1:1 The initial verse establishes the historical setting for the subsequent events and provides the political and theological foundation for much of the narrative that follows in Ezra-Nehemiah. At the human level, the animating force of the action is the oral and written proclamation of the Persian king Cyrus II. Although he reigned over the Persian Empire from 559 to 530 BC, he did not defeat the Neo-Babylonian Empire (where Israel lived in exile) until 539. Thus the “first year” is dated from that point (539–538), with the decree generally understood to have been issued in 538 (cf. Introduction: Date of the Book’s Events; Occasion).

Fortunately for God’s people, this human king’s proclamation fulfills the Lord’s word given through the prophet Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, Judah’s next-to-last king (609–597; cf. Jer. 25:1). At that time, the Lord informed his people that their failure to listen to his word (Jer. 25:7) would result in their subjugation to Babylon for seventy years, after which he would bring them home (Jer. 25:11–14; 29:10–14; 32:42–44; cf. 2 Chron. 36:21). The beginning and end of this seventy-year period is much debated. Suggestions for the range of dates have included: (1) from the replacement of Jehoahaz with Jehoiakim at the hands of Pharaoh Neco II in 609 (2 Kings 23:34) to Cyrus’s defeat of the Babylonians in 539; (2) from the fall of Jerusalem in 586 to the completion of the temple in 516; and (3) from the first year of Nebuchadnezzar II’s rule (605) to Cyrus’s decree in 538 (here taking the seventy years as approximate).

Though the date range is difficult to determine, what is clear is the Lord causes the proclamation of a human king, Cyrus, to fulfill his divine proclamation through Jeremiah. The Lord’s sovereignty over the hearts of kings is not uncommon in Scripture (Ex. 14:8; Deut. 2:30; Prov. 21:1), nor will this be the last time we encounter such sovereignty in Ezra (Ezra 6:22; 7:27). The text explicitly states that the Lord “stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia.” In the present context, the word translated “stirred” expresses God’s sovereignty in rousing to action either human rulers (1 Chron. 5:26; Jer. 51:11; Hag. 1:14) or nations (2 Chron. 21:16; Isa. 13:17; Jer. 50:9). As foretold by the prophet Isaiah, the Lord stirs up Cyrus with particular force: “‘I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward,’ says the LORD of hosts” (Isa. 45:13; cf. 41:2, 25; 44:28).

1:2–4 The importance of this proclamation cannot be overstated. In it, Cyrus refers to the divine actor behind his reign, the principle location at which most of the book’s action transpires, and the primary charge set upon him (v. 2). With respect to the divine actor, the decree mentions God five times. In the first mention, the divine being is none other than “the Lord, the God of heaven.” “God of heaven” is common in postexilic texts (Ezra 1:2; 5:11, 12; 6:9, 10; 7:12, 21, 23 [2x]; Neh. 1:4, 5; 2:4, 20; Dan. 2:18, 19, 37, 44) and especially in communication between the Jews and Persians.14 The remaining references identify God by his great covenantal promise as the God who is with his people and whose temple is at Jerusalem. The decree’s fourfold repetition of “Jerusalem” confirms the city’s prominence within the wider story of Ezra-Nehemiah as the home of God’s people and the place toward which all action moves and in which nearly all action takes place. Most importantly, Cyrus is charged with renovating God’s house in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:2), the major task in the first movement of Ezra (chs. 3–6).

The expressions in these verses, however, must not be viewed as Cyrus’s embrace of the covenant established by the Lord for his people. Instead, they should be read in light of the Cyrus Cylinder inscription (an ancient clay cylinder written to defend the claims of its king), which credits the primary Babylonian god, Marduk, with establishing Cyrus as “king over all the world.” It also describes the Persian policy of restoring to temples the images (i.e., statues) of their gods previously taken to Babylon. Cyrus restores the gods of various peoples (not just Israel), thus emphasizing his own benevolence toward those gods and also his desire for those peoples’ prayers. In addition, he pronounces his generosity toward the people who dwell in cities over which he now rules. The proclamation of 1:2–4 is therefore politically expedient; Cyrus does for Judah what he does for other nations.15 In this case, however, the providence of the living God has moved his heart to act. The Lord raises up and deposes rulers for purposes about which such rulers may be oblivious.

