A Brief Investigation Into the Period of Years Between the Proclamation of Cyrus Until the Ministry of Haggai

The material below is the result of a question posed to me: how many years passed between the proclamation of Cyrus and the ministry of Haggai the prophet? Using heathen sources, I attempted to track down the answer, ultimately relying on the bible for my final answer.

Ezra chapter 5 opens with this event: 

וְהִתְנַבִּי חַגַּי נְבִיָּא וּזְכַרְיָה בַר־עִדּוֹא נְבִיַּאיָּא עַל־יְהוּדָיֵא דִּי בִיהוּד וּבִירוּשְׁלֶם בְּשֻׁם אֱלָהּ יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲלֵיהוֹן

Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. (Ezra 5:1)

This event is noted in proximity of the letter sent to King Darius by Tatnai, governor Beyond the River, and his Persian overseer, Shethar-Boznai. They attempted to thwart the Jews from building the temple upon their first return from Babylon, after Cyrus II (The Great) sent them home. Recall that the return of the Jews was committed into the hand of the Prince of Judah, Sheshbazzar. Now whether Sheshbazzar is the Babylonian name given to Shealtiel, father of Zerubbabel, we can’t be certain. At any rate, as a Prince of Judah, he was certainly in that line. Cyrus II (the Great) allowed the Jews to return in his first regnal year. 

Jeremiah prophesied a total of 70 years captivity for the children of Israel:

וְהָיָה כִמְלֹאות שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה אֶפְקֹד עַל־מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל וְעַל־הַגּוֹי הַהוּא נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה אֶת־עֲוֺנָם וְעַל־אֶרֶץ כַּשְׂדִּים וְשַׂמְתִּי אֹתוֹ לְשִׁמְמוֹת עוֹלָם

And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. (Jeremiah 25:12)

If we take the first deportations of Jerusalem in 607-606BC to be our starting point, we expect the first year of Cyrus II to be 536BC. This is when the Jews returned home under Sheshbazzar. This date is supported by Archbishop Ussher. In the seventh month of 536BC, the Jews were in their cities and assembled to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest to establish the altar (Ezra 3:1-3). However, they did not begin construction of the temple at that time:

מִיּוֹם אֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי הֵחֵלּוּ לְהַעֲלוֹת עֹלוֹת לַיהֹוָה וְהֵיכַל יְהֹוָה לֹא יֻסָּד

From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. (Ezra 3:6)

The next year, in the second month of 535BC, they again assembled in Jerusalem to begin laying the foundations of the temple (Ezra 3:8). This ultimately took some time, since the we find at the end of chapter 3 that a celebration was held only because the foundation had been laid (Ezra 3:11-13). The rest of the temple ceased being built for many years, and it was during that time that the opposition to the Jews under Tatnai began. We know that some construction of the temple (or at least the appearance of progress) continued until the reign of Darius I. We know this because Tatnai sent his infamous letter to Darius to stop the Jews who were still building their temple at the beginning of Darius’ reign (Ezra 4:5). Darius halted the Jews’ work until search was made in the royal archives of Ecbatana. There, the decree of Cyrus was found, and the Jews were permitted to continue (Ezra 6:1-2). They finished building in the sixth year of Darius (Ezra 6:15). It must have been that the work languished during the reign of Cyrus. The work sped up under Darius’ reign for two reasons 1) because Tatnai, who had previously worked against the Jews, was now forced by royal decree to materially and financially support the project (Ezra 6:8-9,13) and 2) because the people were encouraged by the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 6:14). Both of these circumstances were miraculous acts of God.

We further confirm this from Haggai himself who writes that his ministry began on the first day of the sixth month of the second year of Darius:

בִּשְׁנַת שְׁתַּיִם לְדָרְיָוֶשׁ הַמֶּלֶךְ בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשִּׁשִּׁי בְּיוֹם אֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הָיָה דְבַר־יְהֹוָה בְּיַד־חַגַּי הַנָּבִיא אֶל־זְרֻבָּבֶל בֶּן־שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל פַּחַת יְהוּדָה וְאֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן־יְהוֹצָדָק הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל לֵאמֹר

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,  (Hag. 1:1)

The word of the Lord that ultimately encouraged and persuaded the Jews to finish the work came again in the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of the second year of Darius (Hag 1:15). Two other times that year, God spoke to Haggai: the twenty-first day of the seventh month (Hag. 2:1) and the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (Hag. 2:10,20). 

