John 2, could thegod tolerate Pontius Pilot freeing Yeshua (Jesus, note)?

 John 2, could thegod tolerate Pontius Pilot freeing Yeshua (Jesus)? I think so.

Note: In early 2024 I learned his mom and dad in Nazareth named and called him "Yeshua", and "Jesus" is a consequence of translations from Aramaic/Hebrew to Greek, to Latin, to old English, then to Protestant English. "Christ" supports Paul, and some people believe Paul without civic objection. This discovery is wonderful and to be shared.

CJB emphasis in blue and green, Nomads* comments in yellow, and my comments in gray.   *Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Kenneth Tipton

[I read the Bible to consider a perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy. It’s primitively expressed by Semite scholars of 3900 years ago in Genesis 1:26-28, in my paraphrase:  Female-and-male-human-being may and can, independent of other entities, choose to constrain political democracy on earth: on earth, humankind has the power to pursue the good and constrain the bad. Rule of law may develop justice. Yeshua affirmed these ideas in each Matthew 19:3-8, in Matthew 5:48, and in other direct dialogue. I think the next Bible canon should include the law codes of Sumer and competing civilizations. Resulting insights would take the heat off Judeo-Christianity, a Christ vs Messiahs* competition** that egregiously deludes Yeshua’s civic influence. The resulting comprehensive view could accelerate collaborative pursuit of human being (verb) and lessen baby killings, like those happening in Israel, in Ukraine, and in the U.S.

*Cyrus, 600 BC, is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1.

**Competitive monotheism survives on war.]

2 On Tuesday here was a wedding at Kanah in the Galil; and the mother of Yeshua was there. ² Yeshua too was invited to the wedding, along with his talmidim. ³ The wine ran out, and Yeshua’s mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” ⁴ Yeshua replied, “Mother, why should that concern me? — or you? My time hasn’t come yet.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶ Now six stone water-jars were standing there for the Jewish ceremonial washings, each with a capacity of twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Yeshua told them, “Fill the jars with water,” and they filled them to the brim. ⁸ He said, “Now draw some out, and take it to the man in charge of the banquet”; and they took it. ⁹ The man in charge tasted the water; it had now turned into wine! He did not know where it had come from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. So he called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone else serves the good wine first and the poorer wine after people have drunk freely. But you have kept the good wine until now!” ¹¹ This, the first of Yeshua’s miraculous signs, he did at Kanah in the Galil; he manifested his glory, and his talmidim came to trust in him. [Trust based on miracles is a matter of believing Yeshua could control physics much as Moses supposedly did, e.g., providing water by striking a rock, Exodus 17:5 and Numbers 20:11.] ¹² Afterwards, he, his mother and brothers, and his talmidim went down to K’far-Nachum and stayed there a few days.

¹³ It was almost time for the festival of Pesach in Y’hudah, so Yeshua went up to Yerushalayim. ¹⁴ In the Temple grounds he found those who were selling cattle, sheep and pigeons [Jews in Judea still practicing blood sacrifices.], and others who were sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ He made a whip from cords and drove them all out of the Temple grounds, the sheep and cattle as well. He knocked over the money-changers’ tables, scattering their coins; ¹⁶ and to the pigeon-sellers he said, “Get these things out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market [Principle: don’t commercialize or politicize thegod.]?” ¹⁷ (His talmidim later recalled that the Tanakh says, “Zeal for your house will devour me.” ) [Psalms 69 addresses Israel’s passionate, misguided pursuit of gods through sacrifice and self-fulfilling predicts Yeshua’s estrangement from Nazareth.] ¹⁸ So the Judeans confronted him by asking him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove you have the right to do all this?” ¹⁹ Yeshua answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” ²⁰ The Judeans said, “It took 46 years to build this Temple, and you’re going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the “temple” he had spoken of was his body. ²² Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his talmidim remembered that he had said this, and they trusted in the Tanakh and in what Yeshua had said. [Trust based on miracles is a matter of believing Yeshua could control physics much as Elijah reportedly did, e.g., raising the dead, 1 Kings 17:17-24.] 

²³ Now while Yeshua was in Yerushalayim at the Pesach festival, there were many people who “believed in his name” when they saw the miracles he performed. ²⁴ But he did not commit himself to them [John overlooks that in every conversation with “the person on the street”, Yeshua was open minded and open hearted. I don’t trust John’s writing.], for he knew what people are like — ²⁵ that is, he didn’t need anyone to inform him about a person, because he knew what was in the person’s heart. [Perhaps John misinterprets here, and the real issue is that Jesus knew the political correctness of the Judean majority and feared for his life. That is a foretaste of Pontius Pilot, another god facing death, having the power and authority to free Yeshua, an innocent man.]

[About 40 years after Yeshua died, the Romans destroyed the temple and Jerusalem. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(70_CE) then https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbinic_Judaism.  “Following the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE . . . Jewish worship stopped being centrally organized around the Temple, prayer took the place of sacrifice, and worship was rebuilt around rabbis who acted as teachers and leaders of individual communities.” “Instead of giving tithes to the priests and sacrificing offerings at the Temple, the rabbis instructed Jews to give money to charities and study in local synagogues, as well as to pay the Fiscus Iudaicus.” “As the rabbis were required to face a new reality, that of Judaism without a Temple (to serve as the location for sacrifice and study) and Judea without autonomy, there was a flurry of legal discourse, and the old system of oral scholarship could not be maintained.”

Russell’s question, are claims that Adonai demanded sacrifices fictional? seems well grounded and justified.

Furthermore, it brings into question Yeshua’s reported “sacrifice”. It seems like execution of an innocent man, to me. I’ll never know the ineluctable truth about it, but have my opinion: thegod could have handled Pontius Pilot releasing Yeshua (Jesus in common terms). I commend Yeshua’s civic influence and gladly switch to “Jesus’ civic influence” for those who prefer that name. “Civic” refers to reliable responsibility to the good rather than the bad in human connections and transactions on earth.]

