www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5pdEr1rjtQ
Chronology of the Jews
Under Persia
Post-Apostolic Church
INTRO
After the kingdom of Israel was taken captive
by Assyria and not heard from again, about 130 years later, the kingdom of Judah was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylonia. About 50 years after that, the Babylonians were conquered by
the Medes and Persians. In Cyrus the Great's first year,
as king over Persia , Media, and
Babylonia, he issued a decree that God's house, the temple, was to be rebuilt
in Jerusalem Judah , making it a Jewish province of the Persian Empire . So
during the time when Persia Second Temple ,
rebuild Jerusalem Persia
The books of Scripture that took place during
this time were parts of Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi,
and—in non-Protestant Bibles—1 Esdras. This video will go through the
major events of the Jews while they were under the rule of Persia
IDENTITY CRISIS
But before giving an overview of the chronology,
there are three people who need to be identified. Scholars do not agree as to who these three
people are. Also, it is a mystery as to
when Malachi prophesied, so we will investigate that as well. As we look at these things, you are welcome
to disagree. Feel free to comment below. To skip these details and go straight to the events
in chronological order, click here.
DARIUS
THE MEDE
First, who is Darius the Mede, whom Daniel
mentions in a few places? Surprisingly, historians
are not confident as to who this is. This is not the same person as
Darius I, who reigned over Persia Babylon
So who is
Darius the Mede? It is my opinion that Darius the Mede is the same as Cyaxares
II who was the last king over Media, ruling from 550 to 536 BC. The most ancient sources we have about this
king are sketchy. Xenophon, a historian from the fourth-century BC, wrote about
Cyaxares II, though other ancient historians completely omit him. Because of this, there is controversy over
whether Cyaxares II even existed. We
know that Darius the Mede’s reign falls somewhere after the peak of the
Babylonian Empire and before the peak of the Persian
Empire . Xenophon wrote that
Cyaxares II was Cyrus the Great’s uncle and the Median and Persian Empires were
in an alliance. When Cyaxares II was no
longer king, the two empires became one: the Persian
Empire with King Cyrus as sole ruler. For this chronology, Darius the Mede will be identified
as Xenophon’s Cyaxares II. Since history
is not clear, you are welcome to disagree and please comment below.
SHESHBAZZAR
Second, who is Sheshbazzar, whom Ezra mentions
in chapters 1 and 5? In both places, he
is identified as the governor of Judah
One piece of evidence that Sheshbazzar and
Zerubbabel are different people is found in Ezra chapter 5, the only time
outside of chapter 1 where Sheshbazzar is mentioned. At the beginning in chapter 1, Ezra talks
about Sheshbazzar. Then beginning in
chapter 2, Ezra talks about Zerubbabel.
Now, if these were the same person, why would Ezra switch back to
Sheshbazzar near the end of the chapter 5?
Note that both times Ezra talks about Sheshbazzar, he refers to him as
being under Cyrus (Ezra 1:8, 5:14). Furthermore,
when Sheshbazzar is mentioned in chapter 5, it is within a letter referring to
an event in the past. Now as for Zerubbabel
in chapter 2, it doesn’t give any date as to when Zerubbabel traveled from Persia to Judah
The most significant piece of evidence that
the two are different people comes from 1 Esdras. This book from the Old Testament does not
exist in Protestant Bibles. It is the
same as the book of Ezra except that it contains four additional chapters. Two of those chapters explain Zerubbabel’s origin, explicitly saying that he
became governor during the reign of Darius I, and it was in Darius’ second year
that Zerubbabel travelled to Judah as it is described in Ezra chapter 2. Do the accounts of Ezra and 1 Esdras agree?
Yes, they fit perfectly with each other.
And there is no good reason to reject Zerubbabel’s origin in 1
Esdras. Allowing the Old Testament books of 1 Esdras and Ezra to
agree with each other shows that Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel were different governors
of Judah—Sheshbazzar during the time of Cyrus the Great and Zerubbabel during
the time of Darius I, with 1 Esdras being more explicit with this pattern. Again, if you want to disagree and assume that
these are the same person, I invite you to share your reasons in the comments.
What does this mean? This means that there were actually three
waves of captives who returned from captivity.
