CHAPTER II

THE RETURN OF THE BABYLONIAN EXILES

In their darkest day of calamity the Israel people cherished the hope that they would be restored to divine favour and to their beloved homeland. So deeply had they been impressed by the words of the Prophets that they never doubted the facts, though there was divergence of views on the interpretation of the facts. Long before the great calamity befell the House of Judah, God had said through the mouth of Isaiah that he would send a man named Cyrus who would “perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.” ¹ A hundred and fifty years had to elapse before that word of the Lord was fulfilled.

 

Partisan feeling arose in Jerusalem as to the time when the better day would dawn. There was sharp contention between Jeremiah and the so-called prophet, Hananiah, the son of Azur, a prophet of Gibeon. In the exercise of what he claimed to be a prophetic gift, as early as 593 B.C., Hananiah was raising false hopes by proclaiming that the sacred vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar, the captives in Babylon, and Jeconiah (Jehoiakin) himself would be restored to their native land within two years. We may safely assume that the wish was father to the thought. A sharp and unseemly contention arose between Jeremiah and Hananiah. Jeremiah, claiming to speak as the Prophet of the Lord, declared with emphatic gestures that the captives would not be released until seventy years were accomplished at Babylon. He wrote to that effect to “the residue of

 

               ¹ Isaiah xliv, 28.

 

 

the elders” among the captives in the far-off land. So sure was he that he was speaking with divine authority that he advised the captives to settle down to their unpleasant lot, to identify themselves with the civic life of Babylon, to marry, to build houses and to plant gardens. ¹ This was cold comfort for the restive exiles longing for release, but subsequent events proved that Jeremiah was correct. However sick the captives might be as a result, they had to accommodate themselves to deferred hope.

 

The better day began to dawn in 538 B.C. In that year Cyrus captured Babylon and by so doing overthrew the neo-Babylon empire, and the rise of the Medo-Persian empire as prophesied by Daniel became an accomplished fact. Cyrus is called God’s anointed. ²  How far he was conscious of being a divinely appointed agent may be a subject of dispute. That he did things according to God’s plan and promise history has put beyond all doubt. The very things concerning the Judah people foreshadowed a century before he was born were actually accomplished by or through him. The foundation of the reconstructed Temple was laid during his life time. It was not without significance that the word of the Lord was that Cyrus would be concerned with the laying of the foundation only. History fulfilled that prophecy, for while the foundation of the second Temple was laid while Cyrus was on the throne, the Temple itself was not completed till some fourteen years after his death. So also, the restoration of the city, which was not completed till a century later, was a direct result of the Edict of Cyrus issued in 538 B.C.

 

In 538 B.C. Cyrus issued his famous decree giving the exiles permission to return to their native city.

 

¹ On the whole incident read Jeremiah xxviii, xxix.

² See Isaiah xliv, 28; xlv, 1.

 

 

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (he is the God), which is in Jerusalem.” ¹

 

This came as a burst of glorious sunshine over the dark lot of the exiles. Their reaction to it is reflected in Psalm 126: “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”

 

We may well ask What led Cyrus to do this magnanimous deed? The record says, “The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus.” While that is undoubtedly true as the ultimate explanation, probably human motives were also involved. Cyrus was not only a great military general: he was an astute statesman as well. He knew the art and the value of placating his subjects and subordinates. It was an act of statesmanship on his part to place “Darius the Mede” on the throne of Babylon. Cyrus was a Persian or an Elamite. The Medes were partners in the great empire. We may assume it was calculated policy on his part to give the throne of Babylon, one of his many acquired conquests, to a Mede. If we

 

                          ¹ Ezra i, 1-3;                2 Chron. xxxvi, 22, 23.

