The people of the land took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and anointed him and made him king in place of his father, 2 Chronicles 36:1 / 2 Kings 23:30. Following the death of Josiah, Jehoahaz became king of Judah and reigned for only three months, 2 Chronicles 36:2 / 2 Kings 23:31.
His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah and she was from Libnah, 2 Kings 23:31. Jehoahaz was probably a throne name, for his personal name was Shallum, Jeremiah 22:11 / 1 Chronicles 3:15. His older brother was Eliakim.
The Jeremiah mentioned here, 2 Kings 23:31 / Ezekiel 10:1-9, isn’t the prophet Jeremiah because he was from Anathoth, Jeremiah 1:1. Jehoahaz did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his predecessors had done, 2 Kings 23:32.
Judah was now under the control of Egypt and they had to pay a heavy levy to Egypt for as long as they stayed under their control, 2 Chronicles 36:3 / 2 Kings 23:35.
When Pharaoh heard that they had made Jehoahaz king, he immediately sent a detachment of soldiers to Jerusalem and deposed of him and placed Eliakim on the throne, 2 Chronicles 36:4 / 2 Kings 23:34. Jehoahaz became king, before Pharaoh Necho put him in chains, 2 Chronicles 36:4 / 2 Kings 23:33 / / Jeremiah 22:11-12.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Pharaoh-Necho, after bringing Phoenicia and Syria under his rule, and penetrating as far as Carchemish, returned to Southern Syria, and learned what had occurred at Jerusalem in his absence. He sent orders to Jehoahaz to attend the court which he was holding at Riblah, and Jehoahaz fell into the trap, Ezekiel 19:4.’
Jehoiakim now becomes king of Judah at the age of twenty-five and he reigned for eleven years, 608 B.C. to 597 B.C. 2 Chronicles 36:5-8 / 2 Kings 23:36-37 / Ezekiel 19:5-7 / Jeremiah 22:13-17 / Jeremiah 26:20-23. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah and she was from Rumah, 2 Kings 23:36.
Although Judah was under Egypt’s control in the early part of his reign, later Judah would come under the control of the Babylonians, 2 Chronicles 36:3 / 2 Kings 23:34 / 2 Kings 24:1.
Jehoiakim did evil in the eyes of the LORD, 2 Chronicles 36:5 / Jeremiah 22:13-19, just as his predecessors had done, 2 Kings 23:37. There’s no doubt that Jehoiakim was a very greedy king who oppressed God’s people.
He was an idolater, he killed innocent people, introduced forced labour and was far from being a just king, Jeremiah 22:13-17. He even killed Uriah, God’s prophet for prophesying that Jerusalem is going to be destroyed, Jeremiah 26:20-23.
Jehoiakim reigned in 597 B.C., 2 Kings 23:36, and he was the victim of God’s judgment that was now coming upon Judah, 2 Chronicles 36:9-10. He had no choice but to surrender to the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 24:1. This invasion took place in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign, and the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Jeremiah 25:1 / Jeremiah 46:2.
At the God’s command and in accordance with His prophets, 2 Kings 22:16 / Jeremiah 14-16, Nebuchadnezzar’s march against Syria and Palestine, took Jerusalem and carried the king, Jehoiachin and captives away to Babylon, 2 Kings 24:2-3. Manasseh had ‘filled Jerusalem with innocent blood’, 2 Kings 24:3-4.
Just as Ahab and Jezebel abused their positions of power to take Naboth’s vineyard, 1 Kings 21:1-21, Manasseh had abused his position of power. The Lord would not forgive them, 2 Kings 24:4 / Jeremiah 15:1, because of the measure of their sin and injustice. The other events of Jehoiakim’s reign, and all he did, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah, 2 Kings 24:5. Notice that ‘Jehoiakim rested with his ancestors’, 2 Kings 24:6.
This isn’t a contradiction to Jeremiah’s prophecy in Jeremiah 22:19, where he tells us that Jehoiakim ‘He will have the burial of a donkey—dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.’
Jehoiakim had revolted again and 2 Chronicles 36:6, tells us that ‘Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon’.
