Page 305 - Bible History

III. THE JEWS IN BABYLON AND PERSIA UNDER CY S
1. CYRUS PERMITS THE JEWS TO RETURN TO JUDA
The f The empire of Cyrus reached from Persia to the o Mediterranean Sea, but did not include Egypt. Cyrus saw that it would be to his advantage to have a friendly nation between himself and Egypt. There­ fore, he issued a decree which permitted all the Jews to return to Juda. He gave back to them the sacred vessels which had been taken from the Temple by King Nabuchodonosor, and he ordered the Temple to
lhe land of Juda
Babylonians had ruled over the land of Juda through a governor whom they appointed from a neighboring provmce.
The
Only forty-two thousand, three hundred and sixty Jews returned to their own country. The majority of these were men of great faith, but there were also some idlers and some who were looking for adventure. Most of the Jews, however, managed to support them­ selves very well in Babylon and had established homes there. They were afraid to risk the dangers of a journey to Juda, and decided to remain in Babylon.
The people who had been taken captive from Sa­ maria did not return to their country. They had been
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iles turn
be rebuilt.
The Jews were captives in Babylon for seventy
Thecon­
ditionof years. During these years the Assyrians and the