The question is, how long was the period of time between the return of the Jews in Cyrus’ first year until the second year of Darius I? To begin, we start with the pagan chronicle to see what we can find (I use Ussher to help me find the related source documents). We know that after the death of Cyrus II (The Great), the kingdom was left to his eldest son Cambyses, who succeeded in subduing Egypt for the empire. Cambyses was mentally ill and said to be a crazy, murderous man. There is much to read about him in ancient literature. After Cambyses, the kingdom fell to his successor. Who this was is up for debate. The ancient record (and Ussher) hold that a certain Artaxerxes ascended the throne. This Artaxerxes was different than Artaxerxes I, the son of the famed Xerxes I (The Great). If this is the case, then the Aramaic contents of the letter in Ezra chapter 4 make more sense. Most modern scholars hold that the Ahauserus and the Artaxerxes of Ezra 4:6-7 refer to Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I, and is inserted here by Ezra to describe two additional instances of such hostile intervention. The contents of the letter would support this, since the king does not mention the temple at all, but the building of the city 

כְּעַן שִׂימוּ טְּעֵם לְבַטָּלָא גֻּבְרַיָּא אִלֵּךְ וְקִרְיְתָא דָךְ לָא תִתְבְּנֵא עַד־מִנִּי טַעְמָא יִתְּשָׂם

Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me.

Nevertheless, Ussher believes the Artaxerxes of Ezra 4:7 to be a usurper who ascended the throne after the death of Cambyses. He quotes this attribution to Herodotus, but he must have been using a now-lost version of Herodotus, since this quote cannot be located in any extant versions. However, the Roman historian Justin preserves a quote by Trogas on this incident, where he gives this so-called Artaxerxes the name Orapastes, one of the Magi who usurped the throne after Cambyses death.

Quo nuntio accepto magus ante famam amissi regis occupat facinus prostratoque Mergide, cui regnum debebatur, fratrem suum subiecit Oropasten

At the news and before word spread of the king’s death, the seer pushed ahead his crime and murdering Mergis, the rightful heir to the throne, replaced him with his brother Oropastes (Justin, the Epitome of Pompeius Trogas)

From our standpoint, both Artaxerxes are permissible from scripture, since Ezra came back to Judæa during the reign of Artaxerxes I (around the year 458BC). Thus he could have been speaking about either of these two men. We can, within some some level of accuracy, determine the amount of years from Cyrus’ first year to Darius’ second year. Xenophon, in his Cyropaedia, describes the deathbed speech of Cyrus the Great. He writes that Cyrus returned to the capital of Ecbatana in Persia “for the seventh time”:

Οὕτω δὲ τοῦ αἰῶνος προκεχωρηκότος, μάλα δὴ πρεσβύτης ὢν ὁ Κῦρος ἀφικνεῖται εἰς Πέρσας τὸ ἕβδομον ἐπὶ τῆς αὑτοῦ ἀρχῆς.

When his life was far spent amid such achievements and Cyrus was now a very old man, he came back for the seventh time in his reign to Persia. (Xenophon. Cyropædia. 8.7.1)

Thus we place the total years of Cyrus’ reign to seven. Now we must establish the number of years of Cambyses, his son. Here we may easily refer to Josephus, who records Cambyses’ age at his death:

Καμβύσης γὰρ ἔξ ἔτη βασιλεύσας καὶ καταστρεψάμενος ἐν τούτοις τὴν Αἴγυπτον ὑποστρέψας ἐτελεύτησεν ἐν Δαμασκῷ.

For Cambyses after a reign of six years, during which he conquered Egypt, returned from there and died in Damascus. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 11.29)

Unlike Josephus, Herodotus puts Cambyses reign at seven years:

Καμβύσεα τὸν Κύρου, βασιλεύσαντα μὲν τὰ πάντα ἑπτὰ ἔτεα καὶ πέντε μῆνας

Cambyses son of Cyrus, who had reigned in all seven years and five months (Herodotus Persian War 3.66)

The Ptolemaic historian Manetho also (supposedly) numbered the years of Cambyses reign. His work was quoted by both Julius Africanus and Eusebius, and preserved by the Byzantine Chronicler George Syncellus. However, as seen below, the versions of Africanus and Eusebius differ on the number of years of Cambyses’ reign. Africanus writes 6 years, while Eusebius writes 3. 

ΚΑΤΑ ΑΦΡΙΚΑΝΟΝ.

Ἑβδόμη καὶ εἰκοστὴ δυναστεία Περσῶν βασιλέων ηʹ.