 

 

may believe Xenophon, Cyrus was blessed with a generous nature which found more pleasure in giving than receiving. ¹

 

Both his natural disposition and his political astuteness would supply human motives for his act. The presence of discontented exiles in his newly acquired possession could be nothing better than a festering sore in the body politic. He had evidence of their potential value as citizens of his empire, while the restoration of Jerusalem and Judea would be a laurel in his crown. His whole record shows that he was humane in his treatment of the conquered, for it was not his custom to ill-treat those who fell under his yoke.

 

Whatever explanation we may give for this gracious act the edict meant the opening of a new chapter in the history of the Jewish [sic Judaean] ² section of the Israel people.

 

Taking advantage of the liberty thus granted, 49,697 ³ souls returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel. ⁴ This multitude, with their horses, mules, camels, and thousands of donkeys swept with wild joy across the dusty roads to the accompaniment of “two hundred singing men and singing women.” ⁵ The once dejected slaves of Babylon had found their voices. We may conjecture that the journey would occupy six months. With a much smaller band of followers Ezra, at a later date, spent four months on the journey. ⁶ The intervening months between the time of their departure from Babylon and their arrival in Jerusalem would be, we may assume, a time of mass elation. They were going home, and the hazards of the journey were

 

¹ The Institution of Cyrus, viii, 5.

² It was at this time that the term “Jew” came into vogue.

See Josephus, Antiq. xi, v, 7.

³ Ezra ii, 64, 65.                         ⁴ Ibid. ii, 2.

⁵ Ibid. ii, 65-67.                         ⁶ Ibid. vii, 9.

 

 

cheerfully faced since every day brought them nearer to the desired goal. The joys of anticipation, added to the knowledge that their shackles were removed, painted the future for them with rosy hues of hope. There is no reliable data to enable us to fix the date of their arrival, but, considering the time required for preparation for the journey and the months occupied in travel, the traditional date of 536 B.C. cannot be far wrong.

 

One of their first acts after their arrival was the building of an “altar of the God of Israel.” “From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer unto the Lord. But the foundation of the temple was not yet laid.” ¹ The altar was built not only as a centre of their ritual but also for corporate protection against their foes, “For fear was upon them because of the people of those countries.” ² Although there was as yet no Temple, the Temple services were organised. Then amid tumultous scenes of enthusiasm the foundation of the Temple was laid in the second month of the second year, ³ with outbursts of tears and laughter.

 

But troublous times were ahead. “The adversaries of Benjamin and Judah” succeeded in stopping building operations. By force and power the builders were compelled to cease their activities, and until “the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia,” i.e. 520 B.C., the incompleted structure was a mute witness to the disappointed hopes of the Jews [sic Judaeans]. ⁴

 

At this stage the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah found voice. “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel ... Thus speaketh the Lord of

 

                  ¹ Ezra iii, 6.                          ² Ibid. iii, 3.

                     ³ Ibid. iii, 8 ff.                      ⁴ On this development read Ezra iv.

 

 

hosts, saying, This people say the Time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built ... Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in ceiled houses and this house to lie waste? ... Consider your ways.” ¹ Stirred to action by the stinging words of the Prophet, Zerubbabel began again the building operations, which had been suspended for probably fifteen years. ² This revived activity led to official intervention by Tatnai who, as Satrap of Syria, had jurisdiction over Judea. He demanded to know by what authority Zerubbabel was acting. Official correspondence passed between Tatnai and Darius which established the fact that Cyrus had issued a decree for the building of the Temple. Since the law of the Medes and Persians altereth not, that decree was still in force. Accordingly, the work was allowed to proceed. Darius himself issued orders that the work should be done with speed. Fortified by the authority of the reigning monarch, the workers proceeded apace. “This house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king,” ³ i.e. in March 515 B.C.

 

The new Temple was dedicated in time for the celebration of the Passover on the 14th of the following month, as prescribed in Exodus xii, 6.

 

Thus was laid the foundation of that nation which was destined to so chequered a career and such a tragic end.

       ¹ Haggai i, 1-5.                ² Ezra v, 2.                ³ Ezra vi, 15.