Darius

About Darius

Darius, mentioned in the books of Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah, was a king of Persia who played a significant role in the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. He is often referred to as Darius I, also known as Darius the Great, who ruled the Persian Empire from 522 to 486 BC.

During the early years of Darius' reign, the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem had been halted due to opposition from the neighboring peoples (Ezr.4.5). However, in the second year of Darius' reign, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah began to prophesy to the Jews, encouraging them to resume the Temple construction (Hag.1.1, 15; Zec.1.1, 7).

When the Persian officials questioned the Jews' authority to rebuild the Temple, they appealed to the decree issued by Cyrus years earlier (Ezr.5.5-7). Darius then ordered a search of the archives, and Cyrus' decree was found (Ezr.6.1). Darius issued a new decree, confirming Cyrus' original order and providing support for the Temple's reconstruction (Ezr.6.12-14).

With Darius' backing, the Jews completed the Temple reconstruction in the sixth year of his reign (Ezr.6.15). This event was a significant milestone in the restoration of Jewish worship in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile.

The mention of Darius in these biblical books demonstrates the Persian Empire's role in the history of Israel and the fulfillment of God's plan for His people.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.