event · E0006
Return to Zion שיבת ציון
In the first year of Koresh (Cyrus) king of Persia, a proclamation went through the empire: whoever among God's people wishes may go up to Jerusalem and build the House of God. Ezra opens with the words "to fulfill the word of God from the mouth of Yirmiyahu" — the seventy years were ending, and for the first time in the mesorah's story an exiled community turned around and went home.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- שיבת ציון
- Also known as
- Declaration of Cyrus, Shivat Tzion
- Era
- bible
II. When
- Traditional
- 3390 AM (371 BCE by traditional reckoning)
- Academic
- 538 BCE
- Date range
- 371 BCE (traditional) / 538 BCE (academic)
- Precision
- exact
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the first year of Koresh king of Persia, to fulfill the word of God from the mouth of Yirmiyahu, Koresh proclaimed throughout his kingdom that God had charged him to build Him a house in Jerusalem, and invited His people to go up.
Confidence is for what the biblical text states. |
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| The return answers Yirmiyahu's prophecy: "When seventy years are completed for Bavel I will remember you, and I will fulfill for you My good word, to return you to this place." | biblical tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| Seder Olam opens its Persian-period reckoning with "the first year of Koresh" and counts the returnees from Ezra's census; the traditional date is 3390 AM, fifty-two years after the churban.
Academic dating of Cyrus's decree is 538 BCE, the year after his conquest of Babylon; the traditional arithmetic equivalent (371 BCE) differs by the Persian-period seam stated at Destruction of the First Temple.
|
tradition | ★★★☆☆ |