THE COMMANDMENT OF DAN. 9:25 TO BUILD JERUSALEM
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince…..” (Dan. 9:25).
How shall we determine when and by whom this command was issued? Many search the historic records of man for those answers. In my opinion however, we should determine it from the Word of God. That is to say, it is God’s truth and, in my opinion, we should look to God, not man, for that truth.
There is much confusion about which Persian king did what and when. In my opinion part of that confusion is due to the fact that in the KJV the book of Ezra appears before the book of Nehemiah. That leads many to believe that the events recorded in the book of Ezra occurred before the events recorded in the book of Nehemiah.
The book of Ezra concerns, for the most part, the building of the Temple while the book of Nehemiah concerns, for the most part, the building of the wall. Dr. E. W. Bullinger wrote in the Companion Bible concerning the order of the books, “Ezra comes first in the Canonical Order because the Temple is more important than the wall, morally and spiritually”.
My point is that we must not put too much emphasis on the fact that the book of Ezra appears before the book of Nehemiah. That order was determined by man, it is not inspired by God. Rather we must instead search the Scripture for the order of events.
In the interest of making a very difficult topic a bit easier to understand, this paper has been divided into the following categories:
Who Were the Persian Kings of this Period and What Did They Do?
When Did They Do It?
THE KINGS AND WHAT THEY DID
Cyrus
We read in II Chron. 36:22-23, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah the prophet might be accomplished…… . Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, ‘All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me: and He hath charged me to build Him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up”.
We learn from this passage that Cyrus king of Persia freed Israel so that they would return to Jerusalem and build the temple.
Darius
We know from Ezra 3:8 that the building of the temple was under way in the “second year of their coming, i.e. the second year after Cyrus freed the captives”. That verse reads, “Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel……to set forward the work of the house of the Lord”. Then in Ezra 4:24 we read, “Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius the king”.
We read in Ezra 6:15, “And this house (the temple) was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king”.
In other words, the building of the temple began in the time of Cyrus, but was ceased, and was then finished in the time of Darius.
We know from this that Cyrus must have preceded Darius. That is to say, because the building of the temple was begun by one king, i.e. Cyrus, and finished by another king, Darius, Cyrus must have preceded Darius.
Artaxerxes
We read in Ezra 6:14, “…….And they builded, and finished it (the temple, vss. 8 and 12), according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia”.
The note by Dr. E. W. Bullinger in the Companion Bible on “Artaxerxes” tells us that “Artaxerxes” is a title, not a name (please see Appendix I for all the occurrences of the term “Artaxerxes” which will prove from Scripture that the title was used of more than one king).
We know from the fact that there are three kings mentioned in Ezra 6:14 that, in this verse, the title “Artaxerxes” is not used of either Cyrus or Darius. (Please see Appendix V for the Scriptural evidence that “Darius” is also a title.) But who was this third king?
In order to answer that question I believe we must look at Ahasuerus, the king of Persia. Ahasuerus is the only other Persian king that is mentioned in God’s Word that lived at that time. I believe that the title “Artaxerxes” used in Ezra 6:14 is, in that verse, the title of Ahasuerus. First let us determine just who Ahasuerus was.
We know from Esther 2:16-17 that Ahasuerus was the king who took Esther as his wife. That passage reads, “So Esther was taken unto the king Ahasuerus into his house royal …..and the king loved Esther above all the women….so that he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen….”. Then we read in Neh. 2:6 that Artaxerxes was considering Nehemiah’s request to rebuild Jerusalem, “The king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him)….”. So Ahasuerus was the King of Persia who had made Esther his queen.
Let us consider Neh. 2:1-8 which records a conversation between Nehemiah and Artaxerxes (vs. 1). Nehemiah’s request to the king is recorded in verse 5, “…If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, and unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchers, that I may build it”. And in verse 8 we read the record of the king’s permission for Nehemiah to do just that, “…And the king granted me according to the good hand of my God upon him”. So Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah permission to build the city. But how do we know that in this context the title “Artaxerxes” is used of Ahasuerus?
We have learned that Cyrus began the building of the temple and that Darius finished it. The only other king who reigned in that time frame, that was mentioned in the Bible, was Ahasuerus. We have two choices: 1) we can discount that fact or 2) we can accept it as evidence that it was indeed Ahasuerus that gave Nehemiah permission to build the city. That is to say, if it was not Ahasuerus that allowed Nehemiah to build the city, then we must assume that the Word of God does not tell us who is the third king spoken of in Ezra 6:14. Given that a third king, i.e. Ahasuerus, is indeed mentioned there is no reason to make that assumption.
