Skip to main content

The Cyrus Cylinder

The Cyrus Cylinder


‎This ancient clay cylinder dates from the sixth century BC and contains a declaration from Cyrus the Great. The first section describes Cyrus’ greatness and mercy—common themes in such declarations. 

The second section, composed of Cyrus’ own words, describes how he returned captive peoples and their gods to their native lands. It also records his hope that all the returned gods will intercede before Bel and Nabu (the chief Babylonian gods) on his behalf. The description of Cyrus’ mercy and efforts to return captives supports the biblical account of Israel’s restoration from exile (see Ezra 1).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Furnishings of the Tabernacle

Furnishings of the Tabernacle . ‎The book of Exodus details the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings. As Yahweh’s sanctuary, the tabernacle served as God’s dwelling place among the Israelites—the expression of the covenant between Yahweh and His people ( Exod 25:8–9 ).

The Ten Plagues of Egypt

The Ten Plagues of Egypt

A Threshing Floor

A Threshing Floor In the ancient world, farmers used threshing floors to separate grain from its inedible husk (chaff) by beating it with a flail or walking animals on it—sometimes while towing a threshing sledge. Sledges were fitted with flint teeth to dehusk the grain more quickly. Other workers would turn the grain over so that it would be evenly threshed by the sledge.