Atlas Biblica

    person

    Cyrus

    כּ֫וֹרֶשׁ

    Cyrus, Emperor of Persia, issued a decree allowing the Jews to return and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.

    verses
    19
    first named
    2 Chronicles 36:22
    last named
    Daniel 10:1
    period
    Exile and Return
    tribe
    Persia

    Description

    Who was Cyrus?

    In the words of STEPBible TIPNR:

    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.

    Relations

    Direct connections

    Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.

    How the graph connects Cyrus10 of 15 entities the graph connects to Cyrus, in one group: events 10. Kinship, company and ground are stated relations; events counts the acts two entities stand in together and is not a relation. Each mark is sized by how many verses name that entity and labelled with the link and the count, so the grouping and the size are both readable without colour. Distance from the centre carries nothing.Judah1 event · 1,023 versesLORD1 event · 1,004 versesJerusalem2 events · 888 versesKingdom2 events · 173 versesBattle1 event · 83 versesDaniel3 events · 72 versesLebanon1 event · 56 versesDarius2 events · 16 versesArtaxerxes1 event · 14 versesJoppa1 event · 14 versesCyrus

    The 10 best-attested of 15 are drawn. All 15 are listed below.

    Took part in

    Stands in the same events as

    and 1 more, ordered by how many events they share.

    Places

    Where this happens

    The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.

    Where the story of Cyrus happensAll 4 places the claims about Cyrus reach, on a map of the world the text moves through, framed to them: Persia, Babylon, Joppa, Lebanon. Each dot is a coordinate from the gazetteer, sized by how many rows put Cyrus there. The coastline is a modern one, simplified; no border, road or settlement of any period is drawn, and no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.PersiaBabylonJoppaLebanon
    Exile and ReturnAll 4 places the claims about Cyrus reach

    Read it

    Where to read it

    Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 19, across 4 books. The name is written 23 times in them.

    1. 2 Chronicles2 verses

      36:2236:23

    2. Ezra12 verses

      1:11:21:71:83:74:34:55:135:145:176:36:14

    3. Isaiah2 verses

      44:2845:1

    4. Daniel3 verses

      1:216:2810:1

    Onward

    Where this page goes

    Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.

    via Cyrus and Mithredath’s bringing out of ArticlesBringing OutBringing Out is a concept gathering 65 labelled instances in the text.via Revelation of MessageDanielProphet in Babylon, known for wisdom and visionsvia Cyrus and Mithredath’s bringing out of ArticlesMithredathThe treasurer of King Cyrus of Persia.via Revelation of MessageRevelationRevelation is a concept gathering 40 labelled instances in the text.via Governor And Elders Of The Jews and Elders Of The Jews’ building of House Of GodArtaxerxesPersian king during Ezra and Nehemiah's timevia Governor And Elders Of The Jews and Elders Of The Jews’ building of House Of GodBuildingBuilding is a concept gathering 124 labelled instances in the text.via Governor And Elders Of The Jews and Elders Of The Jews’ building of House Of GodDariusPersian king who decreed the rebuilding of the Templevia Governor And Elders Of The Jews and Elders Of The Jews’ building of House Of GodRebuildingRebuilding is a concept gathering 32 labelled instances in the text.

    Where they appear

    Chapter by chapter

    Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.

    Sources

    What this rests on