Jehoiachin now succeeds Jehoiakim as king, 2 Kings 24:6. Nebuchadnezzar was now the supreme power during this time, he ruled from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates, 2 Kings 24:7, and for seventy years, Judah would be slaves to the Babylonians in captivity. This was the end of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, Amos 9:8.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘He was so crushed by the Babylonians that he was obliged to confine himself within the limits of his own states, and could no more attempt any conquests. The text tells us how much he had lost by the Babylonians, 2 Kings 24:1.’
Jehoiachin was now king of Judah, he became king at the age of eighteen, 2 Chronicles 36:9 / 2 Kings 24:8. he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days, 2 Chronicles 36:9 / 2 Kings 24:8. He is also known as Jeconiah, Matthew 1:11 / 1 Chronicles 3:16 / Jeremiah 22:24. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan and she was from Jerusalem, 2 Kings 24:8.
He was just as evil as his father, 2 Kings 24:9, Jehoiakim, which is surprising considering he only reigned for three months, 2 Chronicles 36:9 / 2 Kings 24:8. But in those three months, he murdered men and ravished their wives, Ezekiel 19:5-7.
The officers of Nebuchadnezzar now advance on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it, 2 Kings 24:10-11. Jehoiachin, his mother, his attendants, his nobles, and his officials all surrendered to him, and Nebuchadnezzar takes Jehoiachin prisoner, 2 Kings 24:12.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following concerning the year, 2 Kings 24:12.
‘Jeremiah calls it the seventh year Jeremiah 52:28, a statement which implies only a different manner of counting regnal years.’
Just as God said would happen, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple, 2 Chronicles 36:7 / 2 Kings 24:13 / Daniel 1:2.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It has been remarked that Nebuchadnezzar spoiled the temple three times.
1. He took away the greater part of those treasures when he took Jerusalem under Jehoiakim: and the vessels that he took then he placed in the temple of his god, Daniel 1:2. And these were the vessels which Belshazzar profaned, Daniel 5:2, and which Cyrus restored to Ezra, when he went up to Jerusalem, Ezra 1:2. It was at this time that he took Daniel and his companions.
2. He took the remaining part of those vessels, and broke them or cut them in pieces, when he came the second tine against Jerusalem under Jeconiah, as is mentioned here, 2 Kings 24:13.
3. He pillaged the temple, took away all the brass, the brazen pillars, brazen vessels, and vessels of gold and silver, which he found there when he besieged Jerusalem under Zedekiah, 2 Kings 25:13-17.
Notice what Nebuchadnezzar does, he takes all the skilled workers away from Jerusalem, but he leaves behind all those who didn’t have any skill, 2 Kings 24:14 / Jeremiah 52:28. This was his way of removing anyone who may rebel against him and of course, this would mean that the skilled workers would work for him in building up his empire.
Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon, along with his mother, his wives, his officials, and the prominent people of the land, 2 Kings 24:15. Nebuchadnezzar also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand skilled workers and artisans and he made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah, 2 Chronicles 36:10 / 2 Kings 24:16-17.
This was the first conquest of Jerusalem which occurred in 597 B.C. but because Jehoiachin surrendered, there was very little destruction to the city. A second conquest of the city occurred in 586 B.C. to stop the rebellion of Mattaniah, that is Jehoiachin’s uncle, whose name was changed to Zedekiah 1 Chronicles 3:15.
It was during this conquest that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, 2 Kings 25:1-7. The third and final assault on Jerusalem took place in 582 B.C. Jeremiah 52:29-30.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Nebuchadnezzar spoiled Solomon’s temple three times.
1. He took some of the treasures away when Jehoiakim was king, placing the golden vessels in the temple of his god in Babylon, Daniel 1:2. These were the vessels profaned by Belshazzar, Daniel 5:2.
2. He continued the destruction by taking many other treasures, breaking, and cutting them into pieces when he came up against Jeconiah, as in this chapter.
3. He thoroughly looted and destroyed the temple, even cutting up the brass and all other metal objects of value when the city fell a third time at the end of the reign of Zedekiah, 2 Kings 25:13-16.’
