What is Cyrus in the Bible?
Emperor, during the exile and the return
Cyrus, also known as Cyrus the Great, was the Emperor of Persia who played a significant role in the history of Israel. Cyrus appears in 16 verses across 4 books of the Bible.
What does the Bible say about Cyrus?
Cyrus, also known as Cyrus the Great, was the Emperor of Persia who played a significant role in the history of Israel. He is mentioned in several books of the Bible, including 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Isaiah, and Daniel. According to 2Ch.36.22-23 and Ezr.1.1-2, in the first year of his reign, Cyrus issued a proclamation allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. This decree fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah concerning the end of the Babylonian captivity after 70 years. Cyrus also returned the articles of the Temple that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem (Ezr.1.7-8). The returning exiles, led by Zerubbabel, began to rebuild the Temple with the support of Cyrus (Ezr.3.7). The prophets Isaiah and Daniel both mention Cyrus by name. Isa.44.28 and Isa.45.1 refer to Cyrus as the Lord's "anointed" and the one who would carry out God's purpose in rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple. Dan.1.21 and Dan.10.1 indicate that Daniel lived until the reign of Cyrus, and Dan.6.28 mentions Cyrus as the king who succeeded Darius the Mede. Ezr.4.3-5 records the opposition faced by the Jews in rebuilding the Temple during the reigns of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. However, Ezr.5.13-17 and Ezr.6.3-14 recount how Cyrus' original decree was rediscovered during the reign of Darius, leading to the completion of the Temple reconstruction. Historically, Cyrus was the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. His conquest of Babylon in 539 BC and his subsequent policy of allowing captive peoples to return to their homelands and rebuild their temples made him a significant figure in Jewish history and a fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.
Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.
Where does Cyrus appear in the Bible?
Cyrus is referenced in 16 verses across 4 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.
- 2 Chronicles 36:22
- 2 Chronicles 36:23
- Daniel 1:21
- Daniel 6:28
- Daniel 10:1
- Ezra 1:1
- Ezra 1:2
- Ezra 1:7
- Ezra 1:8
- Ezra 4:3
- Ezra 4:5
- Ezra 5:13
- Ezra 5:17
- Ezra 6:3
- Isaiah 44:28
- Isaiah 45:1
What else appears in these passages?
These turn up in the same passages as Cyrus.
Common questions
How many times does the Bible mention Cyrus?
Cyrus appears in 16 verses across 4 books, most often in Ezra, which accounts for 9 of them.
Which books of the Bible mention Cyrus?
Ezra, Daniel, 2 Chronicles, Isaiah.
Where can I read every verse about Cyrus?
This page lists 16 of them. Protos carries all 16, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.