I am suggesting that the title “Artaxerxes” as used in Ezra 6:14 is used of Ahasuerus. But that verse tells us that all three kings were said to have built the temple. Again, we read in Ezra 6:14 which speaks of three kings in regard to the building of the temple, “Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia”. But only two kings are spoken of in the Bible as directly having had a hand in building the temple, i.e. Cyrus and Darius. Why then is a third king listed as having built the temple?
I believe we may understand this verse to say that all three of these Persian kings had a hand in building the temple. That is to say, Ahasuerus allowed Nehemiah to begin to build the wall so that when Cyrus freed the captives of Israel there would be some measure of safety from the enemies that surrounded them. And Darius finished the building of the temple.
In short, of the three kings mentioned, only Ahasuerus is never spoken of directly in relation to building the temple. I believe that the only reason a third king would have been mentioned is if he had issued the commandment to rebuild the city.
The reader will note however, that in Ezra 6:14 the title “Artaxerxes” is put last, whereas I am suggesting that in this verse it refers to Ahasuerus who was first in the succession in the line of these kings. There are several cases in the Bible that list a person out of order to draw attention to the importance of that person. Consider for example, Gen. 5:32, “And Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begat Shem, Ham and Japheth”. But Gen. 10:21 tells us that Japheth was “the elder”. In Gen. 5:32, the order of the birth of the three brothers are in inverse order. And there is a very good reason for that. Shem’s name is listed first because as we learn in Luke 3:36, Shem was an ancestor of Christ’s and as such was the most important of the three brothers. In other words, the list is out of chronological so as to draw the reader’s attention to the importance of Shem.
So too, in my opinion, is the order given in Ezra 6:14 not listed chronologically in order to draw the reader’s attention to the importance of Ahasuerus. His importance lies in the fact that he was the progenitor of Cyrus and Darius. How do we know that Ahasuerus was the progenitor of Cyrus and Darius?
Evidence that Artaxerxes of Neh. 2, i.e. Ahasuerus, reigned before Cyrus issued the decree to free the captives is found in Neh. 1:2 which records Nehemiah’s question to Hanani in which he asked, “concerning the Jews that had escaped which were left of the captivity…”. Obviously, this question was asked before the captives were freed by Cyrus, or Nehemiah would not have asked about those of “the captivity”. The fact that Israel was still in captivity tells us that Artaxerxes, i.e. Ahasuerus, reigned before Cyrus’ decree to free the captives in the first year of his reign. And, because Cyrus lived before Darius, Ahasuerus also lived before Darius.
The first six chapters of Nehemiah records Nehemiah building the wall of the city and we read in 6:15, “so the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days”.
(Please see Appendix II for a discussion of Ezra 4:6 in which Ahasuerus is mentioned in the context of building the temple).
WHEN WERE THESE THINGS ACCOMPLISHED?
THE WALL
I believe that the building of the wall was begun in the reign of Ahasuerus, but was completed in the sixth month after the captives were freed by Cyrus, and dedicated in the seventh month of the reign of Cyrus..
We read in Neh. 6:15, “So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul (the sixth month of the Hebrew calendar), in fifty and two days”. Let us search the Word to put this in the time frame in which the building of the wall was finished.
We read in Neh. 7:1, “Now it came to pass when the wall was built…..”. Then three verses later, i.e. in verse 4 we read, “Now the city was large and great…..but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt“. This tells us two things. 1) The fact that there were “few people” in the city means that many of the freed captives of Israel had not yet settled in the city. 2) Therefore the wall must have been finished and dedicated shortly after the reign of Cyrus began.
We read in Neh. 7:73, “..and when the seventh month (Tishrel) came, the children of Israel were in their cities. Then in 8:13 we read, ”on the second day (of the same month, (Tishrel) were gathered together the chief of the fathers…”. In 9:1 we read, “Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month (Tishrel) the children of Israel were assembled…”. My point is that from Neh. 6:15 to 12:27 we have the events that occurred in the same month, i.e.Tishrel . And in 12:27 we read, “And at the dedication of the wall at Jerusalem….”.
I believe that the building of the wall began in the reign of Ahasuerus and the wall was dedicated in the seventh month after Cyrus had freed the captives.
The Houses
Again, we read in Neh. 7:1, “Now it came to pass when the wall was built…..”. Then in verse 4 we read, “Now the city was large and great…..but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt“.
Let us also consider Hagg. 1:3-4,“Then came the word of the Lord….saying, Is it time for you , O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste”. We have in this verse the plain wording of Scripture that the houses were built before the temple.
