The Cyrus Cylinder
The Persian repatriation policy behind the return from exile is documented in Cyrus's own words — the general policy, independently attested; the specific decree for Judah, only in the Bible.
Confirmé par le terrainInscriptionc. 539 BC
A clay barrel inscribed after Cyrus took Babylon, announcing his policy: restore the sanctuaries, and send displaced peoples home with their gods. Judah is not named on it — but the policy it states is precisely the one Ezra credits Cyrus with applying to the exiles from Jerusalem.
I returned the images of the gods to their sanctuaries… and I gathered all their inhabitants and returned to them their dwellings.
- Découvert
- Babylon, Iraq, 1879 — Hormuzd Rassam
- Conservé à
- British Museum, London (BM 90920)
- Langue
- Akkadian
Jusqu'où cela va
The cylinder does not mention Jews, Judah or Jerusalem. It corroborates the policy and the king, not the specific decree — and saying otherwise is a common overreach.
Ce qu'en font les historiens
A major primary source for Achaemenid imperial policy, studied entirely apart from biblical questions.
Dans l'Écriture
Se rattache à
Sources
Ces textes sont pour l'instant en anglais. Les traductions suivront.