 

Luke 15 CJB prodigal son with Psalms 73 introduction

 Luke 15 prodigal son with Psalms 73 introduction

CJB emphasis in blue, green, and olive green for a seemingly extraneous story, NIV in magenta, Nomads* comments in yellow, and my comments in gray.   *Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Kenneth Tipton

[I read the Bible to consider a perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy. It’s primitively expressed by Semite scholars of 3900 years ago in Genesis 1:26-28, in my paraphrase:  Female-and-male-human-being may and can, independent of other entities, choose to constrain political democracy on earth: on earth, humankind has the power to pursue the good and constrain the bad. Rule of law may develop justice. Jesus affirmed these ideas in each Matthew 19:3-8, in Matthew 5:48, and in other direct dialogue. I think the next Bible canon should include the law codes of Sumer and competing civilizations. Resulting insights would take the heat off Judeo-Christianity, a Christ vs Messiahs* competition** that egregiously deludes Jesus’ civic influence. The resulting comprehensive view could accelerate collaborative pursuit of human being (verb) and lessen baby killings, like those happening in Israel, in Ukraine, and in the U.S.

*Cyrus, 600 BC, is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1.

**Competitive monotheism survives on war.]

Kenneth perceives Psalms 73 a precursor to Luke 15 and in 15 creatively used “but” to highlight thegod’s mercy.

73:1 A psalm of Asaf [chief Levite?]: How good God is to Isra'el, to those who are pure in heart!

 

2 But as for me, I lost my balance, my feet nearly slipped, 3 when I grew envious of the arrogant and saw how the wicked prosper. 4 For when their death comes, it is painless; and meanwhile, their bodies are healthy; 5 they don't have ordinary people's troubles, they aren't plagued like others.

6 So for them, pride is a necklace; and violence clothes them like a robe.

7 Their eyes peep out through folds of fat; evil thoughts overflow from their hearts. 8 They scoff and speak with malice, they loftily utter threats.

9 They set their mouths against heaven; their tongues swagger through the earth. 10 Therefore his people return here and [thoughtlessly] suck up that whole cup of water. 11 Then they ask, "How does God know [Physics and progeny knows, e.g. fat proves overeating.]? Does the Most High really have knowledge?" 12 Yes, this is what the wicked are like; those free of misfortune keep increasing their wealth [Free of misfortune does not mean wicked, and most wealth continually overcomes misfortune.].

 

13 It's all for nothing that I've kept my heart clean and washed my hands, staying free of guilt; [Why isn’t free of guilt its own reward to the writer? It is to me. Also, Pontius Pilate washed his hands and was guilty of executing Jesus.]

14 for all day long I am plagued; my punishment comes every morning.

15 If I had said, "I will talk like them, "I would have betrayed a generation of your children.16 When I tried to understand all this, I found it too hard for me -

17 until I went into the sanctuaries of God and grasped what their [the evil people’s] destiny would be.

 

18 Indeed, you place them on a slippery slope and make them fall to their ruin. [The writer erroneously attributes failure to thegod.] 19 How suddenly they are destroyed, swept away by terrors! 20 They are like a dream when one awakens; Adonai, when you rouse yourself, you will despise their phantoms. [Why not souls?]

 

21 When I had a sour attitude and felt stung by pained emotions, 22 I was too stupid to understand; I was like a brute beast with you. 23 Nevertheless, I am always with you; you hold my right hand.

24 You will guide me with your advice; and afterwards, you will receive me with honor. 25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?  And with you, I lack nothing on earth. 26 My mind and body may fail; but God is the rock for my mind and my portion forever. [The writer addresses mind, body, and eternal portion rather than soul.] 27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who adulterously leave you. 28 But for me, the nearness of God is my good [Basing the good on a mystery yields fantasy.]; I have made Adonai ELOHIM [my great Lord] my refuge, so that I can tell of all your works.

 

[The writer asserts 8 mysteries: God is good to virtuous Israelites; God is not aware of behavior; the sanctuaries of God; Adonai despises evil people; God the writer’s rock; God’ nearness the writer’s good; and Adonai ELOHIM his refuge. He seeks good but perceives only consequences to evil, leaving both God and Adonai mysteries. How can a person satisfy Genesis 1:26-28 in appreciating a constraining if not controlling mystery?]

 

^15:1 The tax-collectors and sinners kept gathering around to hear Yeshua, ² and the P’rushim [politically correct Hebrews] and Torah-teachers kept grumbling. “This fellow,” they said, “welcomes sinners — he even eats with them!” ³ So he told them this parable: ⁴ “If one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, doesn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? ⁵ When he does find it, he joyfully hoists it onto his shoulders; ⁶ and when he gets home, he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Come, celebrate with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who turns to God from his sins than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.

⁸ “Another example: what woman, if she has ten drachmas and loses one of these valuable coins, won’t light a lamp, sweep the house and search all over until she finds it? ⁹ And when she does find it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Come, celebrate with me, because I have found the drachma I lost.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy among God’s angels when one sinner repents.”

¹¹ Again Yeshua said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that will be mine.’ So the father divided the property between them. ¹³ As soon as he could convert his share into cash, the younger son left home and went off to a distant country, where he squandered his money in reckless living. ¹⁴ But after he had spent it all, a severe famine arose throughout that country, and he began to feel the pinch.

¹⁵ “So he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him any. [No one noticed he was starving.]

¹⁷ “At last he came to his senses and said, ‘Any number of my father’s hired workers have food to spare; and here I am, starving to death! ¹⁸ I’m going to get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers.” ’ ²⁰ So he got up and started back to his father.

