Secondary sourceBookafter 539 BC
Book of Ezra
the Chronicler · after 539 BC
A book of the Hebrew Bible that preserves Cyrus's decree allowing exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.
This biblical book credits Cyrus with freeing exiled Jews and ordering the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple.
About this source
What it is
The Book of Ezra is part of the Hebrew Bible, composed in Hebrew and Aramaic, telling of the return of Jewish exiles from Babylon and the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple. Its early chapters include a decree attributed to Cyrus the Great, preserved in both a Hebrew and an Aramaic version within the text.
Why it matters
According to the book, Cyrus, inspired by God, ordered the return of sacred Temple vessels and allowed the Israelites to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple — an act later kings Darius and Artaxerxes are also described as supporting. Scholars debate how historically precise these documents are, but the book shaped Cyrus's enduring reputation as a liberator of exiled peoples.
Look closer
- Why might a decree favouring the Jews' return be remembered and recorded by Jewish scribes specifically?
- What does it suggest that the decree is quoted in two different languages within the same text?
- How does this portrayal of Cyrus compare with the Cyrus Cylinder's own description of his policies?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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