The Edict of Cyrus is a 539 BCE proclamation by Achaemenid Empire founder Cyrus the Great attested by a

cylinder seal A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in length, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...

of the time. The

edict An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum. Notable edicts * Telepinu Pro ...

is mentioned in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Judahites to the

land of Judah Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...

and the rebuilding of the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

, although the

Cyrus Cylinder The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several pieces, on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of Persia's Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great. Kuhrt (2007), p. 70, 72 It dates from the 6th c ...

does not refer directly to the inhabitants of Judah exiled by Nebuchadnezzar.

Biblical narrative

The edict of Cyrus appears in chapter 36 of Second Chronicles : Ezra 1:1-4 reads: The Book of Ezra says that the people of Cutha, known in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

as "Cuthim" and described as the "adversaries" of the returning exiles, requested to join in the construction of the Second Temple, and when rebuffed by

Zerubbabel According to the biblical narrative, Zerubbabel, ; la, Zorobabel; Akkadian: 𒆰𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 ''Zērubābili'' was a governor of the Achaemenid Empire's province Yehud Medinata and the grandson of Jeconiah, penultimate king of Judah. Zeru ...

and his companions, they composed a letter of complaint to Artaxerxes of Persia: Rabbi Meïr Weiser advances the theory that the party of Mithredath Tabeel took advantage of the translation protocol contained in the document issued by Cyrus the Great's government. Essentially the protocol stated that each country in his kingdom was entitled to speak their unique language and pen texts to the king in their native tongue and have the presiding local officers of Artaxerxes of Persia translate the document. Weiser continues that Mithredath Tabeel presented a substantial bribe to Rehum the secretary and Shimshai the scribe to have them compose a letter containing an ambiguity that could be interpreted as saying that the post-exile temple builders have varied the kings edict by actively engaging in the construction and fortification of the walls of Jerusalem in an attempt to rebel against the foreign king's rule. The ploy of Mithredath Tabeel and company was successful in leading to a 14-year cessation of all temple building activity in Jerusalem. Following a second letter sent by the Persian governor asking the king for a decision, the Edict is found in the archives and the king gives his orders accordingly:

Historicity

The

, an ancient clay cylinder inscribed with a declaration in the name of

Cyrus Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...

referring to restoration of temples and repatriation of exiled peoples, has been taken by many scholars as corroboration of the authenticity of the biblical decrees attributed to Cyrus. Other scholars view the cylinder's text as specific to Babylon and Mesopotamia and highlight the absence of any mention of Judah or Jerusalem. Professor

Lester L. Grabbe Lester L. Grabbe is a retired American scholar and Emeritus Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism at the University of Hull, England. As an historian of ancient Judaism, he has authored several standard treatments. He founded and convenes ...

, while acknowledging a "general policy of allowing deportees to return and to re-establish cult sites", asserts that the "alleged decree of Cyrus permitting--even commanding--the Jews to rebuild the temple...cannot be considered authentic". He also characterizes the relevant archaeology as suggesting that the return was a "trickle" occurring over decades, rather than a single event.

References

{{Cyrus the Great Cyrus the Great Edicts Ezra–Nehemiah Second Temple