“But [His father acted faster.] while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him warmly. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son — ’ ²² but [His father acted fast.] his father said to his slaves, ‘Quick, bring out a robe, the best one, and put it on him; and put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet; ²³ and bring the calf that has been fattened up, and kill it. Let’s eat and have a celebration! ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead, but [Celebrate!] now he’s alive again! He was lost, but [Celebrate!] now he has been found!’ And they began celebrating.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field. As he came close to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked, ‘What’s going on?’ ²⁷ The servant told him, ‘Your brother has come back, and your father has slaughtered the calf that was fattened up, because he has gotten him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But [Political correction!] the older son became angry and refused to go inside.

“So his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ ‘Look,’ the son answered, ‘I have worked for you all these years, and I have never disobeyed your orders. But Political correction!] you have never even given me a young goat, so that I could celebrate with my friends [In 1986, my son, Stephen, pointed out that the older son did not include his father in the desire for celebration. Luke did not tell a perfect story.]. ³⁰ Yet this son of yours comes, who squandered your property with prostitutes, and for him you slaughter the fattened calf!’ ³¹ ‘Son, you are always with me,’ said the father, ‘and everything I have is yours. ³² We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead but has come back to life — he was lost but has been found.’”

[The politically correct and Torah-teaching Jews represent the older son, who cannot celebrate his brother’s reform and mercy.

It seems Jesus’ story clarified that the person who attempts to specify God’s values faces a mystery and can only construct a phantasy.

Frederick Buechner (d. 2022) wrote, “Principles are what people have instead of God.” Nomads pondered humility as the first principle.]

Mark 6 a large crowd eats shared pieces

 

Mark 6 a large crowd eats shared pieces

CJB emphasis in blue, green, and olive green for a seemingly extraneous story, NIV in magenta, Nomads* comments in yellow, and my comments in gray.   *Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Kenneth Tipton

[I read the Bible to consider a perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy. It’s primitively expressed by Semite scholars of 3900 years ago in Genesis 1:26-28, in my paraphrase:  Female-and-male-human-being may and can, independent of other entities, choose to constrain political democracy on earth: on earth, humankind has the power to pursue the good and constrain the bad. Rule of law may develop justice. Jesus affirmed these ideas in each Matthew 19:3-8, in Matthew 5:48, and in other direct dialogue. I think the next Bible canon should include the law codes of Sumer and competing civilizations. Resulting insights would take the heat off Judeo-Christianity, a Christ vs Messiahs* competition** that egregiously deludes Jesus’ civic influence. The resulting comprehensive view could accelerate collaborative pursuit of human being (verb) and lessen baby killings, like those happening in Israel, in Ukraine, and in the U.S.

*Cyrus, 600 BC, is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1.

**Competitive monotheism survives on war.]

 

^6:1 Then Yeshua left and went to his home town, and his talmidim followed him. ² On Shabbat he started to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They asked, “Where did this man get all this? [In many references, Jesus is simply quoting the Torah and improving its justice. For example, see Matthew 19:3-8.] What is this wisdom he has been given? What are these miracles worked through him? ³ Isn’t he just the carpenter? the son of Miryam? the brother of Ya‘akov and Yosi and Y’hudah and Shim‘on? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” [What are Jesus’ sisters’ names?] And they took offense at him. ⁴ But Yeshua said to them. “The only place people don’t respect a prophet [Jesus’ claim] is in his home town, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” ⁵ So he could do no miracles there, other than lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. [In other words, without respect, Jesus was powerless except for healing the sick.] ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of trust [faith].

Then he went through the surrounding towns and villages, teaching.

⁷ Yeshua summoned the Twelve and started sending them out in pairs, giving them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He instructed them, “Take nothing for your trip except a walking stick — no bread, no pack, no money in your belt. ⁹ Wear shoes but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place; ¹¹ and if the people of some place will not welcome you, and they refuse to hear you, then, as you leave, shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them [This instruction seems judgmental and out of place, so I do not trust the writer.].”

¹² So they set out and preached that people should turn from sin to God, ¹³ they expelled many demons, and they anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

[A strange insertion about beheading John the Baptist over royal jealousies respecting miracles.] ¹⁴ Meanwhile, King Herod heard about this, for Yeshua’s reputation had spread. Some were saying, “Yochanan the Immerser has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ¹⁵ Others said, “It is Eliyahu!” and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the old prophets.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard about it, he said, “Yochanan, whom I had beheaded, has been raised.”

¹⁷ For Herod had sent and had Yochanan arrested and chained in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her, ¹⁸ but Yochanan had told him, “It violates the Torah for you to marry your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ So Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted him put to death. But this she could not accomplish, ²⁰ because Herod stood in awe of Yochanan and protected him, for he knew that he was a tzaddik, a holy man. Whenever he heard him, he became deeply disturbed; yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹ Finally, the opportunity came. Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his nobles and officers and the leading men of the Galil. ²² The daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want; I will give it to you”; ²³ and he made a vow to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” ²⁴ So she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She said, “The head of Yochanan the Immerser.” ²⁵ At once the daughter hurried back to the king and announced her request: “I want you to give me right now on a platter the head of Yochanan the Immerser.” ²⁶ Herod was appalled; but out of regard for the oaths he had sworn before his dinner guests, he did not want to break his word to her. ²⁷ So the king immediately sent a soldier from his personal guard with orders to bring Yochanan’s head. The soldier went and beheaded Yochanan in the prison, ²⁸ brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When Yochanan’s talmidim heard of it, they came and took the body and laid it in a grave. [A strange insertion about beheading John the Baptist.]

³⁰ Those who had been sent out rejoined Yeshua and reported to him all they had done and taught. ³¹ There were so many people coming and going that they couldn’t even take time to eat, so he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a place where we can be alone, and you can get some rest.” ³² They went off by themselves to an isolated spot; ³³ but many people, seeing them leave and recognizing them, ran ahead on foot from all the towns and got there first. ³⁴ When Yeshua came ashore, he saw a huge crowd. Filled with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd [They could accept being in the image of thegod or mirror of Jesus.], he began teaching them many things.

