The Period of the Persian Monarchy, Chapter 2
CHAP. II. An Explanation of the former Kings of the Persian Monarchie out of Daniel.
Dan. 11.2. There shall stand vp yet 3. Kings in P…rsia: and the 4. shall be far…e richer than they all. And by …is strength through …is rubes, he shall stirre vp all against the Realme of G…aecia. SIth the former voyce shewes this was in the f…rst yeare of Darius the Mede: and therefore, whereas it is said, There shall stand vp [yet] three Kings: the sense is, That from, or after Darius the Mede there shall be three Kings in Per…ia. viz. Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius Hystaspis; and then the fourth is plainly Xerxes, as appeares by that of his gr…at riches, and his huge and mighty preparations made to invade Greece. Now sith 'tis as cleere as day, that the fourth was Xerxes, the other 3 can be no other than Cyrus, Cambyses and Darius Hystaspis.
The only Objection that can be made, is of a Magus, named Smerdis, who tooke vponupon him to be the sonne of Cyrus, and vsurped the Throne after Cambyses, Herod…t. in Thaliâ.against whom he conspired. But the answere is, that the Holy Ghost doth not hold him worth the naming, and hee beares no place in the holy writ amongst the Kings of Persia: whether it be for that his time was short; for e…e he saw 7 monethmonth…, the Nobles conspired against him, and suppressed him: or whether he being a conspirator is rather to be called a Tyrant than a King. 'tis out of question the Holy Ghost doth passe the Magus or Sm…rdis over. Some doe take the odde moneths, that this Smerdis vsurped, and adde them to the time of Cambyses; and so giuegive him somewhat a longer time of reigne than I hauehave done: but so small a difference is not worth the speaking of.
2. Chron. 36. a 20 And they were servants to him and to his b sons. (a Nebuchadnezzar.
b His son Euilmerodach: 2. Reg. 25.27.
His nephew Belshazzar. Dan. 5.1.) And all nations shall feare him, and his sonne, and his sonnes son, vntill the time of his Lord come, when many nations and great Kings shall serue themselues of him.
2. Chron. 36.21. To fulfill the Word of the Lord spoken by c Ieremiah, untill the land had her fill of Sabbaths: for all the dayes that she lay desolate she kept Sabbath d 70 yeares. c Ier. 25.11. And this whole land shall be desolate, and an astonishment, and these Nations shall serue the King of Babell. 70. yeares. and Ier. 19.10. d beginning when Iehoiaki… or Ieconiah was carried away captiue, ending at the first yeare of Cyrus and Darius the Mede Kings of Persia. That they began at Ieconiahs captivity, is proved by Ezek. 40.1. In the fiue and twentieth yeare of our being in captivity, in the beginning of the yeare, in the 10th day of the monethmonth, in the 14th yeare after the Citie was smitten. &c. Now Ezekiel, for the most part, reckons the yeare from the first of Ieconiahs captivity. As Ezech. 1.2. And more plainely out of Ieremiah, cap. 29.2.10. where writing to those that were carried away with Ieconiah, he tels them, that they shall be 70 yeares in captivity from the time of their carrying away; as may appeare, if the Chapter be rightly considered of.
2. Chron. 36.22.23. But in the first yeare of c Cyrus King of Persia, &c. Thus saith Cyrus King of Persia. c Together with Darius the Mede, whom Cyrus had of his owne accord admitted into the governement of the Empire with himselfe, as Dan. 5.31. Darius of the Medes tooke the Kingdome being 62. yeares old. and, Daniel 9.1. In the first yeare of Darius the sonne of Ahash…erosh of the seed of the Medes, which was made King of the realm of the Chaldeans ▪ For Cyrus, led with ambition, went about warres in other Countries: and therfore Darius had the title of the King▪ though Cyrus were King in …ffect.
Ezra. 1.1. Now in the first f yeare of f Cyrus King of Persia, that the Word of the Lord by the mouth of Ieremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred vp the spirit of Cyrus K. of Persia, and he made a proclamation throughout all his Kingdome, &c. f When he first reigned ouer Babylon: for otherwise hee reigned 30. yeares in Persia, and in the 28th. of his reigne of Persia was this captivity of the Iewes ended.