Zedekiah is now king of Judah and he begin his reign when he was twenty-one years old and reigned for eleven years, 2 Chronicles 36:11 / 2 Kings 24:18 / Jeremiah 52:1-3. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah, 2 Kings 24:18.
He too did evil in God’s eyes, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, 2 Chronicles 36:12 / 2 Kings 24:19, because it was Nebuchadnezzar who placed him on the throne, 2 Kings 24:17. We can be sure that he was totally in submission to the Babylonian king.
He probably would have had to swear an oath to Nebuchadnezzar, which would have involved invoking the Name of the Lord. The change of his name to Zedekiah was an essential element in the whole procedure, 2 Kings 24:17.
Jeremiah tells us his rebellion against Babylon was also a rebellion against God, Jeremiah 31:1-40 / Ezekiel 17:13. He should have never rebelled in the first place because it was totally against everything God had said to His prophet Ezekiel, Ezekiel 8:1-18, and against everything God had said to His prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah 25:11-12 / Jeremiah 28:1-4 / Jeremiah 34:8.
Zedekiah broke his oath of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Chronicles 36:13 / 2 Kings 24:20, and when Nebuchadnezzar came up once more to destroy Jerusalem, Zedekiah asked Jeremiah to pray for the city, but God, declared that He would fight against Zedekiah and the city and destroy them, Jeremiah 37:1-21.
Notice that God ‘thrusts them from his presence’, 2 Kings 24:20. The sin of people had become so bad, that God couldn’t even bring Himself to look at them any longer, Isaiah 6:9-10. This is one of the saddest descriptions of God looking at His people in the Scriptures.
The Northern Kingdom of Israel was taken into Assyrian captivity because their sins were too great, 2 Chronicles 36:14 / 2 Kings 17:5-6, and here we read that the Southern Kingdom of Judah were just as bad, and they too are taken into Babylonian captivity for sent years.
Jehoiachin was the last king of Judah and was so recognised by the Jews. Because Zedekiah was merely a hand puppet of Nebuchadnezzar and because of his foolish rebellion, Jerusalem fell a third time. We will read about that sad event next.
God sent word to His people through His messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on His dwelling place, 2 Chronicles 36:15. However, they mocked God’s messengers, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy, 2 Chronicles 36:16.
It was in the ninth year of Zedekiah, when Nebuchadnezzar marched against Jerusalem, 2 Kings 25:1, he did this for a year and a half, 2 Kings 25:2 / Jeremiah 39:1-10. The people in Jerusalem were desperate because there was no food, 2 Kings 25:3.
Despite fleeing from the city, they had no chance against the mighty Babylonian army, 2 Kings 25:4-5 / Jeremiah 52:4-27. Both Jeremiah, Jeremiah 38:23, and Ezekiel, Ezekiel 12:13, said this would happen, and the latter had also prophesied the dispersion of the troops, 2 Kings 25:14.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘A breach was made about midnight in the northern wall, Ezekiel 9:2, and an entry effected into the second or lower city, 2 Kings 22:14, which was protected by the wall of Manasseh, 2 Chronicles 33:14.’
Zedekiah was captured and his son was killed before his eyes, 2 Kings 25:6-7 / Jeremiah 39:6 / Jeremiah 52:10, because of his rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 24:20. Then they put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had shown mercy to Jehoiachin, but none was shown to Zedekiah, hence the harsher treatment he received, 2 Kings 25:7.
The Babylonians under Nebuzaradan who was the commander of the army of Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem, 2 Kings 25:8, and went about totally destroying it, 2 Chronicles 36:17-20 / Jeremiah 52:12-23.
Nebuchadnezzar knew if we wiped out Jerusalem then he would totally wipe out Israel’s pride and joy. This is why he burned the city but especially the temple, 2 Chronicles 36:18-19 / 2 Kings 25:9. Jeremiah tells us how he felt about it in Lamentations 5:11-12.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Compare the prophecies of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 21:10 / Jeremiah 34:2 / Jeremiah 38:18 / Jeremiah 38:23. Psalms 79:1-13 / Psalms 79:1-13, is thought to have been written soon after this destruction of the temple.’
They broke down the walls around Jerusalem and Nebuzaradan carries into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, 2 Chronicles 36:20 / 2 Kings 25:10-11.