So we have learned that the wall was built but the houses were not, and the houses were built before the temple. So the order was: 1) the wall; 2) the houses; 3) the temple.
Some have argued that Neh. 5:3 tells us that the houses were built before the wall. Let us consider that argument. We read in Neh 5:3, “Some also there were that said, ‘We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth”. But as quoted above, Neh. 7:1 tells us that the houses had not been built before the completion of the wall. (“Now it came to pass when the wall was built…..”. . but that “there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt”).
There are no contradictions in the Word of God. I believe the seeming difficulty is set straight as we consider that those building the wall had to have homes in which to live So a few houses had been built to accommodate those building the wall and the few who had returned to Jerusalem, This suggestion is proved by Neh. 7:1-4 quoted above.
The Temple
In order to determine when the temple was built in relation to the houses let us once again consider, Hagg. 1:3-4,”Then came the word of the Lord….saying, ’Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?” We have in this verse the plain wording of Scripture that the houses were built before the temple”.
We have seen in the paragraphs above that the wall was built first, and the temple last. So the order is: the wall, the houses, the temple.
There are however passages which seem to say that the temple was built before the wall. Let us consider those passages.
For example, we read in Neh. 6:10, “Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, ‘Let us meet together, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee’”.
Let us put this verse in Neh. 6 in its proper time frame. We read in 6:1, “Now it came to pass, when Sanballat……and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, that there was no breach left therein…….”. So some went “in the house of God” after the wall had been completed. This seems to suggest that the temple had already been built at the time the wall was completed. Again, there are no contradictions in the Word of God, so let us consider Ezra 3:6.
We read in Ezra 3:6, “…… But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid”. In other words, verse 6 tells of their coming to a temporary structure, i.e. one without a foundation. Then in verse 9 we read of those who “set forward the workmen in the house of God”. If some who were building the temple were “set forward” the temple obviously had not been completed.
Let us consider Ezra 3:6 in its proper time frame. We read in Ezra 3:1, “And the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities….”. We must bear in mind that the book of Ezra records events that took place after the captives were freed by Cyrus, So Ezra 3:6 tells of events that occurred in the seventh month after the captives had been freed.
So, in the seventh month that “the children of Israel were in the cities”, i.e. the seventh month after their release from captivity, (see Ezra 3:1) the temple foundation had not yet been laid. And as we read in Ezra 6:15, “And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the King”.
In short, the foundation of the temple had not been laid by the seventh month of the captives having been set free, but, as shown above, the wall was completed in the seventh month. Therefore, as expected Neh. 6:10 does not contradict the passage quoted above which tells us that the wall was built before the completion of the temple. Neh. 6:10 then speaks of a temporary structure to which some had come in the seventh month.
Let us also consider Neh. 12:40 which comes in the context of the dedication of the wall. We read in that verse, “So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God”. Does this verse tell us that the temple had been built by the time the wall was dedicated? Let us put this verse in its proper time frame.
We read in Neh. 8:2, “And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation……upon the first day of the seventh month”, i.e. the seventh month of the freeing of the captives. Ezra 3:6, quoted above also speaks of the events that took place in the seventh month. That verse reads, “…… But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid”.
In other words, Ezra speaks of the seventh month when the temple’s foundation had not yet been laid, but Nehemiah seems to say that in that same seventh month the temple had been built. There are no contradictions in the Word of God. I suggest therefore, that Neh. 12:40 refers to the temporary structure. The fact that the temple had not yet been built (except, of course, for a temporary building) is substantiated by Neh. 13:1 and 11. We read in verse one of that chapter, “On that day”, i.e. in the seventh month. And in verse 11 we read, “Then contended I (Nehemiah) with the rulers, and said, ‘Why is the house of God forsaken?”
In short, Neh.12 does not tell us that the temple was built before the dedication of the wall, Rather it tells us that by the seventh month, even at the dedication of the wall, the temple had not been built, it had been “forsaken”. Again, this seeming difficulty is made clear as we recognize the fact that the verses quoted above that speak of the temple, speak of a temporary structure.
Again, the temple was completed after the wall and after the houses were built.
CONCLUSION
I believe this paper has proved that it was Ahasuerus who issued the command to build the city (Dan. 9:25) when he granted Nehemiah his request to do so.
In the thirty-second year of the life of Ahasuerus the wall was completed.
At the end of the 70 years of captivity Cyrus, who reigned after Ahasuerus, freed Israel so that they may build the temple.
The houses were completed before the temple.
The temple was completed in the second year of Darius, the successor to Cyrus.