Ezra. 2.2. Which came with g Zerubbabel, to wit, Ieshua, Nehemiah, &c. g Zerubbabel was chiefe Captaine. Ieshua or Iehoshua son of Iehozadak high Priest, Hag. 1.1. But Nehemiah a man of great authority went not now, but came 64. or 54. yeares after.
Ezra. 3.1. And when the 7. monethmonth was come, and the children of Israel were in their Cities, the people assembled themselues as one man vntounto Ierusalem. From the first day of the 7. monethmonth they offered burnt offerings. h And Cambyses his sonne. synecdochicè.
Ezra. 3.8. In the second yeare of their comming vntounto the house of God in Ierusalem, &c. they began to set forward the worke of the house of God: and v. 9. they laid the foundation. Ezra. 4.5. And they hired counsellers against them to hinder their device all the dayes of l Cyrus K. of Persia, even ainclusivè accipiendum more Heb.vntill the reigne of Darius K. of Persia. l The son of Hystaspes, the third King from Cyrus, who either for to curry favour with the people, or for the louelove of Atossa, Cyrus his daughter (whom after he had gotten the Kingdome he married) did carefully ratifie eueryevery thing that Cyrus had done, that hereby he might establish himselfe; and therefore in his time also those crafty vnderminers of the Iewes prosperity did preuaile.
6 And in the dayes o… k Ahash…erosh (in the beginning of his reigne) wrote they an accusation against the Inhabitants of Iudah and Ierusalem. k That is of Xerxes called Ahashuerosh or Assuerus, (q. d.) an hereditary Prince, both because he was borne after that Darius was King, as also because he first was borne of A…ossa Cyrus his daughter, and so seemed by subrogation and representation to succeed his bvid. Herod. principium polym…iae.grandfather Cyrus.
7 And in the dayes of l A… tash ashte (Mithridate Tabeël, and the rest of the companions, &c.) wrote vntounto the King, for the staying of the building of the Temple. l Or Artaxerxes, he namely that was called foreign or Longimanus, the sonne of Xerxes by Amestris the daughter of Otan, (as Herod. Polym….) whom Ctesias calleth Amistris, or Amystres, the daughter of Onopha; That is to say, by Ester the daughter of Abi…hail, Ester 2.15.
Ezra. 5.24. Then m ceased the worke of the house of God, which was at Ierusalem, and did stay vntounto the second yeare of n Darius King of Persia. m About 41. yeares, for Artaxerxes Longimanus reigned 40. whereunto must be added the first yeare of Darius.
n Namely, Darius Nothus (for a bastard was hee) who before hee was King was called Ochus.
Ezra. 5.1. Then Haggai, a Prophet, and Zechariah the sonne of Iddo prophecied vntounto the Iewes, that were in Iudah and Ierusalem. Haggai. 1.1. …n the 2. yeare of King Darius, in the 6. monethmonth, in the 1. day of the monethmonth, came the Word of the Lord by the ministry of Haggai the Prophet, vntounto Zerubbabel the sonne of Shealtiel, a Prince of Iudah, and to Iehoshua, the sonne of Iehozadach, the high Priest. chap. 2. In the 7. monethmonth, and 21. day of the monethmonth, came the Word. v. 4. Who is left a…ong you, that saw this house in her first glory? how doe you see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of that, Zech. 4.9.as nothing? The hands of Zerubbabel hauehave laid the foundation of this house, Zech. 1.1.and his hands shall also fi…ish it, &c. In the 8. monethmonth of the second yeare of Darius, came the Word of the Lord vntounto Zechariah, the sonne of Berechiah, the …onne of Iddo, the Prophet. And v. 7. In the eleventh monethmonth, &c. Zechar. 7.1. And in the 4. yeare of King Darius, the Word of the Lord came vntounto Zechariah. o This and the verses following are spoken by way of preuention, to comfort the Iewes, dismayed at the consideration of the meannesse & simplenes of this house, in comparison of that which Solomon built; purposedly done by the Prophet, because about 106. yeares before this time, the very like griefe possessed the hearts of good men. Ezr. 3.12. Not that any of them that saw the first Temple were now alive, but by an usuall Hebrew manner of speaking; Quasi dicas, Say that any of them were now alive, how would they weepe? Yet for all that, saith the Lord, Goe ye on: For the glory of the second house shall exceed that of the first. For those in Ezr. 3.12. were then sayd to be old.
