1:5-11 NASB

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ezra 1:1-11

1:1-2:70 ZERUBBABEL’S RETURNCyrus had been ruler of Persia for some time before he conquered Babylon in 539 BC. His policy was, when he conquered a nation, to allow any people held captive by that nation to return to their homeland. Therefore, soon after he conquered Babylon (i.e. in his first year as the Jews’ new ruler) he gave permission for the Jews to return to Jerusalem (1:1-4). Jeremiah’s prophecy made seventy years earlier had come true: the Jews were released from Babylon’s power to... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ezra 1:2

God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 . God of heaven. See note on 2 Chronicles 36:23 . Appropriate in the mouth of Cyrus, and in contrast with all heathen inscriptions. hath given me. The son of Astyages (the venerable king = Ahasuerus) and Esther. Trained by Mordecai and Nehemiah, he was brought up in the knowledge of God and His Word. charged me to build. Compare Isaiah 44:24-28 ; Isaiah 45:1-6 , Isaiah 45:13 . an house. This proclamation put first, as it is the great subject treated of by Ezra. read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ezra 1:2

Ver. 2. The Lord God of heaven— It is observable, that God, in the former books, is called the Lord of hosts; but in the last of Chronicles, in this, in Nehemiah, and Daniel 1:0.e. in the books written after the captivity, he is styled the God of heaven, and not Lord of hosts, though they are both used in the same sense. REFLECTIONS.—The seventy years of captivity now drew to their period; and the drooping hope of God's captive people began to revive, on the conquest of their oppressors by... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ezra 1:2

2. The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth—Though this is in the Oriental style of hyperbole (see also :-), it was literally true that the Persian empire was the greatest ruling power in the world at that time. he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem—The phraseology of this proclamation, independently of the express testimony of JOSEPHUS, affords indisputable evidence that Cyrus had seen (probably through means of Daniel, his venerable prime minister... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ezra 1:1-4

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.’" [Note: Fensham, p. 42. Cf. Exodus 1:1; Joshua 1:1; Judges 1:1; et al.] One of Cyrus’ first official acts after capturing Babylon was to allow the Jews to return to... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 1:1-11

The Return of the Jews from CaptivityThe chapter narrates how Cyrus, king of Persia, permitted the Jews in Babylon to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple there, and restored the vessels taken from it.1. Now, etc.] The book of Ezra begins with the last words of 2 Ch; Ezra 1:1-2 and the first half of Ezra 1:3 occurring in 2 Chronicles 36:22, 2 Chronicles 36:23. The three books, Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, were probably at first continuous, in this order; but subsequently the arrangement... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Ezra 1:1-4

I. THE FIRST RETURN UNDER ZERUBBABEL.(1-4) The decree of Cyrus: marking an epoch of very great importance, and therefore repeated almost word for word from the end of Chronicles.(1) The first year.—Cyrus became king of Persia in B.C. 559. Twenty years afterwards he took Babylon from Belshazzar; and this first year of his rule in Babylon was his beginning as an agent in Jewish affairs and for the Kingdom of God.Stirred up.—By a direct influence, probably through the instrumentality of Daniel.... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Ezra 1:2-4

THE ROYAL EDICTEzra 1:2-4; Ezra 1:7-11IT has been asserted that the Scripture version of the edict of Cyrus cannot be an exact rendering of the original, because it ascribes to the Great King some knowledge of the God of the Jews, and even some faith in Him. For this reason it has been suggested that either the chronicler or some previous writer who translated the decree out of the Persian language, in which of course it must have been first issued, inserted the word Jehovah in place of the... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Ezra 1:1-11

Analysis and Annotations I. THE RETURN UNDER ZERUBBABEL AND THE REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE CHAPTER 1 1. The proclamation of Cyrus (Ezra 1:1-4 ) 2. The response of the chiefs of Judah and Benjamin (Ezra 1:5-6 ) 3. The vessels of the house of the LORD restored (Ezra 1:7-11 ) Ezra 1:1-4 . Cyrus (meaning “the Sun”) the King of Persia was, according to ancient historians, the son of Cambyses, Prince of Persia, and Mandam, daughter of Astyages, King of the Median Empire. The theory that he was... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - Ezra 1:2

1:2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me {d} all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah.(d) For he was chief monarch and had many nations under his dominion, which this heathen king confesses to have received from the living God. read more