Who was Cyrus in the Bible?
Cyrus was a Persian conqueror who took Babylon and, in doing so, walked straight into a role God had written for him long before he existed. He is the only foreign ruler in Scripture whom God calls "My shepherd" and "His anointed" — and commentators note that he did this for the sake of a captive people who were not his own.
The king who ended the exile
The basic facts about him are set out plainly: who he was, when he acted, and what he did for the Jewish captives.
Morrish Bible DictionaryHe is called several times in Scripture "the king of Persia," though the monuments show he was also king of Elam, and he is otherwise called the founder of the Persian empire. When he took Babylon, the second of the great Gentile empires of Daniel was set up... When the seventy years of captivity that Jeremiah had prophesied were over (Jer. 25:12; Jer. 29:10), God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, and a proclamation was made that the house of the LORD God of Israel was to be rebuilt, and permission was given to the captives to return. He also restored the holy vessels that had been carried from Jerusalem to Babylon (Ezra 1:1-11; 2 Chr. 36:22-23).
Named centuries before his birth
Isaiah names Cyrus in writing while Babylon had not yet even risen to power. Writers point to this as a demonstration of who God is, not merely a curiosity of history.
Hamilton SmithBehind Cyrus there will be the directing power of the LORD – the One who knows the whole history of the generations from the beginning. The One who is the first – before all, and will be the last. Who but the LORD could foretell the coming of Cyrus 200 years before he arrived, and so describe events still future as if they had already happened?
Called by God, yet not knowing God
Cyrus is given titles of astonishing honour, and the commentary is careful about what those titles do and do not mean.
The Bible TreasuryCyrus is called by name, he is called God's shepherd, His anointed, though Cyrus had not known God (Isa. 44:28; Isa. 45:4), and this only in view of what God had called him to do. The point is not what Cyrus was personally, but his work.
The reason for choosing him is stated by God Himself, and it points away from Cyrus altogether.
H J VineLong before he was born, God gave Cyrus his name, though he did not know the LORD, and in His providence God used him as His shepherd and His anointed. He was called to overthrow idolatry, which was such a snare to Israel. He was chosen "for Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel Mine elect" (Isa. 45:1-4).
His decree — and what lay behind it
Cyrus issued the order that released the Jews. But the opening line of Ezra names the real mover.
The Christian's FriendThe first verse draws back the curtain and reveals the source of the power that was working then, and through all the later events of this book, to fulfil the LORD's purposes. It reads: "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing."
There is a strong case that Cyrus had actually read about himself. Daniel lived into his reign and could have shown him the scrolls.
H. L. RossierThe Persian king was aware of his mission and knew what God had announced beforehand about him through the prophets. Daniel was able to instruct him in these things... Cyrus refers to this passage when he says, "The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah" (Ezra 1:2).
A small picture of a greater Deliverer
Commentators widely read Cyrus as a type — a preview — of Christ, and they are careful to keep the comparison in proportion.
William KellyIt is clear that the measure in which Cyrus prefigures this mighty deliverer is small. Still, I have no doubt that God had all this in view when He was pleased, in His own wonderful way, to send out such a call by him — Cyrus king of Persia, who declares that the LORD God of heaven had given him all the kingdoms of the earth.
What kind of picture he gives is worth naming, since Scripture pictures Christ in more than one way.
W. W. FeredayJosiah, in his work of destruction, is typical of Christ (all Scripture points to Him), who at His appearing will judge and clear away all evil from Israel and from the earth generally. Cyrus also typifies Christ, but in a different character. Josiah pulled down, but Cyrus built up. It was he who published the famous decree that encouraged the Jewish people to return to the land of their fathers and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1).
Summary
- Named — God gave Cyrus his name in Isaiah's prophecy roughly two centuries before he was born, proof that God alone tells the future before it happens.
- Stirred — the LORD stirred up his spirit at the exact moment Jeremiah's seventy years expired; the decree was Cyrus's, the timing was God's.
- Used — he was God's shepherd and anointed without knowing God, because the point was not what Cyrus was personally, but his work.
- For Israel's sake — he was chosen "for Jacob My servant's sake," to break Babylon's idolatry and send the captives home with the temple vessels restored.
- A shadow — he pictures Christ, though in small measure: not the Judge who pulls down, but the Restorer who builds up and brings His people back.