Font Size
Throughout the OT Yahweh is a deity who exercises sovereignty over his own people and also over pagan nations and monarchs. This truth is stressed in the first verse. The author asserts that Cyrus’s edict releasing the Jews from Babylonian exile and authorizing them to rebuild the temple is a result of the direct action of God as he moved the heart of Cyrus. This action was taken to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, evoking the prophecy of Jer 25:11-12 and 29:10-14. The effect is clear and unmistakable. The author dispels any thought that the events of 538 b.c. were fortuitous coincidence.
The primary provision of the decree (1:2-4; cf. 2Ch 36:23) is for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. In order to accomplish this task, those Jews who were willing were free to return to Palestine. Those who elected to remain in Babylon were obligated to assist the returnees.
No ancient cuneiform texts have been discovered that record Cyrus’s release of the Jews, but few doubt the authenticity of this decree. It corresponds closely in content with the famous Cyrus Cylinder (Pritchard, 315), the account of Cyrus’s conquest of Babylon and his restoration of the gods and cult of his new subjects. Other ancient sources also illustrate his tolerance and support for the religions of his subjects.
The second part of the first chapter is linked to the first by the phrase “everyone whose heart God had moved” (1:5). God “stirred up” (rsv) a pagan monarch in 1:1. Here it is the Jews themselves who need divine arousal. This verb (hē'îr) is used in a number of significant passages describing God’s active involvement in the course of history. Yahweh is the God who stirs up Jew and Gentile alike to bring his plans to fruition. (See 1Ch 5:26; Isa 41:25; 45:13; Jer 50:9; Eze 23:22; and Hag 1:14.)
The leader of the first return was an enigmatic figure, Sheshbazzar (1:8, 11). Called here the prince of Judah, perhaps implying royal lineage, he is also referred to as “governor” (5:14) and is credited with laying the foundation of the temple (v.16). These few references create numerous difficulties because another, more conspicuous figure, Zerubabbel, is credited with these same accomplishments. Although Jewish tradition has equated these two men, modern scholarship is virtually unanimous in the opinion that they were separate individuals. Their exact relationship may never be resolved.