Page 90 - Biblical Backgrounds

kings could do anything they pleased and could do no wrong. The king was right and irreproachable in
his judgments, rule, and control of his people and property.

Persian kings needed to keep their own promises perfectly. When a king ordered a decree, he could not
cancel it. (Esther 8:8) If the king thought otherwise, he could only issue another decree to go with the
first one. One example of this is found in Daniel 6, where, during the reign of Darius, Daniel’s colleagues
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conspired to have him thrown into the den of lions. Verse eight reads “ Now, O king, establish the
injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and
the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Another example is the story in Esther 8: Haman had earlier
influenced King Xerxes to issue an edict that would allow him to kill all the Jews in the empire. Upon
Esther’s pleading, the King only allowed the scribes of the palace to issue another decree while
maintaining the first one. In the second decree, the Jews could defend themselves.
Persians expected their king to be brave in battle, so he received extensive training in archery, spear
throwing, horseback riding, and hunting. 129

Although the king had many concubines, he normally had one wife and did not fill their harems with
foreign women. The king was expected to father many children. Darius I, who fathered six children, met
this expectation better than any of his successors, who normally had only one. The oldest son of the
king’s wife was heir to the throne, with other sons holding prominent positions. However, it was not
uncommon to see revolts and conspiracies among heirs and other sons.

Being above everyone else, the physical stature and outlook of the king mattered. While sitting on the
most luxurious throne, the king put on the finest clothing and the best jewelry while holding a golden
scepter. All who came before him prostrated themselves, falling before him with their chin or forehead
touching the floor. The best nutritionists and doctors (often Greek and Egyptian) attended the Persian
kings.

Persian regimes

We have already seen how Cyrus rose to power and established the Persian empire. As far as
governance is concerned, he is generally known to be strategic and humane (showing a level of concern
for those he conquered). When Cyrus took over the Babylonian Empire, he permitted Nabonidus (Nabu-
naid), the last king, to live in peace. When Nabonidus died a year later, Cyrus ordered a period of
national mourning for him. Cyrus is mostly remembered for his decree in 538 BCE, which authorized
people groups deported by Assyria and Babylon to return to their ancestral lands.

Vos. H.F. offers the following analysis: Presumably [Cyrus] implemented this general policy by specific
decrees to individual subject peoples. Ezra 1 and 2 Chronicles 36 quotation noted above details the
pronouncement given to the Jews. Hence, while the Bible clearly says that Cyrus served as God’s
“anointed” in restoring the Jews to their homeland, it becomes clear that this was not an isolated policy
aimed at Jews only. 130 Many of these people groups saw Cyrus as a deliverer from the oppressive

129 Vos, H. F. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible manners & customs: how the people of the Bible really lived (p.
329). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers.

130 Vos, H. F. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible manners & customs: how the people of the Bible really lived (p.
325). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers.

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