Bible Questions and Answer

Isaiah 44 and 45 name a king who would rebuild Jerusalem. God says of Cyrus, "He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, 'Let it be rebuilt,' and of the temple, 'Let its foundations be laid.'" Then Isaiah 45 begins, "This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus." It's the only time a non-Jewish ruler is called God's anointed. Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BC and soon allowed the Jews to go home and rebuild the temple, as Ezra 1 records. The Cyrus Cylinder, now in the British Museum, describes his policy of sending conquered peoples back and restoring their temples. Isaiah lived in the 700s BC, about 150 years before Cyrus. Many critical scholars believe chapters 40 to 55 were written later, during the exile. Josephus wrote that Cyrus read Isaiah's prophecy and was moved to fulfill it.