Nebuchadnezzar had totally destroyed the city of Jerusalem and earlier he had already destroyed Lachish, Debir and Beth Shemesh but he did however spare some of the rural areas and left the people to continue farming, 2 Kings 25:12.
All the bronze and gold articles of both the royal palace and temple were cut into pieces in order to be transported to Babylon, 2 Kings 25:13 / 2 Chronicles 36:18 / Jeremiah 52:17-23. They take away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service, 2 Kings 25:14.
They also take away the censers and sprinkling bowls, all that were made of pure gold or silver, 2 Kings 25:15. Everything was taken away to Babylon, Jeremiah 39:8-9 / Jeremiah 52:14 / Jeremiah 52:23.
The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the movable stands, which Solomon had made for the temple of the LORD, was more than could be weighed, 2 Kings 25:16. The pillars were eighteen cubits high, 2 Kings 25:17, that is, twenty-seven feet high.
The bronze capital on top of one pillar was three cubits high, that is, four and half feet high, and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around, and we are told the other pillar was similar, 2 Kings 25:17.
They totally destroyed everything as it was prophesied many years before by God to Solomon, 1 Kings 9:8. Everything which Solomon had built, Jerusalem, the very essence and heartbeat of Israel, was now in ruins.
Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest, Jeremiah 40:2-5, and three doorkeepers, were taken into Babylonian captivity, 2 Kings 25:18.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The temple ‘door-keepers’ in the time of Solomon numbered twenty-four, 1 Chronicles 26:17-18, who were probably under six chiefs. After the captivity, the chiefs are either six, Ezra 2:42 / Nehemiah 7:45 or four, 1 Chronicles 9:17.’
Nebuzaradan now takes those still in the city, the officer in charge of the fighting men and five royal advisers, 2 Kings 25:19.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In Jeremiah 52:25, it is said he took seven men who were near the king’s person, and the same number is found in the Arabic in this place, and the Chaldee has no less than fifty men; but in Jeremiah this, as well as all the rest of the versions, reads seven. Probably they were no more than five at first, or, perhaps Jeremiah reckoned with the five the officer that was set over the men of war, and the principal scribe of the host mentioned here, as two with the five and thus made seven in the whole.’
He took all the people who were encouraging the rebellion against Babylon, 2 Kings 25:19. He takes the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of the conscripts who were found in the city, 2 Kings 25:19. He took them all, he took them to Babylon, and now Judah find themselves in captivity, 2 Kings 25:20-21.
In Jeremiah 41:16-18, we learn that several Jews, after the murder of Gedaliah, went to Egypt, but many of the captives were taken to Babylon. Jeremiah the prophet would have also been taken away, but Nebuchadnezzar ordered that he should be privileged and not restrained in any manner, Jeremiah 39:10-12 / Jeremiah 52:24-30.
The reason for the special treatment of Jeremiah is possibly because he actually prophesied that Babylon would conquer the city, 2 Chronicles 36:17-20 / Jeremiah 52:4-27 / Jeremiah 39:11-18. Notice that the land enjoyed its sabbath’s rest, 2 Chronicles 36:21 / Leviticus 26:34-43 / Daniel 9:2, that is, the land rested from being used for crops.
Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah to be over the people he left behind, 2 Kings 25:22 / Jeremiah 26:24. The name Gedaliah means ‘Yahweh is great’ and he was a grandson of Shaphan, head of a prominent family in Judah.
Gedaliah was favoured by Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 25:23, possibly because his father had taken measures to spare Jeremiah when his life was threatened by those who were rebellious in Judah before the coming of the Babylonians, Jeremiah 38:24. They had supported the reforms of Josiah and were friendly and helpful to Jeremiah, Jeremiah 26:24.
Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men, he says, do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials, settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you, 2 Kings 25:24.
The full story of the shameful treachery of Ishmael and his murder of Gedaliah, 2 Kings 25:25, is found in Jeremiah 40:7-9 / Jeremiah 41:1-3 / Jeremiah 41:16-18. The army officers were a part of Zedekiah’s army which had deserted him on the plains of Jericho and left him to the mercy of Nebuchadnezzar.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following about Gedaliah.