APPENDIX I: A STUDY OF THE TERM “ARTAXERXES”
The term “Artaxerxes” is used 14 times in the Bible. As we consider the context of each time the term is used, the reader will see that it is used of Ahasuerus, and it is used of Cyrus and it is used of Darius. The fact that it is used of all three kings shows that it is indeed a title, as suggested by Dr. Bullinger’s comment quoted above.
In point of fact, as is shown in Appendix V of this paper, “Darius” is also a title, not a name. So the Persian king who had completed the building of the temple is not named in Scripture, but rather referred to only by the title “Artaxerxes” and once by the title “Darius”.
The first four occurrences of the title “Artaxerxes” are found in Ezra chapter four.
We read in verses 7-8, “….In the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam……unto Artaxerxes the king of Persia… . the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxexes”. And in verse 11 we read, “This is the copy of the letter they wrote to ….Artaxerxes…”. Obviously these verse all have to do with one letter written to one king so we will consider them together.
The fact that this letter was written as an accusation of those in Judah and Jerusalem suggests that the letter was written after the captives had been freed to return to their land, i.e. in the time of Cyrus. But let us continue.
Chapter 4 concerns the Gentiles’ effort to thwart the building of the temple (vs. 1-2). In verse 5 we read, “Then the people of the land (Gentiles) weakened the hands of the People of Judah all the days of Cyrus, king of Persia even unto the reign of Darius”. That tells us that the letter was sent to Cyrus in a successful effort to cease the building of the temple. So in this context “Artaxerxes” is used of Cyrus. (Please see Appendix II for a discussion of Ezra 4:6 which speaks of a letter written to Ahasuerus).
Continuing with the occurrences of the title “Artaxerxes, we read in Ezra 6:14, “…And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia”. As discussed above, in this context the title “Artaxerxes” is used of the first king of this era chronologically, i.e. Ahasueres.
The next five occurrences of the title “Artaxerxes” are found in Ezra chapter seven. Again, because they are used in the same context we will consider them together.
We read in Ezra 7:1, “Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes…”. In order to determine to what the phrase “after these things” refer we must, of course, go back to the previous chapter. We read in Ezra 6:15-16, “And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. And the children of Israel…….kept the dedication of this house of God with joy”. Given that Ezra 7:1 refers to a time after the dedication of the temple, it is clear that in this context, the title “Artaxerxes” is used of Darius, in whose reign the temple was completed.
We read in Ezra 7:7, “And there went up of the children of Israel……in the seventh year of Artaxerxes….”. Here too, because this chapter records events that occurred after the dedication of the temple the title “Artaxerxes” refers to Darius, in whose reign the temple was completed.
Verse 11 begins, “Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra. Verses 12-13 record that letter which begins, “Artaxerxes king of kings, unto Ezra the priest…. I make a decree that all they of the People of Israel ……..which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem go with thee”. And in verse 21 we read, “And I even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers…..”. Again, this letter was written after the dedication of the temple which had been completed by Darius. The letter was given to Ezra by Darius allowing him to purchase what was needed for the temple worship.
We read in Ezra 8:1, “…..this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king”. I believe the phrase “that went with me from Babylon” refers to those who accompanied Ezra to Jerusalem when freed by Cyrus. Therefore, in this context “Artaxerxes” refers to Cyrus.
The last three occurrences of the title “Artaxerxes” are found in Nehemiah. We read in Neh. 2:1, “…in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes…”. As proved in the body of this paper, this is in reference to Ahasuerus, the first of the line of Persian kings of the time period recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah.
The phrase “twentieth year” must refer to the twentieth year of his life because we read in Ezra 4:6, “And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem”. Appendix II explains that the accusation concerned those building the wall and had been sent to sent to Ahasuerus.
Neh. 5:14 reads, “Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes….”. This verse concerns Nehemiah as he began building the wall. The building of the wall began in the reign of Ahasuerus, therefore in this verse “Artaxerxes” must refer to Ahasuerus.
Neh. 13:6-7a reads, “But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king and I came to Jerusalem”.This verse could refer to Ahasuerus who was still alive when Cyrus began to reign, or it could refer to the then reigning king, i.e. Cyrus. However, in my opinion the fact that Nehemiah wrote of the “two and thirtieth year” of the king to whom he had gone suggests that it was Ahasuerus. We read in Neh. 5:14, “Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes….”.
APPENDIX II
We read in Ezra 4:6, “And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem”.
The “accusation” mentioned in Ezra 4:6 was written to Ahasuerus, but the context is clearly in regard to the building of the temple, i.e. events that occurred in the reign of Cyrus. In order to correctly understand this verse let us consider the context.