³⁵ By this time, the hour was late. The talmidim came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s getting late. ³⁶ Send the people away, so that they can go and buy food for themselves in the farms and towns around here.” [An economic threat to the disciples.] ³⁷ But he answered them, “Give them something to eat, yourselves!” They replied, “We are to go and spend thousands on bread, and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸ He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and check.” When they had found out, they said, “Five. And two fish.” ³⁹ Then he ordered all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ They sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. ⁴¹ Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up toward heaven, made a b’rakhah. Next he broke up the loaves and began giving them to the talmidim to distribute. He also divided up the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate as much as they wanted, ⁴³ and they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces and fish. ⁴⁴ Those who ate the loaves numbered five thousand men. [Leader Kenneth seemed to perceive a parallel: individual comments of Nomads members contribute to a reasonable conclusion from each lesson.] [I prefer to think Jesus influenced members the crowd to share the food they brought, and the consequence was sharing an existing abundance of food.]

⁴⁵ Immediately Yeshua had his talmidim get in the boat and go on ahead of him toward the other side of the lake, toward Beit-Tzaidah, while he sent the crowds away. ⁴⁶ After he had left them, he went into the hills to pray. ⁴⁷ When night came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was by himself on land. ⁴⁸ He saw that they were having difficulty rowing, because the wind was against them; so at around four o’clock in the morning he came toward them, walking on the lake! He meant to come alongside them; ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and let out a shriek; ⁵⁰ for they had all seen him and were terrified. However, he spoke to them. “Courage,” he said, “it is I. Stop being afraid!” ⁵¹ He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. [This fulfills an image expressed by Agathon in Plato’s Symposium, written about 460 BC. Perhaps it parallels “before Abraham was born I am”.] They were completely astounded, ⁵² for they did not understand about the loaves; on the contrary, their hearts had been made stone-like.

⁵³ After they had made the crossing, they landed at Ginosar and anchored. ⁵⁴ As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized him ⁵⁵ and began running around throughout that whole region and bringing sick people on their stretchers to any place where they heard he was. ⁵⁶ Wherever he went, in towns, cities or country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the tzitzit on his robe, and all who touched it were healed. [Asserting that a time existed when people could raise the dead is a matter of choice. It does not seem consistent with Genesis 1:26-28 on 2 counts. First, if miracles can happen, humankind is not ruling. Second, if a king beheads someone on the rumor that their victim had raised the dead, it is murder. I choose to pursue Jesus’ influence to the good rather than accept Mark’s writing about miracles.]

Isaiah 42 Cyrus the Great Persian servant to humankind

 Isaiah 42. CJB emphasis in blue and green, NIV in magenta or separate, Nomads* comments in yellow, my comments in gray. *Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC

[I read the Bible to consider a perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy. It’s primitively expressed by Semite scholars of 3900 years ago in Genesis 1:26-28, in my paraphrase:  Female-and-male-human-being may and can, independent of other entities, choose to constrain political democracy on earth: on earth, humankind has the power to pursue the good and constrain the bad. Rule of law may develop justice. Jesus affirmed these ideas in each Matthew 19:3-8, in Matthew 5:48, and in other direct dialogue. I think the next Bible canon should include the law codes of Sumer and competing civilizations. Resulting insights would take the heat off Judeo-Christianity, a Christ vs Messiahs* competition** that egregiously deludes Jesus’ civic influence. The resulting comprehensive view could accelerate collaborative pursuit of human being (verb) and lessen baby killings, like those happening in Israel, in Ukraine, and in the U.S.

*Cyrus, 600 BC, is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1.

**Competitive monotheism survives on war.]

^42:1 “Here is my servant, whom I support,
my chosen one, in whom I take pleasure.
I have put my Spirit on him;
he will bring justice to the Goyim.
² He will not cry or shout;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
³ He will not snap off a broken reed
or snuff out a smoldering wick.
He will bring forth justice according to truth;
⁴ he will not weaken or be crushed
until he has established justice on the earth,
and the coastlands wait for his Torah.”

⁵ Thus says God, Adonai,
who created the heavens and spread them out,
who stretched out the earth and all that grows from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk on it:
⁶ “I, Adonai, called you righteously,
I took hold of you by the hand,
I shaped you and made you a covenant for the people,
to be a light for the Goyim,
⁷ so that you can open blind eyes,
free the prisoners from confinement,
those living in darkness from the dungeon.
⁸ I am Adonai; that is my name.
I yield my glory to no one else,
nor my praise to any idol.
⁹ See how the former predictions come true;
and now new things do I declare —
before they sprout I tell you about them.”

¹⁰ Sing to Adonai a new song!
Let his praise be sung from the ends of the earth
by those sailing the sea and by everything in it,
by the coastlands and those living there.
¹¹ Let the desert and its cities raise their voices,
the villages where Kedar lives;
let those living in Sela shout for joy;
let them cry out from the mountaintops!
¹² Let them give glory to Adonai
and proclaim his praise in the coastlands.
¹³ Adonai will go out like a soldier,
like a soldier roused to the fury of battle;
he will shout, yes, he raises the battle cry;
as he triumphs over his foes.

¹⁴ “For a long time I have held my peace,
I have been silent, restrained myself.
Now I will shriek like a woman in labor,
panting and gasping for air.
¹⁵ I will devastate mountains and hills,
wither all their vegetation,
turn the rivers into islands
and dry up the lakes.
¹⁶ The blind I will lead on a road they don’t know,
on roads they don’t know I will lead them;
I will turn darkness to light before them,
and straighten their twisted paths.
These are things I will do without fail.
¹⁷ Those who trust in idols,
who say to statues, ‘You are our gods,’
will be repulsed in utter shame.
¹⁸ Listen, you deaf! Look, you blind! —
so that you will see!
¹⁹ Who is as blind as my servant,
or as deaf as the messenger I send?
Who is as blind as the one I rewarded,
as blind as the servant of Adonai?”

