DID YOU KNOW?
The answer
Cyrus of Persia. Isaiah 45:1 reads, "Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus." The Hebrew word is the one behind "messiah," a title used before of King Saul and King David. Cyrus took Babylon in 539 BC and let the exiled Judeans go home.
Why it’s interesting
The verse goes on: the Lord has grasped Cyrus's right hand. In Babylon's New Year festival the king grasped the hand of the god Marduk and was given the right to rule. Here the Lord takes Marduk's place and authorizes Cyrus to rule.
Scholarly consensus
Learn the Bible.
Not just the stories, but the history, authorship, and scholarship behind it.