The first wave was in 536 BC with Cyrus’ decree and lead by Sheshbazzar
who was Judah Judah Judah Judah
AHASUERUS
Third, who is Ahasuerus, whom Daniel mentions once
in chapter 9, Ezra mentions once in chapter 4, and is the Persian king in the
book of Esther? Historically, Ahasuerus is a completely unknown name; it is
only used in the Bible in connection with the Medes or Persians.
In Daniel, Daniel says he was the father of
Darius the Mede. If Darius the Mede is
Cyaxares II, Daniel might be talking about Astyages, King of Media. Regardless who Ahasuerus is in Daniel, he was
king during the time of the Medes and could not have reigned during the Persian Empire , which is what this video is about.
In Ezra, both in the Hebrew and Greek versions
of Ezra, this king’s name is Ahasuerus, so there is no answer there. There are two possibilities. First, this could be Xerxes I. Ezra is saying that from the beginning Xerxes
I’s reign, the Jews have had enemies.
And for reasons I will explain very soon, this would be the one and only
verse in the Scriptures that mentions Xerxes I.
Second, this could be Artaxerxes I.
Since both Ezra and Nehemiah had to deal with major problems caused by
their enemies during Artaxerxes I’s reign, this is also likely. In the end, Ahasuerus could refer to either
Persian king.
But in Esther, who is the king Esther
marries? The king in Esther is Artaxerxes
I and not Xerxes I. The first reason why this king is Artaxerxes is because of
the kings listed in Ezra. Ezra lists
three major Persian kings: Cyrus the Great (Ezra 1), Darius I (Ezra 6, and also
in Haggai and Zechariah), and Artaxerxes I (the rest of Ezra and all of
Nehemiah). Why doesn’t Ezra ever mention
Xerxes? I submit that this is because no significant Jewish events or
writings occurred during the reign of Xerxes I.
But just because all the Scriptures outside of Esther do not mention
Xerxes, that doesn’t prove that Esther’s king is Artaxerxes. So let’s look at more evidences.
The second reason why he is Artaxerxes is
because of the structure of the name.
Now, scholars say that Ahasuerus is the equivalent to Xerxes, but if you
look at the “Aha” in the name, it seems to equate to “Arta.”
The third and most significant reason why he
is Artaxerxes is because of the language differences in and the translations of
the book of Esther. The Hebrew version
says the king is Ahasuerus which does not clearly identify the Persian king. As for the Greek version of Esther, it explicitly calls the king Artaxerxes!! So where there is mystery in the Hebrew
version, the Greek version is clear. Additionally, the Aramiac
(Syriac) translation of the Old and New Testaments, called the Peshitta,
translated the king’s name as Akhshirash, which also sounds much more like
Artaxerxes than Xerxes.
The fourth reason why the king is Artaxerxes
is the first-century writings of Josephus.
He used the Greek Septuagint as his Old Testament, agreed with it, and
said that Esther’s king is Artaxerxes.
And since Josephus was a well-versed Jewish historian for the Roman Empire , his witness is strong.
The fifth reason why this king is Artaxerxes
is Jerome’s fourth-century translation of the Scriptures into the Latin
Vulgate. As the Septuagint had done,
Jerome also translated the king’s name as Artaxerxes.
So how many witnesses support Artaxerxes as
Esther’s king? The structure of the
name, the Greek Septuagint and Aramaic Peshitta versions of Esther, Josephus,
and Jerome. How many witnesses support Xerxes as Esther’s king? Only modern-day scholars. The identity of Esther’s king is actually very clear: Artaxerxes I. If you disagree, I look forward to your
comments.
What does this mean? Chronologically, this means that while Esther
is in the king’s harem waiting for her turn to spend a night with the king,
Artaxerxes sends Ezra to Judah
TIMING
OF MALACHI
There
is one more mystery from this time period: when did Malachi prophecy? Perhaps more than any other book of Scripture
(except for Obadiah), Malachi is the most difficult in finding its place in
history. There are no dates in the book
and there are no precise clues as to when it was written. Thankfully, there are two general clues that
give us a great place to start. First, there is a temple in
Malachi’s day, but which one… Solomon’s or Zerubbabel’s? Second, Malachi 1:8 uses the Persian term for governor, pechaw, revealing that Malachi prophesied during the Persian period. Because of these reasons, we can know that Malachi prophesied after 515 BC which
was when Zerubbabel’s Second
Temple
Some
scholars have suggested that Malachi prophesied sometime around Nehemiah 13,
the final chapter of Scripture from the Persian period. This is because the problems that Malachi addresses are very, very similar to
the problems that Nehemiah addresses in Neh 13.
