Ezra 1:8

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

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 their neighbors supported them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuables, in addition to all their freewill offerings.
7 King Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods.
8 Cyrus king of Persia had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
9 This was the inventory: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 silver utensils,
10 30 gold bowls, 410 matching silver bowls, and 1,000 other articles.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. That is, the leader of the exiles returning to Judah
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