Ezra 1:8

8 And Cyrus king of Persia brought them forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar [a] the prince of Judah.

Ezra 1:8 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 1:8

Even these did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of
Mithredath the treasurer
Or Mithridates, a name common with the Persians, from their god Mithras, the sun they worshipped:

and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar prince of Judah;
delivered them by tale to him; who, according to the Jewish rabbins, as Jarchi says, was Daniel, who was so called, because he stood in six tribulations; but it does not appear that Daniel went up to Jerusalem with the captivity, as this man did, but remained at Babylon; rather, with Aben Ezra, it is best by him to understand Zerubbabel, who did go up, and was the prince of Judah; and Cyrus, in his letter F17 to the governors of Syria, expressly says, that he delivered the vessels to Zerubbabel, the prince of the Jews. He had two names, Sheshbazzar, which signifies he rejoiced in tribulation, and Zerubbabel, which signifies either the seed of Babylon, being born there, or dispersed, or a stranger there, as others.


FOOTNOTES:

F17 Apud Joseph. Antiqu. l. 11. c. 1. sect. 3.

Ezra 1:8 In-Context

6 And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.
7 And king Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the house of Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem and had put in the house of his god.
8 And Cyrus king of Persia brought them forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
9 And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine-and-twenty knives,
10 thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second [sort] four hundred and ten, [and] other vessels a thousand.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. This appears to be the Chaldean name of Zerubbabel, which may mean, 'Born in Babylon.'
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.