ProlepsisOpen in the graph →

Prophecy

Cyrus named, Jerusalem and the Temple rebuilt (Isaiah)

The Cyrus Cylinder, Babylon, mid-6th century BC, clay inscribed in cuneiform (British Museum).
Archaeological object The Cyrus Cylinder, Babylon, mid-6th century BC, clay inscribed in cuneiform (British Museum). — Photo: Daderot, Wikimedia Commons · CC0 (domaine public)

◐ Written shortly before or at the time: it cannot be decided

Written c. 740–700 BC according to tradition; c. 550–539 BC according to historians. Event: 539–538 BC.

See the full entry: sources, objections, answers

In short

The announcement. The prophet Isaiah, around 740–700 BC according to tradition, calls King Cyrus by name and announces that he will have Jerusalem and its Temple rebuilt. Historians instead date this part of the book of Isaiah to 550–539 BC.

What happened. In October 539 BC, Cyrus enters Babylon without a battle. The Cyrus Cylinder, kept at the British Museum, confirms that he sent deported peoples back home. The foundations of the new Temple in Jerusalem are laid soon after, and it is completed in 515 BC.

What is still debated. if this passage was written around 550–539 BC, during Cyrus's rise, naming an already famous conqueror was not a prediction.

What would be striking if the text came first

If the text dates from Isaiah, around 740–700 BC, as tradition holds, it names a foreign king more than a century in advance. Historians instead date it to Cyrus’s rise; even then, it announces a rebuilding still to come.

Main objection (in French for now)

La datation critique majoritaire place Es 40–55 vers 550–539 av. J.-C., pendant l’ascension de Cyrus : nommer un conquérant déjà célèbre n’est pas une prédiction.

The text (World English Bible)

who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure,’ even saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built;’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”

Isa 44:28

The LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their armor, to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut: “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth. I will break the doors of bronze in pieces and cut apart the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, who calls you by your name, even the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called you by your name. I have given you a title, though you have not known me.

Isa 45:1-4

Sources