In this case, the Lord’s immediate purpose is to bring his homeless people home to rebuild his house (i.e., temple). But a deeper goal exists. In abandoning the covenant, God’s people had abandoned their priestly role (Ex. 19:5–6); by restoring them to Jerusalem to rebuild his temple, the Lord revives their priestly function in the world.

The author of Ezra takes up Cyrus’s proclamation as one of his sources and expresses it in a manner relevant to his audience. Defining the homeless in more detail, the king’s words function as a net to catch any among his subjects (“among you”) who identify themselves as the Lord’s people (“his people”) and to encourage them to carry out the temple rebuilding (Ezra 1:3). On the one hand, hearers will be forced to ask themselves, “Am I among his people?”16 The answer to this question will make all the difference, since a positive response will result in the recipient’s playing an active part in God’s restorative work in Jerusalem. On the other hand, returning is not required. Cyrus’s decree urges and encourages rather than demands.

The desired action focuses on three related requests. The first expresses hope of God’s presence, which stands outside human control. Consistent biblical testimony demonstrates that success in God’s plan for his people comes only through his willing presence with them (Ex. 33:15–16; Deut. 31:6; Josh. 1:5; 1 Kings 8:57; Matt. 1:23). Human effort at kingdom advancement bears no genuine fruit without the reality of this central covenantal assurance. The second and third requests are essential to fulfilling Cyrus’s primary charge to “build him a house at Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:2). Hearers must be moved both to “go up” to Jerusalem and to commence the work of rebuilding (v. 3).

An interpretive question in verse 4 concerns whether the assistance for the Lord’s people comes from Cyrus’s Jewish or Gentile subjects. This commentary supports the latter. The Hebrew translated “survivor” (shaʼar) generally describes what is left over or remains. In the context of Ezra 1, it refers to anyone who survives and, by extension, to a “remnant.” Accordingly, the phrase “each survivor” (v. 4) more precisely describes “his people” (v. 3), the favored community that now benefits from this call for assistance. Several texts with comparable contexts support this approach (Neh. 1:3; Hag. 2:3; cf. Hag. 1:12, 14). Having identified the beneficiaries, we now turn to the question of the source of their assistance. Cyrus initially directs his proclamation “throughout all his kingdom” (Ezra 1:1) before singling out the Lord’s people from this wider population (v. 3). He then calls on each local population, i.e., “the men of his place,” to support these returning survivors, later called “exiles” (v. 11). These “men of his place” (v. 4) correspond to “all who were about them” (v. 6) in the descriptive response. In other words, gifts to the Lord’s people come from those who are not his people, i.e., Gentile neighbors. In further support, many note this is in keeping with the first exodus: God’s action brings a release from captivity and gracious support from unexpected sources (cf. comment on 1:5–6).17

1:5–6 Response to the proclamation begins with the mention of four groups (Judah, Benjamin, priests, and Levites) who “rose up . . . to go up” (v. 5). This verbal combination, typically used of calls to action in war contexts (Josh. 8:1; Judg. 18:9; Jer. 6:4), is used here to describe the initial movement toward building a worship site (cf. Gen. 35:1, 3).18 Judah and Benjamin, the tribal remains of the southern kingdom exiled by Nebuchadnezzar, receive particular mention as the new seed to be planted in the land (cf. Jer. 31:27). Benjamin was historically part of the northern kingdom but remained loyal to the southern-based Davidic king when the northern tribes departed, dividing the kingdom (2 Chron. 11:1–4). This mention of part of Israel reveals a concern for all Israel (Ezra 6:17; 8:35) and continues with the reference to priests and Levites, who play an indispensable role in strengthening the people (2 Chron. 11:13–17). Laymen, temple personnel, and all others respond because God “stirs” their spirit to action. Just as he has stirred Cyrus to give his people permission to return (Ezra 1:1), God now stirs them to respond, motivating them to go. Mention of these four groups prepares the reader for the detailed list that follows in chapter 2.