²⁰ You see much but don’t pay attention;
you open your ears, but you don’t listen.
²¹ Adonai was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake,
to make the Torah great and glorious.
²² But this is a people pillaged and plundered,
all trapped in holes and sequestered in prisons.
They are there to be plundered, with no one to rescue them;
there to be pillaged, and no one says, “Return them!”
²³ Which of you will listen to this?
Who will hear and give heed in the times to come?
²⁴ Who gave Ya‘akov to be pillaged,
Isra’el to the plunderers?
Didn’t Adonai, against whom we have sinned,
in whose ways they refused to walk,
he whose Torah they did not obey?
²⁵ This is why he poured on him his blazing anger
as well as the fury of battle —
it wrapped him in flames, yet he learned nothing;
it burned him, yet he did not take it to heart.

 

[The discussion was cut short by the clock but seemed to set the stage for something to become.]

 

[To me, the report on Cyrus the Great in Isaiah 45 as the servant in Isaiah 42 cuts short interest in Isaiah 42 as more than another illustration of the chaos that results from humankind’s negligence of the Genesis 1:26-28 intentions:  Each human infant has the opportunity to choose to rule their life to the good on earth. This message is in fact repeated in Isaiah 45:18. These considerations appeared in studies I conducted today, March 3, 2024, recorded in the following pages. Yaakov Brown seems to count Elohim as judge and Adonai as mercy.]

 

NIV: The Servant of the Lord

42 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will bring justice to the nations.
² He will not shout or cry out,
    or raise his voice in the streets.
³ A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
⁴     he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
    In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

⁵ This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
    who gives breath to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
⁶ “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people
    and a light for the Gentiles,
⁷ to open eyes that are blind,
    to free captives from prison
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

⁸ “I am the Lord; that is my name!
    I will not yield my glory to another
    or my praise to idols.
⁹ See, the former things have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce them to you.”

Song of Praise to the Lord

¹⁰ Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
    you islands, and all who live in them.
¹¹ Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;
    let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
    let them shout from the mountaintops.
¹² Let them give glory to the Lord
    and proclaim his praise in the islands.
¹³ The Lord will march out like a champion,
    like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;
with a shout he will raise the battle cry
    and will triumph over his enemies.

¹⁴ “For a long time I have kept silent,
    I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
    I cry out, I gasp and pant.
¹⁵ I will lay waste the mountains and hills
    and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
    and dry up the pools.
¹⁶ I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
    and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake them.
¹⁷ But those who trust in idols,
    who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’
    will be turned back in utter shame.

Israel Blind and Deaf

¹⁸ “Hear, you deaf;
    look, you blind, and see!
¹⁹ Who is blind but my servant,
    and deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,
    blind like the servant of the Lord?
²⁰ You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
    your ears are open, but you do not listen.”
²¹ It pleased the Lord
    for the sake of his righteousness
    to make his law great and glorious.
²² But this is a people plundered and looted,
    all of them trapped in pits
    or hidden away in prisons.
They have become plunder,
    with no one to rescue them;
they have been made loot,
    with no one to say, “Send them back.” [The covenant people depicted as victims seems to affirm rescue from Babylon more than from erroneous living.]

²³ Which of you will listen to this
    or pay close attention in time to come?
²⁴ Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
    and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord,
    against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow his ways;
    they did not obey his law.
²⁵ So he poured out on them his burning anger,
    the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;
    it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

 

Opinions of a Messianic Jew: Yaakaov Brown

Founder of the Beth Melekh International Messiah Following Jewish Community

https://www.bethmelekh.com/

https://www.bethmelekh.com/yaakovs-commentary/isaiah-42-behold-now-my-chosen-one

Isaiah 42: Behold Now My Chosen One

Jaakav Brown, 28/10/2018, for MESSIAH YESHUA

 

Miracles have no value if they achieve only temporal change (healing). The goal of a true miracle is an eternal one: to reconcile humanity to God through Messiah. Any miracle that doesn’t bear the fruit of eternal redemption is not of God. There are times when sickness is a greater miracle than healing.

Introduction:
 
In this short chapter the Holy Name YHVH (Mercy) is used nine times. The Servant (Yeshua) of Mercy is introduced in the first seven verses of this section of Isaiah, preceding the disobedient servant (Israel) from whom He comes.
 
Isaiah introduces us to the servant Israel (Isa. 41:8) as a people chosen to represent God’s redemptive purpose for all peoples, however, the Servant of Hashem who is presented in the beginning of this chapter is clearly distinct from Israel the people, while also being born of her. In fact, the Servant described in 42:1-7 has such a strong individuality and distinct personal features, that the title “Servant” cannot be understood of the collective entity Israel (ethnic, religious, empirical).
 
From verse 19 onwards we see a different servant, one who is blind, disobedient and in need of the deliverance offered through the first Servant (v.1-7).
 
We further note that Hashem has previously alluded to the Servant Who will bring good news to Israel:
 
“Rishon The first Le’Tziyon to Zion, Hineih Behold, now, hineih behold, now, them: and I will give to Yerushalayim Jerusalem one that brings good news.” – Isaiah 41:27
 
With these things in mind we are able to better understand the transition that takes place over the next 25 verses, where the Servant Messiah, born of the servant nation, is sent to redeem the disobedient nation and establish justice in the land.
 
Isa 42:1  Hein Behold av’di My Servant, etmoch-bo whom I uphold (hold fast); be’chiyriy My chosen one (elect), in Whom ratzetah delights nafshiy My soul (core being); natatiy I have put (given, bestowed, extended, yielded produce) ruachiy My Spirit alav upon (together with) Him: He will bring mishpat judgment la-goyim to the Gentiles (nations).
 
“Behold my servant the Messiah…I have put My Holy Spirit upon him…” -Targum Yonatan
 
In spite of the scholarship debate over the application of the title “Servant” in the opening verses of Isaiah 42, the majority of ancient Jewish commentators have interpreted Isaiah 42:1-4 to refer to the King Messiah.
 
