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Bible Dictionaries
Cyrus
People's Dictionary of the Bible
or Cyrus (sî'rus), the sun. In Hebrew Koresh, founder of the Persian empire; used by Jehovah in the execution of his designs of mercy towards the Jews, as foretold by Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1-7; comp. 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4; Daniel 6:28. Some suppose Cyrus to be a title of a ruler, as Cæsar or Pharaoh; in that case Isaiah would not necessarily designate a particular king, but only the chief ruler of Persia. This Cyrus was the son of Cambyses, king of Persia, and a nephew of Darius the Mede (Cyaxares), and united the crowns of Persia and Media. He ordered a return of the Jews, who had been seventy years in captivity, to their own land, and furnished them very liberally with the means of rebuilding their temple. Daniel lived at his court, and was his favorite minister and adviser. Daniel 6:28. The captivity of the Jews, which was ended by the decree of Cyrus, b.c. 536, ended also the sin of idolatry in the nation.
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Rice, Edwin Wilbur, DD. Entry for 'Cyrus'. People's Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/rpd/c/cyrus.html. 1893.