We read in Ezra 4:1-2, “Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel; Then they came unto Zeubbabel…..and said unto him, ‘Let us build with you’”. But, we learn in verse 3 the answer to that offer, “Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God”. Why was the offer refused? Was it because they were not Jews? I think not because our Lord worshiped in a temple that had been restored by Herod, a Gentile. I suggest that we consider Neh. 4 for the answer as to why the offer was refused.
We read in Neh. 4:1, “But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews”. And in verse 8 we read, ”And conspired all of them (Sanaballat, Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites- vs. 7) together to come and to fight against Jerusalem and to hinder it”. In other words, the Jews also had difficulties with the Gentiles when they built the wall.
In point of fact we do read in Neh. 6:5-7 of a letter that had been written “to the king”, in which the accusation was made that Nehemiah “and the Jews think to rebel”. Given that verse 6 speaks of building the wall, (“for which cause thou buildest a wall”) this passage speaks of a letter being written to the king who gave Nehemiah permission to build the wall, i.e. Ahasuerus.
I suggest that the reason Zerubbabel refused the offer of help in building the temple was because, based on past behavior, he simply did not trust the ones offering it.
Having considered the context we are now prepared to consider verse 6 of Ezra 4, “And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign wrote they unto him…”.
I believe that Ezra 4:6 is a parenthetical statement which refers back to the time of the building of the wall. Let us, for the moment, leave off that verse to see if this suggestion has merit. Verses 4-8 would then read, “Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the People of Judah, and troubled them in building. And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia……And in the days of Artaxerxes (Cyrus, see section above) wrote Bishlam….and the rest of their companions unto Artaxerxes king of Persia…” The letter is recorded in verses 12-22 with the result given in verse 24, “Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem….”.
I suggest that verse 6 gives Zerubbabel’s reason for refusing the offer to help with the building of the temple. That is to say, the reason the offer was refused was because, given the history of the building of the wall under Ahasuerus, the Jews believed (correctly, as it turns out) that the offer was not genuine, but was meant to hinder the building of the temple.
So Ezra 4:6 records Zerubbabel’s reason for having refused help in building the temple. That reason was that “in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem”.
There are no contradictions in the Word of God. If we do not see Ezra 4:6 as a parenthetical statement we are left with the unthinkable conclusion that it is a mistake. It is not!
APPENDIX IIl: THE SEEMING CONTRADICTION OF ISAIAH 45:13
I have stated above that I believe that King Ahasuerus issued the command to rebuild the city, i.e. the commandment of Dan. 9:25. In the interest of thoroughness we must also consider Is. 45:13, as it seems to suggest that it was Cyrus who issued that commandment. That verse reads, “I have raised him (Cyrus, vs. 1) up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build My city and he shall let go My captives…….”.
The question is: was it Cyrus or was it Ahasuerus who issued the commandment of Dan. 9:25 to build the city?
We know that there are no contradictions in the Word of God. I suggest therefore, that the question raised by Is. 45:13 is answered with another question, i.e. what does it mean to build the city? If it means to build the wall and the gates one would conclude that it was Ahasuerus who built the city. If, on the other hand, one thinks of the city being built in terms of the houses, then one may conclude that it was Cyrus who freed the captives so that they might return to the city requiring them to build themselves houses. Actually both are true. That is to say, Ahasuerus issued the command to Nehemiah to build the wall and the gates, and Cyrus, in allowing the captives to return to Jerusalem allowed for the houses to be rebuilt.
So there is no contradiction between Neh. 2 and Is. 45. Neh. 2 tells us that Ahasuerus gave the command to build the wall, and Is. 45 tells us that Cyrus allowed the city to be built by releasing the captives.
APPENDIX IV: IS. 44:28
We read in Is. 44:28, “That saith of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and shall perform all My pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, ‘Thou shall be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid’
As discussed in the section above on Is. 45:13, when Cyrus allowed the captives to return to Jerusalem to build the temple, the very fact that the People returned implied the building of the city.
In other words, when Cyrus issued the decree for the People of Israel to return and build the temple in Jerusalem, implied in that decree was the building of the city by virtue of the fact that it would be inhabited.
APPENDIX V,
We know from Dan. 5:30-31 that Babylon was taken by the Media-Persia Empire. “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans (Babylon) slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom….”. But we know that Cyrus lived before Darius from the fact that the temple was begun by Cyrus and finished by Darius. Again, there are no contradictions in the Word of God. I believe therefore that the note in the Companion Bible by Dr. E. W. Bullinger is correct when it suggests that “Darius” was “an appellative denoting ‘the Maintainer’”.
This paper was written by Joyce Pollard. If you would like to respond please e-mail me at: janjoyce@aol.com