In the second part of scroll of Isaiah there are four distinct Messianic servant prophecies (Isaiah 42:1-7; 49:1-7; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12).
 
It’s important to understand and distinguish between the two types of servant prophecies. The Brit Ha-Chadashah (NT) applies the Messianic Servant passages of Isaiah to Yeshua (Jesus) the King Messiah (Matt. 12:17-20, Luke 2:32; 4:16-18, Acts 8:30-35).
 
In Isaiah 42:1-4 it is clear that the servant is an individual who has been given the Ruach Ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) and called to establish justice in the land (earth).
 
Isa 42:2  He will not cry out, lo-yisa nor exalt Himself (endure, resist, lift up), nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
 
“He will not strive, nor cry; neither will any man hear his voice in the streets.” -Matthew 12:19
 
“He will not lift up his voice…” - Yarchi, Kimchi, & Ben Melech 
 
To put it concisely, He will not seek glory for Himself or cry out in defence of Himself.
 
Isa 42:3  Kaneh A reed ratzutz crushed, (bruised, oppressed) lo He will not break, and the smoking flax (a dying flame) He will not quench: le-emet for truth He will bring forth judgment.
 
“A bruised reed He will not break, and dying flame He will not put out, until He sends forth judgment to victory.” -Matthew 12:20
 
Notice that the Septuagint (Greek OT) version quoted by Matthew (Levi) further illuminates the form that the judgement Messiah brings will take. His judgement will bring about the immutable truth of all things and victory over judgement that condemns, for those who receive Him.
 
"The meek, who are like a bruised reed, shall not be broken; and the poor, who are as obscure as flax (or a lamp ready to go out), shall not be extinct:'' -Targum Yonatan
 
“Ratzutz” describes something cracked, that is, half broken. Thus, it is inferred that not only will He not break it, He will also restore it.
 
Isa 42:4  He will not yichheh grow weak (fail, be faint, be restrained) nor be yarutz discouraged (crushed, oppressed), until He has yasiym set (appointed) mishpat judgment ba-aretz in the land (earth): u’torato and His Torah will be awaited by the iyiym islands (coastlands, Mediterranean).
 
The Servant (Yeshua) is now identified alongside the figures of the previous verse. He will both ensure the restoration of the broken (v.3) and remain in strength to bring about justice in the land of Israel (v.4). Thus, the Torah (Instruction) He imparts will bear fruit among the nations. Notice that the Torah is His. Both the literal Torah of Moses and the living Torah (Instruction) of the Messiah are born of His authorship. Messiah is the author and goal of the Torah (Romans 10:4).
 
“Looking to Yeshua the author and perfecter of our trust; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, thinking the shame small, and is seated down at the right hand of the throne of Elohim (God: Judge).” -Hebrews 12:2
 
Isa 42:5  Thus, says Elohim (God: Judge) Hashem (YHVH: Mercy), Who borei (from bara) created ha-shamayim the heavens, and stretched them out; He that roka beat out (stamped, spread forth) ha-aretz the land (earth), and that which comes out of it; He that notein gives neshamah life breath (convergence of soul and spirit directly issuing from God) la’am to the people (singular: Israel) on it, and ruach spirit la-holechiym to them that walk there:
 
“Created the heavens and stretched them out” connects the present chapter to Isaiah 40:22.
 
“To the people” is singular and refers to the ethnic people of Israel whom the Lord is addressing through the prophet. In principal it may be applied to all people but the p’shat (plain meaning) denotes the people of Israel (ethnic, religious).
 
There is an important distinction made here between the neshamah (life breath) of humanity and the ruach (spirit, breath, wind) of both humanity and the various species of creatures that inhabit the land. The neshamah is distinct in that it is not merely spirit but is rather the convergence of spirit and soul (nefesh), which is imparted to human beings from the Creator from the beginning. Animals on the other hand are devoid of neshamah (conscious-convergence) but are endowed with ruach (spirit, breath). This is why it is said that He created human beings in His own image, the image being the nature of soul and spirit made echad (one), inseparable.
 
Isa 42:6  Ani I Hashem (YHVH: Mercy) have called you be’tzedek in righteousness, and will hold your hand, ve’etzarecha and will keep (guard) you, and give you livriyt for a covenant (cutting) of (for) am the (a) people, le’or for a light to the goyim Gentiles (nations);
 
Notice that the Servant will be a “cutting” or a “covenant” for “a people”. The servant of verses 1 to 7 cannot possibly be Israel because He will be a covenant for “am” a single people (Israel). This is why the singular “am” people, is used first and the plural “goyim” nations, follows. “The Gospel is first and always for the Jews and also always for the nations” (Romans 1:16).
 
The “Or” (original light) spoken of here pre-existed the created lights. God said, “There has been light (Or), and there was light (Or)” [Genesis 1:3]. This correlates to John’s Gospel which says, “In the beginning was the Word-essence and the Word-essence was with God and the Word-essence was God, He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1).
 
Notice also, that the Servant of Hashem is given by Hashem as a covenant. The Servant does not make a covenant (cutting), He is the covenant. This clearly refers to the King Messiah Yeshua Who says, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20). Yeshua is the covenant that is both of and for the people of Israel and because of this He is also the light to the nations. When we fail to understand this order of redemptive purpose we do harm to the Gospel message, which is perpetuated in truth only according to the order outlined in Scripture.
 
The covenant mentioned here, referring to the Servant Himself (Yeshua) is also alluded to in Isaiah 54:10 following the essential Messianic passage of Isaiah 53. It is also the “Eternal covenant” of Isaiah 61:8, and the promised “New covenant” of Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 16:60.
 
Isa 42:7  To open the eiynyim eyes of the ivrot blind ones, to bring out from prison the prisoners, and mi’beiyt from the house of bondage those who sit in choshekh darkness.
 
