Persian
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8.12 Stories of Persia
🔹 Story 1: Cyrus the Great Allowed the Jews to Return Main Characters: King Cyrus, Jewish exiles, GodStory Summary: After Babylon fell, King Cyrus of Persia issued a decree allowing the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple—fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy made over a century earlier.Key Verses: Ezra…
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PART VI: Babylonian Exile and Persian Return (586–332 BCE)
Babylonian Captivity Historical Context and DeportationsThe Babylonian Captivity, or Exile, marks a decisive and traumatic period in the history of ancient Israel. Following the destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple in 586 BCE by King Nebuchadnezzar II, the Southern Kingdom of Judah ceased to exist as a sovereign state. A…
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Cyrus and the Persian Restoration
Introduction and Geopolitical ShiftThe fall of the Babylonian Empire to the Persians in 539 BCE marks a dramatic turning point in the history of the Jewish people. Under the leadership of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, a new imperial policy of religious tolerance and political pragmatism emerges.…