8.1 Return Details

Cross referencing history to the Bible:

Persian Kings of the Period of the Return

Name of King	Date of Reign	Relationship to Judah
Cyrus, The Great	559 – 530 BC	Conquered Babylon.First King of Persia. Probably knew Daniel.  He allowed the people to return to their lands, returned what had been taken from the Templeand financed the rebuilding.
Darius I	522 – 486 BC	Continued to support the construction of the Temple.
Xerxes [Ahasuerus]	486 – 465 BC	Esther’s husband.  Allowed the Jews in Persiato defend themselves.
Artaxerxes I	465 – 424 BC	Queen Esther’s step-son. Nehemiah was his cup-bearer.Allowed both Ezra and Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem

Some of the prophecies fulfilled by the return of Israel from exile:

Scripture Reference	Prophecy	when made	date fulfilled	Significance
Isaiah 44:28	Cyrus would be used by God to guarantee the return of a remnant.  Jerusalem would & the Temple would be rebuilt	688BC	539BC	God named Cyrus, “shepherd,” even before he was born. God knows every- thing.  God controls history! Cyrus, king of Persia 559-530BC
Jeremiah 25:12	Babylon would be punished for destroying Jerusalem and exiling God’s people	605BC	539BC	Babylon was conquered by Cyrus of Persia. God may seem to allow evil to go unpunished but consequences for sin are inevitable
Jeremiah 29:10	Judah would spend 70 years in exile, after which God would bring His people back to their land.	594BC	538BC	Cyrus allows the return of the Jews to their homeland.  The 70 years of captivity can span the years from the first deportation to the first return (70 yrs) or from the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 586BC to the building of the Second Temple in 516BC= 70 yrs.
Daniel 5:17-30	God had judged Babylon and her empire would be given to the Medes and Persians who would be the next world power	539BC	539BC	Belshazzar was killed that night in a surprise Persian invasion.  God’s judgment is inevitable; until that time He allows us the freedom to repent and to seek His forgiveness.