The Servant will open the eyes of the blind both physically and spiritually. This correlates to the smouldering flame that He will not allow to go out (v.3). He will also set captives free both physically and spiritually. This correlates to the bruised reed that He will not break or allow to be broken (v.3). In each case the physical manifestation of a miraculous event is intended to illuminate the spiritual and eternal truth of salvation through the Servant (Yeshua). Miracles have no value if they achieve only temporal change (healing). The goal of a true miracle is an eternal one: to reconcile humanity to God through Messiah. Any miracle that doesn’t bear the fruit of eternal redemption is not of God. There are times when sickness is a greater miracle than healing.
 
“Choshekh” darkness, the opposite of Or light in the Genesis account. Therefore, the light of verse 6 delivers from the darkness of verse 7.
 
Isa 42:8  I am Hashem (YHVH: Mercy): that is shemiy My name: u’chevodiy and My glory I will not give to another, u’tehilatiy nor My praise la’pesiyliym to idols.
 
“I Mercy, that is My Name, and My glory I will not give to anyone or anything nor the praise due Me to worthless idols!” He is the very essence of Mercy, none the less, in mercy He is fierce for His people and will not allow evil to steal their attention away from Him.
 
Isa 42:9  Ha-rishonot the first things, hineih now are come to pass, va-chadashot and new things I make known: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
 
All this is being said to Israel through the prophet in advance. God is making the Gospel known first and always to Israel (ethnic, religious), and “Salvation (Yeshua) comes from the Jews”.
 
Isa 42:10  Sing to Hashem (YHVH: Mercy) shiyr chadash a new song, and His praise from the extremity of ha-aretz the land (earth), you who go down to ha-yam the sea (body of water, lake etc.), and all that are there; iyiym the islands (coastlands, Mediterranean), and the inhabitants there.
 
This is an instruction to Israel (ethnic, religious) to proclaim the new things of God in song to the ends of the known world, including the islands of the Mediterranean. This is in keeping with God’s promise that both Israel and the Servant Messiah (A Jew) will be a light to the goyim (nations) [42:1; 49:6; 60:3; Luke 2:32; Acts 13:47, 26:23].
 
Isa 42:11  Let the midbar wilderness (from the Word) and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages Kedar (dark, dusty skinned ones) inhabited: let the inhabitants of sela the rock (Petra?) sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Isa 42:12  Let them give glory to Hashem (YHVH: Mercy), and make known His praise in the iyiym the islands (coastlands, Mediterranean).
 
In short, let all people, both obscure and renowned lift up their voices and shout praise to Hashem because of the good news of the Servant King Messiah.
 
Isa 42:13  Hashem (YHVH: Mercy) will go forth as a mighty ce’iysh man, He will go to war, awakening jealousy with a shout: He will cry, He will certainly, roar; He will prevail against His enemies.
 
This fierce poetic language describes Hashem going to war against His enemies. His enemies are the forces of darkness that oppose His glory and His purposed redemption of humanity. His enemies are those who oppose His chosen ethnic people Israel and His purposes for her. His enemies are those that oppose His children who share the good news of His Servant, regardless of their ethnicity. His enemies are those who deny the deity of His Son Who is literally a “iysh” man, Who has come to go to war against idolatry, sin and death, defeating the darkness in the light of His death and resurrection. Are you an enemy or a friend of God?
 
Isa 42:14  I have kept silent for a long time; I have been still, and restrained Myself: now I will scream like a woman in labour, gasping; and devour at once.
 
In poetic language God describes His long suffering, limitless patience. In doing so He also explains the need for that patience to come to a conclusion so that mercy might be made known through discipline. Such is His passionate love for Israel that He screams like a woman in labour, gasping in hopeful expectation.
 
Isa 42:15  I will lay waste hariym mountains and gevaot hills, and cause all their herbs to wither; and I will turn the rivers into islands, and the pools I will dry up.
 
In poetic language Hashem’s gasping screams for the redemption of His chosen people Israel result in the laying waste of idolatry (mountains) and pride (hills), and the decimation of the sinful fruit of the highly positioned gods of hubris. Consequently, in spiritual discipline, God also affects the land in a literal way in counter distinction to the fruiting of the land in conjunction with spiritual freedom.
 
Isa 42:16  And I will lead the blind be-derekh in the way they didn’t know; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make ma-cheshakh the darkness before them la’or into light, and crooked things straight. These things I will do, and not forsake them.
 
Hashem now links Himself to the actions of the Servant of verse 7 saying, “I will lead the blind in the way”, that way being the way of the Messiah, a way that Israel was yet to learn. This is a promise of redemption and freedom from blindness (darkness), bringing the blind, seeing, into the light. God affirms His promise not to forsake blind Israel in spite of her wandering, He will “do these things… and not forsake them (Israel).”
 
Isa 42:17  They will be turned back, they will be greatly ashamed, that trust in idols (images), that say to the molten images, “You are our eloheiynu gods (judges).”
 
Those among Israel who have worshipped the false gods of their neighbours will shuva repent, turn back to Hashem through the Servant (Yeshua) of verses 1 - 7, and be ashamed in the sense of godly sorrow for sinful practices because they had foolishly called idols “Our gods.” This is a promise of the latter redemption of Israel: it comes before the sobering conclusion of this chapter in order to remind the reader that Mercy precedes Judgement.
 
Isa 42:18  Hear, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see.
 
God admonishes Israel in her sinful state to hear, receive, understand, and to open her spiritual eyes to see the truth of her sin and return to God through His Servant King Messiah.
 
Yeshua says, “Let the one who has ears to hear, listen, perceive, receive, understand…” (Luke 8:8).
 
Isa 42:19  Who is blind, but My servant? or deaf, as My messenger that I sent? who is blind ki’m’shulam in order to bring a covenant of peace (wholeness), and a blind servant of Hashem (YHVH: Mercy)?
 
The Servant of verses 1 through 7 is clearly not blind. In fact, He ministers to the blind. Therefore, the servant of verses 19-20 is clearly Israel (ethnic, religious), who, in spite of her calling has been blind, why? For the sake of the “covenant of peace” that will be instigated by the Servant (Messiah) described in verses 1 - 7. 
 
