When the Persian Empire conquered the Babylonians, one of
Cyrus the Persian's first acts was to decree that any Jew who had
been deported to Babylon, by Nebuchadnezzar, nearly 70 years
earlier could return to his homeland to help rebuild the temple. His
proclamation read: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me
all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build
a temple for him in Jerusalem. Cyrus apparently believed he had
been divinely authorized to rule many nations with many gods and
goddesses. He honored the various gods of the nations by rebuilding
the temples to their gods.
After Cyrus's proclamation, almost 40,000 Jews left Babylon
and headed for Jerusalem. Cyrus sent silver and gold goblets with
the exiles to be returned to the temple at Jerusalem. These sacred
vessels were plundered by Babylon and placed in the temple of
Nebuchadnezzar's god, Marduk to declare his dominance over the
God of the Jews.