αʹ Καμβύσης ἔτει εʹ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ βασιλείας Περσῶν ἐβασίλευσεν Αἰγύπτου ἔτη ςʹ.

βʹ Δαρεῖος Ὑστάσπου, ἔτη λςʹ.

γʹ Ξέρξης ὁ μέγας, ἔτη καʹ.

According to Africanus.

The Twenty-seventh Dynasty1 consisted of eight Persian kings.

1. Cambysês in the fifth year of his kingship over the Persians became king of Egypt, and ruled for 6 years.

2. Darius, son of Hystaspês, for 36 years.

3. Xerxes the Great, for 21 years.

Καμβύσης ἔτει πέμπτῳ τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας ἐβασίλευσεν Αἰγύπτου ἔτη γʹ.

According to Eusebius…

Cambysês in the fifth year of his kingship became king of Egypt, and ruled for 3 years.

(Manetho Ægyptiaca, quoted by Eusebius and Julius Africanus)

If Ussher is correct about another, lesser Artaxerxes, reigning between Cambyses and Darius I, then we must take into account the years of his reign. However, I don’t think this is very easy. Justin records that Darius Hystaspes took part in the reprisals against the Magi

Et erat inter coniuratos Darius, Hystaspis filius

Now among the conspirators was Darius, son of Hystaspes (Justin, the Epitome of Pompeius Trogas)

Jerome refers to this incident also:

He states that four kings shall arise in Persia after Cyrus, namely Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, and the Magus named Smerdis, who married Pantaptes, the daughter of Cambyses. Then, when he was slain by seven Magi and Darius had succeeded to his throne, the same Pantaptes married Darius, and by him gave birth to Xerxes, who became a most powerful and wealthy king (Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, Ch.11)

And Manetho (according to Eusebius) also included the reign of the Magi to seven months. 

What are we to make of all this? If we rely upon the pagan chronicle only, we set at the time from Cyrus’ first year to Darius’ first year at a maximum of 14 years, and at a minimum, 3 years. If an unknown usurper Artaxerxes is to be found, then another 7 months should be added to both numbers, increasing the years by one (since a regnal year is a full year). This means that at a maximum, the second year of Darius would occur 16 years after Cyrus’ declaration to the Jews, and at a minimum, 5 years. This gives a date at the earliest of 531BC and at the latest 520BC. It is interesting that Ussher places the first year of Darius at 521BC, going with the later date, and likely relying upon unconfirmed sources and other historians (whom I don’t feel like consulting right now). In any case, the date comes out the same. Now, might we arrive at this same conclusion using only the Bible? Perhaps.

God speaks through Zechariah of certain four fast days. This word of the Lord came in Darius’ fourth year:

וַיְהִי בִּשְׁנַת אַרְבַּע לְדָרְיָוֶשׁ הַמֶּלֶךְ הָיָה דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֶל־זְכַרְיָה בְּאַרְבָּעָה לַחֹדֶשׁ הַתְּשִׁעִי בְּכִסְלֵו

And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu (Zechariah 7:1)

אֱמֹר אֶל־כׇּל־עַם הָאָרֶץ וְאֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִים לֵאמֹר כִּי־צַמְתֶּם וְסָפוֹד בַּחֲמִישִׁי וּבַשְּׁבִיעִי וְזֶה שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה הֲצוֹם צַמְתֻּנִי אָנִי

Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? (Zechariah 7:5)

But what fasts were the Jews keeping those seventy years? We deduce this from four separate events mentioned in the book of Jeremiah: 1) the besieging of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in the tenth month during the reign of Zedekiah (Jeremiah 52:4), 2) the fall of the city in the fourth month (Jeremiah 52:6), 3) the burning of the temple in the fifth month (Jeremiah 52:12), and, as is implied, 4) the murder of Gedaliah, Governor of Judah, in the seventh month (Jeremiah 41:1).  These events transpired in 588BC*, when Jerusalem was finally taken. Thus the Lord, when referring to seventy years in Zechariah 7:5, begins the time period here, and not the beginning of the captivity, which began in 606BC. If we take 70 years from 588BC, we arrive at 518BC, which according to Zechariah 7:1 was also Darius’ fourth year. Thus Darius’ second year would have been 520BC, which is also calculated from the pagan chroniclers. Thus, we can conclude with great certainty that Haggai first preached to the people 16 years after the decree of Cyrus.

• Note, I am aware that the date of the final capture of Jerusalem might be 587BC or even 586BC. This does not change reckoning except to shift all the dates by the same amount.

B.Q.

Sola Deo Gloria