Isa 42:20  Seeing many things, but not observing; opening the ears, but not yishma hearing.
 
Speaking again of Israel His servant Hashem describes their spiritual state using the words that Isaiah has already spoken (Isa. 6:9) and Yeshua will later repeat during His ministry in the land of Israel.
 
“Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.’ For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” -Matthew 13:14-17
 
Isa 42:21  Hashem (YHVH: Mercy) is delighted for the sake of His righteousness'; He will yagdiyl magnify (make great) the Torah (Instruction), and reveal (make) its yadir majesty, honour.
 
The righteousness of Hashem and His Torah are revealed, therefore, Israel is without excuse, we have beheld His majesty and the Torah that proceeds from Him. The same Torah that the Servant of Isaiah 1-7 sends from Israel to the nations, has been among us the Jewish people from its entry into time and space through the Patriarchs and Moses at Sinai.
 
Isa 42:22  But this is a people robbed and spoiled; snared in holes (caves), all of them are hidden in prison houses: they have become a prey, and none delivers them; for a spoil, and none says, “Ha-shav Return, restore.”
 
This is both figurative and literal. At the time these words were spoken to Israel we were being robbed, imprisoned by enemies and had become prey for the nations. It seemed as though there was no one to deliver us. We also allowed ourselves to be robbed of our sacred religious texts and our calling and identity as the chosen of God. We were in prisons of our own making, bound by the idols of the nations that surrounded us. We had become prey to every false idea, and yet we did not return to Hashem in order to be restored in Him.
 
Isa 42:23  Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?
 
The desperate plea of a birthing mother, the longing cry of a loving father, and the clarion call of the prophet of salvation and the Servant King Messiah.
 
Isa 42:24  Who gave Yaakov (follower, Jacob) for a spoil, and Yisrael (Yisra – overcome in El – God: Israel) to the robbers? Wasn’t it Hashem (YHVH: Mercy), He against Whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in His ways, neither were they obedient unto His Torah (Instruction).
 
God makes it clear to Israel His servant that her imprisonment and suffering are not the result of chance but are part of God’s intentional work for the sake of her redemption. The giving over of Israel as spoil is an act of discipline intended to bring her to repentance. The prophet himself interjects to say, “Wasn’t it Hashem, He against Whom we have sinned?” We had come to this point through sin and wilfully disobeying His loving Instruction (Torah).
 
Isa 42:25  Therefore, He has poured upon him the fury of His anger, and the strength of battle: and it has set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to leiv heart (core being).
 
This chapter comes to a sobering conclusion. In spite of the pleas of Adonai and the remarks of His prophet, Israel will not listen, hear, understand (yet). The fire of His discipline will burn her and the hardness of her heart will (temporarily) deceive her until, in exile, she learns to be obedient once more and return to her loving Father, her faithful Husband, Her unchanging God of Mercy.
 
© 2018 Yaakov Brown

 

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_the_Great:

Though it is generally believed that Zarathushtra's teachings maintained influence on Cyrus's acts and policies, so far no clear evidence has been found to indicate that Cyrus practiced a specific religion. Pierre Briant wrote that given the poor information we have, "it seems quite reckless to try to reconstruct what the religion of Cyrus might have been."^[112]

The policies of Cyrus with respect to treatment of minority religions are documented in many historical accounts, particularly Babylonian texts and Jewish sources.^[113] Cyrus had a general policy of religious tolerance throughout his vast empire. Whether this was a new policy or the continuation of policies followed by the Babylonians and Assyrians (as Lester Grabbe maintains)^[114] is disputed. He brought peace to the Babylonians and is said to have kept his army away from the temples and restored the statues of the Babylonian gods to their sanctuaries.^[9]

His treatment of the Jews during their exile in Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed Jerusalem is reported in the Bible. The Jewish Bible's Ketuvim ends in Second Chronicles with the decree of Cyrus, which returned the exiles to the Promised Land from Babylon along with a commission to rebuild the temple.^[115]

Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD, the God of heaven given me; and He hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all His people – the LORD, his God, be with him – let him go there. — (2 Chronicles 36:23)

This edict is also fully reproduced in the Book of Ezra.

In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: "Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be retained, its height being 60 cubits and its width 60 cubits; with three layers of huge stones and one layer of timbers. And let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. Also let the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God." — (Ezra 6:3–5)

The Jews honored him as a dignified and righteous king. In one Biblical passage, Isaiah refers to him as Messiah (lit. "His anointed one") (Isaiah 45:1), making him the only gentile to be so referred. Elsewhere in Isaiah, God is described as saying, "I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says God Almighty." (Isaiah 45:13) As the text suggests, Cyrus did ultimately release the nation of Israel from its exile without compensation or tribute. These particular passages (Isaiah 40–55, often referred to as Deutero-Isaiah) are believed by most modern critical scholars to have been added by another author toward the end of the Babylonian exile (c. 536 BC).^[116]

 

From Isaiah 45 CJB:

¹Thus says Adonai to Koresh [Cyrus], his anointed,
whose right hand he has grasped,
so that he subdues nations before him
and strips kings of their robes,
so that doors open in front of him,
and no gates are barred:
² “I will go ahead of you,
levelling the hills,
shattering the bronze gates,
smashing the iron bars.

¹⁴Here is what Adonai says:
“The earnings of Egypt, the commerce of Ethiopia,
and men of stature from S’va
will come over to you and become yours;
they will come in chains and follow you.
They will prostrate themselves before you;
they will pray to you:
‘Surely God is with you; there is no other,
other gods are nothing.’”

 

¹⁸ For thus says Adonai, who created the heavens,
God, who shaped and made the earth,
who established and created it not to be chaos,
but formed it to be lived in:
“I am Adonai; there is no other.
niv

¹⁴This is what the Lord says:

“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,^[c]
    and those tall Sabeans—
they will come over to you
    and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,