‘Gedaliah was a man of honour and good sense, and Ishmael’s treacherous murder of this good man was probably due to two things.
1. His jealousy that Gedaliah had been appointed governor instead of himself, a member of the seed royal.
2. The ambition of the king of the Ammonites who, for his own selfish reasons, wished to destroy Gedaliah. Gedaliah had been warned of Ishmael’s enmity but unwisely refused to believe the warning.
The murderers then fled to Egypt, 2 Kings 25:26, believing that Nebuchadnezzar would again come and take vengeance on those who killed his governor, Jeremiah 43:5-7.
Although not recorded in 2 Chronicles, I thought it would be useful to mention Jehoiachin’s release from prison. Jehoiachin had been in prison for thirty-seven years but was released by Awel-Marduk the king of Babylon, 2 Kings 25:27. He was given a seat of honour for being the king of Judah, and thus honoured in Babylon, 2 Kings 25:28, as such, Jeremiah 52:31-34.
This is one reason why Ezekiel focused his prophecies on the reign of Jehoiachin and not Zedekiah, Ezekiel 1:1-2. Zedekiah wasn’t considered a king of Judah simply because he was set up as king by a foreign power.
Awel-Marduk blessed Jehoiachin by allowing him to eat at his table, 2 Kings 25:29 / 1 Kings 2:7, and providing a daily allowance, 2 Kings 25:30 / Jeremiah 52:34.
Although Judah had been destroyed and the Israelites were going to be in captivity for seventy years, 2 Kings 21:10-15 / 2 Kings 23:26-27 / 2 Kings 24:3-4 / 2 Kings 24:20, there is a glimmer of hope for Israel through Jehoiachin.
In a sense it was God who was still taking care of him at this time, 2 Samuel 7:14 / 2 Samuel 7:15, and the Messiah would eventually come through David’s descendants, Matthew 1:1-17.
The Exile of Judah took place in three specific stages.
The first stage took place in 605 B.C. On his way back from victory in Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar, general of the armies of Babylon, laid siege to Jerusalem and took some of the leading nobles, and young men from the city of Jerusalem as hostages and carried them back to Babylon.
It is at this point that Daniel and his three friends are carried off, Daniel 1:1-7. Most of the citizens are still in the land of Judah but are certainly subservient to Babylon. It is possible that it was at this point that Jeremiah prophesied the 70-year captivity, Jeremiah 25:11-12.
Nebuchadnezzar had just vanquished the Egyptians at the Battle of Carchemish, thus establishing Babylon as the new rulers of the eastern Mediterranean world. Nebuchadnezzar was establishing Babylonian dominance over all that area and had come to Jerusalem and laid siege to the city.
Hearing of his father’s death, he took several young men from the royal family as hostages and trainees for his court, including Daniel and his three friends according to Daniel 1:1-7.
He also made King Jehoiakim a vassal, 2 Chronicles 36:6, and then hastened back to Babylon to establish himself on the throne. Nebuchadnezzar and a small military force took the short route across the desert, sending the captives with his greater army along the Fertile Crescent.
At this point, though most of her citizens were yet in the land of Judah, the nation was subservient to Babylon. It is at this point that Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would be carried off to Babylon for seventy years. Therefore, most scholars believe that the seventy-year captivity began with this event.
This would coincide well with the decree for the first return around 538 B.C., which would be followed by that return and the beginning of the temple rebuilding process around 537/536 B.C.
The second stage took place in 597 B.C. Jehoiakim rebels against Nebuchadnezzar, about 602 B.C., who finally comes and attacks Jerusalem, on March 10th 597 B.C., carrying off ten-thousand captives to Babylon.
After rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar, King Jehoiakim died on December 10th 598 B.C., so that by the time Nebuchadnezzar arrived to punish Jerusalem for its rebellion, his son Jehoiachin, had been on the throne for three months and ten days.
In other words, Jehoiachin was in the wrong place at the wrong time and would essentially pay for the rebellion of his father against Babylon. Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon and remained a prisoner there until the death of Nebuchadnezzar in 561 B.C. 2 Kings 25:27-30.