In keeping with the king’s decree (1:4), the returnees’ Gentile neighbors “made strong their hands” (cf. KJV), a Hebrew idiom that may be accurately rendered “aided” (ESV) or “encouraged” (NASB).19 The range of materials given—precious metals, beasts, goods, and other gifts (v. 6)—includes what previously has been generically described as “silver” (v. 4) but is now more specifically identified as “vessels of silver.” This phrase also occurs in a comparable context in the exodus story, where God moves the Egyptians to show favor to his people (Ex. 3:21–22; 11:1–3; 12:35–36). The giving of gifts in Ezra 1 suggests a new exodus (Isa. 43:14–21; 48:20–21), in which the Lord not only calls his people to action but again provides what is needed to fulfill the calling.

Meanwhile, the words used to describe the aid rendered and items given make it clear this calling involves temple rebuilding. For example, the phrase translated “with gold” is frequently, though not exclusively, found in such contexts (Ex. 31:4; 35:32; 1 Kings 9:11; 2 Chron. 2:7, 14; 9:18). Likewise, the noun form, “freewill offering” (Ezra 1:4), and the verbal form, “freely offered” (v. 6), often refer to gifts given for the tabernacle (Ex. 35:29) and the first temple (1 Chron. 29:5, 6, 9 [2x], 14, 17 [2x]). The wider range of Scripture thus underscores that the items mentioned are intended not primarily for general support but to aid this second exodus community in second-temple reconstruction.

1:7–8 A more wooden translation of verse 7 reveals the wordplay used to contrast Cyrus with Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon (605–562 BC). Cyrus “brought out” the vessels of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had previously “brought out” (ESV “carried away”) from Jerusalem during the reign of the Judean king Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:13).20 Whenever he defeated a people, Nebuchadnezzar usually took their idols and placed them in the temple of his gods to show their supposed subservience and bondage to the Babylonian gods.21 But, since the Israelites had no idols in their temple (Ex. 20:4–5), he used the temple vessels as a substitute, placing them in the temple of his gods to suggest that the Lord had been defeated.

In reality, however, it was the Lord himself who had orchestrated Nebuchadnezzar’s victory. The writer of Ezra alludes here to Jeremiah 27, using the same phrase “vessels of the house of the Lord” (Ezra 1:7; cf. Jer. 27:16; 28:3, 6) and evoking the Lord’s clear statement there that he would raise up Nebuchadnezzar to take the vessels as a punishment against faithless Israel (Jer. 27:6, 16–22). Just as the Lord had sovereignly overseen their removal by one king, he now sovereignly oversees their return by another.

Because in Israel’s case Cyrus has no temple idols to return, he instead returns the temple vessels under oversight of “Mithredath the treasurer” and “Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah” (Ezra 1:8). These names further ground the events in a Babylonian-Persian context. Mithredath is a well-known Persian name, and the word for “treasurer” (gizbar) is of Persian origin, occurring only here in the OT. On the other hand, Sheshbazzar is likely a Judean who has been given a Babylonian name.22

1:9–11 The chapter ends with the designation and numbering of the vessels mentioned in verse 8. The primary interpretive challenges concern: (1) the translation of terms occurring only here in the OT; (2) the quantity of items listed; and (3) the relevance of the list.

The terms for “basins” and “censers” are rare, and a wide range of translations are suggested in the lexicons, English versions, and commentaries; the ESV rendering is reasonable. With respect to the numbers, the total of the items listed (2,499) clearly does not match the concluding sum (5,400).23 This may be the result of a textual corruption, or perhaps the lists in verses 9–10 are partial, while verse 11 offers a total of all items. Either way, verse 11 seeks to show the relevance of the list by connecting the circumstances of the vessels with that of the people. In each case, God’s care is underscored by use of the verb “to lead up, bring up.” Due to the Lord’s sovereign direction of Cyrus, Sheshbazzar’s task to “bring up” the vessels parallels the exiles, who are “brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem” by the Lord’s sovereign hand. Nation follows after nation and still, through a sovereign God who is faithful to his covenant, the people of God persist in their calling to build his house and worship.