Ezra 1 Footnotes

1:2-4 Some scholars claim that Cyrus’s edict is not genuine. They believe that Cyrus would never have spoken in these terms. However, the Cyrus Cylinder (see note on v. 1), as well as inscriptions from the cities of Uruk and Ur contain language by Cyrus that reads very much like parts of this edict. Furthermore, the biblical character of the language is very likely the result of Cyrus’s interaction with Jews with whom he conversed as he prepared to authorize the return of the Jews and the rebuilding of the temple. This kind of interaction may have been fairly common. For example, a papyrus from the Jewish community in Elephantine, Egypt, dated around 407 BC, asks Bagoas, governor of Judah, to authorize the rebuilding of their temple in Elephantine.