Nebuchadnezzar also carried off the wealthy elite from Jerusalem; included in these was Ezekiel, the prophet. Although, Ezekiel wasn’t actually called to the prophetic ministry until after he had been carried off to Babylon, probably about 593 BC.
The third stage took place in 586 B.C. King Zedekiah ignores the warnings of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 27-28, and plots against Babylon once again, so that Nebuchadnezzar returns, lays siege against Jerusalem, January 15th 588 B.C. to July 18th 586 B.C., and captures it. One month after the city fell, the captain of Nebuchadnezzar’s army burned the city and the temple.
It is interesting that the temple was destroyed in 586 B.C. and would not be completely rebuilt until February/March of 516 B.C., seventy years after its destruction. So, not only were the Jews in captivity for a minimum of seventy years, but the temple would not exist for seventy years as well.
A tiny remnant of Jews, including Jeremiah, was left in Judah under Gedeliah, who was appointed governor. When Gedeliah was murdered, those Jews feared reprisal and fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah there against his wishes, Jeremiah 40:13-16.
The first year of Cyrus king of Persia, 2 Chronicles 36:22, is referring to the first year of his reign over the Babylonian lands in 538/537 B.C. His actual reign over the Medes and Persians began earlier in 557 B.C.
He was known as Cyrus the Great, and he is the very person whom Isaiah names in his prophecy, Isaiah 45:1, who would help Israel rebuild the temple and Jerusalem, Isaiah 44:28-45:7.
Jeremiah had prophesied that the Israelites would go into seventy years of captivity, 2 Chronicles 36:22 / Jeremiah 29:10, however, as we now know the people didn’t listen.
The seventy years of captivity were coming to an end just as Jeremiah had said, Jeremiah 15:12-14 / Jeremiah 29:10-12. The seventy years are calculated from the first captivity during the days of Daniel and his friends, Daniel 1:1, to the first return of the captives in 536 B.C. There is no doubt that the Jews saw what was happening as a fulfilment of the prophecies.
It would be easy for God to move the heart of Cyrus, 2 Chronicles 36:22, especially if someone pointed out to Cyrus that his name actually appears in the prophecies of Isaiah, which were written many years before, Isaiah 44:28 / Isaiah 45:1-4 / Isaiah 24:13.
Cyrus then goes on to make a proclamation not only verbally but also in writing, 2 Chronicles 36:22 / 2 Kings 19:9-14. The accounts of this proclamation here, 2 Chronicles 36:23, and in Ezra 1:1-4, were the public proclamations of the decree.
The quotation of the proclamation in Ezra 6:3-5, was the official recording of the decree. It’s possible that each group would receive a different letter with the same thing written on them.
Cyrus gives credit to God and proclaims that he will build a temple for God in Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 36:23 / 1 Chronicles 17:11-12 / 1 Chronicles 22:10 / 1 Chronicles 28:6 / 2 Chronicles 6:9-10.
He then proclaims that God’s people may return home to help with the building work, 2 Chronicles 36:23. Sadly, only a small number of Jews decided to return home from exile, as Isaiah had prophesied, Isaiah 10:22.
After the deportations only the poor of the land, the vine-growers and farmers were left, 2 Kings 25:12 / Jeremiah 39:10 / Jeremiah 40:7 / Jeremiah 52:16.
Notice that Cyrus also proclaims freewill offerings, Ezra 1:4. This tells us that it wasn’t just about the remnant returning to Jerusalem to live but they were to return to also rebuild the temple, Ezra 1:1-4.
If you visit the British Museum in London, you will see on display an original pair of cufflinks based on the Cyrus Cylinder. The cufflinks are made from 24k plated bronze and are supplied in a presentation box.
The Cyrus Cylinder is one of the most famous objects to have survived from the ancient world. The cylinder was inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform, cuneiform is the earliest form of writing, on the orders of the Persian King Cyrus the Great, 559-530 B.C. after he captured Babylon in 539 B.C.
It is often referred to as the first bill of human rights as it appears to encourage freedom of worship throughout the Persian Empire and to allow deported people to return to their homelands. The cylinder was found in Babylon, modern Iraq, in 1879 during a British Museum excavation.