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.
Imethibitishwa na ardhiMaandishi ya jiwec. 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.
- Kilipatikana
- Babylon, Iraq, 1879 — Hormuzd Rassam
- Kinahifadhiwa
- British Museum, London (BM 90920)
- Lugha
- Akkadian
Kinafika wapi
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.
Jinsi wanahistoria wanavyokitumia
A major primary source for Achaemenid imperial policy, studied entirely apart from biblical questions.
Katika Maandiko
Kinahusiana na
Vyanzo
Kwa sasa maelezo haya yapo kwa Kiingereza. Tafsiri zitafuata.