After taking a close look at Malachi, I agree! The things he prophesies against are
uncannily similar to the problems in Nehemiah.
In Nehemiah 10:30-39,
Nehemiah the governor has the Levites take a vow so that they do not neglect
the temple. Nearly every single one of
the things they vow relates to the things in Malachi. Then in Nehemiah 13, after a time of absence,
Nehemiah returns to Judah
What
does this mean? Within a few years after
Nehemiah returns to Persia
CHRONOLOGY - SUMMARY
Now that we have identified Darius the Mede,
Sheshbazzar, Ahasuerus, and the timing of Malachi, here is an overview of the
chronology of the Jews under the Persian period. Let’s very quickly look at the details of
this. The following details simply follow
the one-page handout which you can find by clicking the link in the description
below.
In 560 BC, Cyrus the Great becomes king of Persia
On October 12, 539 BC, Darius the Mede, king
of Media and subject under Cyrus conquers the city of Babylon as described in
Daniel 5. This begins the time of the
Jews under the Medo-Persian Empire. In the following year, Daniel is
thrown into the lions’ den by Darius the Mede (Daniel 6) and receives the
vision of the 70 weeks (Daniel 9).
In 536 BC, Darius the Mede peaceably gives the
Median Empire to Cyrus the Great, causing Cyrus to be sole ruler over Persia , Media, and Babylon Persia and Greece
In 530 BC, after Cyrus the Great has been sole
ruler for 6 years, he is succeeded by Cambyses II. During his reign, no significant events or
writings emerge.
In 522 BC, Darius I becomes king.
When Darius has reigned two years, in the
spring of 520 BC, Zerrubbabel has a contest with his fellow bodyguards. Afterward, Darius sends him to be governor of
Judah (1 Esdras 3:1-5:6, Ezra 2), and he travels to Judah
A year and half later, in the winter of 518
BC, God gives promises and instructions on obedience through Zechariah (Zech
7-8).
Two years later in February 515 BC, the Second Temple
In 485 BC, Xerxes I succeeds Darius. Unless Xerxes is the king mentioned in Ezra
4:6, no significant events or writings emerge during his reign.
In 465 BC, Artaxerxes I succeeds Xerxes. Three years later, Artaxerxes removes Vashti as queen and searches for a new
queen (Esther 1). Sometime over the next
three years, Esther becomes a candidate for queen, entering the king’s harem
(Esther 2:1-14).
In the spring of 458 BC, while Esther has been
waiting in the harem for at least a year, Artaxerxes sends Ezra and a second
wave of captives to Judah
Sometime in 456 to 453 BC, the enemies of the
Jews have Artaxerxes halt the rebuilding of Jerusalem
From March 453 BC to February 452 BC, a span
of 11 months, Haman plots to kill the Jews. Then Mordecai and Esther foil it, bringing victory
for the Jews (Esther 3-10)!
Twelve years later, in the winter of 445 BC,
Nehemiah hears about the ruins of Jerusalem Jerusalem
wall is dedicated and Jerusalem
Ten years later, when his 12-year period as
governor was over, Nehemiah returns to king Artaxerxes in Susa
At some point in Nehemiah’s absence, the priests
and the people neglect God’s house, so God sends Malachi to prophesy (Mal 1-4).
And at some time between 431 and 424 BC,
Nehemiah returns and corrects many things relating to the Levite vow from Neh
chapter 10 and also relating to the things Malachi had preached, again
restoring their purity.
After Nehemiah, the Persian
Empire lasts another 100 years.
From 424 to 323 BC, the final kings of the Persian Empire are Xerxes II,
then Sogdianus, then Darius II, then Artaxerxes II, then Artaxerxes III, then
Artaxerxes IV, and then Darius III, the final king of the Persian
Empire . As a side note, Nehemiah
12:22-23 was written during the reign Darius III, giving us the list of high
priests through the end of the Persian Empire .
CONCLUSION
This video is a result of well over 25
hours of research as well as teaching the details of all those Scriptures in a
class to make double sure everything fit.
I hope you have enjoyed this information. If you did, please like, comment, and
share. And don’t forget to download the
handout of the Chronology of the Jews under Persia
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