Ezra. 6.10. That they may offer sweet odo…s unto the God of heaven, & pray for q the Kings life, and for his r sonnes. p (viz.) Darius Nothus which made this decree.
r Namely Arsaca, afterwards called Artaxerxes, Cyrus Artossa and Oxendrae perhaps, if he were borne at that time. Now this the King did more earnestly require, because some other of his children had soone dyed. Ctesias.
Ezra. 6.14. So the Elders of the Iewes builded, & they prospered by the prophecying of Naggai the Prophet, and Zechariah the sonne of Iddo, and they builded and finished it by the appointment of the God of heaven, and by the commandement of s Cyrus, and t Darius, and u Artashashte Kings of Persia. v. 15. And this house was finished in the 3. day of the monethmonth Adar, which was the 6. year of the reigne of K. Darius, and the 42. after their returne. s (viz.) Cyrus the great, who first gave commandment for the returne.
t (viz.) Darius Nothus,
v Or Artaxerxes, namely Artaxerxes Mnemon, who reigned together with his father Darius Nothus. And therefore it is, that Plutarch gives him 62. yeares reigne. because from the beginning he was made Co-Emperour with his father, by reason of the warres against Secundianus and other chiefe men of the Kingdome.
Ezra. 6.23. And they kept the feast of unleavened bread 7. dayes with joy for the Lord had made them glad, and turned the heart of the K. of x Ashur unto them, to encourage them in the worke of the house of God, even the God of Israël. x Darius Nothus, who dividing his Kingdome with his sonne Arsaca or Artaxerxes, committed to his sons charge the more Southerne parts of the Kingdome, and reserved to himselfe such Countries as lay more Northerly, as more befitting his age & experience in those quarters. For whilst his father Artaxerxes Longimanus lived, he was made Governour of Hyrcania, where also he married Parysatis. Now the Countries subject unto the Persian King, are bounded within the two Seas Hyrcanum & Persicum. aPlin. lib 6. cap 13.All that tract bounding Northward on the Caspian or Hyrcanian Sea is called Assyria. The other lying Southward toward Mare Rubrum and Sinus Persicus is called bHerodot. in Melpo…ene.Persia. But speciall mention is made here of the King of Ashur, because that these Iewes, which went with Ezra in the second returne from captivity, did come out of those high & Northerne Countries; the former that returned under Zerubbabel, out of the Southerne Countries. That this is so, appeares in the 8. Chapt.
Ezra. 7.1. Now after these things, in the y reigne of Arthashash… K. of Persia, was Ezra, the sonne of Seraj…h, &c. And …e came to Ierusalem (with o…her of the Iewes) in the 5. monethmonth: which was the 7 z year of the K. ver. 9. For upon the first day of the first monethmonth, he began to goe up from Babel: and on the first day of the fifth monethmonth, came …e to Ierusalem, according to the good hand of his God, that was upon him. Nehemiah. 1.1. The words of Nehemiah, the sonne of Hacha…iah, in the monethmonth b Chisten, &c. in the 20. yeare, &c. v. 2. came Hanani, one of my Brethren, &c. v. 3. And they said to me, The residue, &c. y (i. e.) Of Artaxerxes Muemon, when after his fathers decease, he alone ruled the Empire.
z After he began to reigne alone.
a Artaxerxes Muemon, Darius, saith the Geneva.
b The third monethmonth of the yeare, according to the Chaldean calculation, which Nehemiah followes.
Nehem. 2.1. Now in the monethmonth c Nisa…, in the 20. yeare of K. d Artashashte, the wine …tood before him, and I took up the cup, and gave it to the King. c The 7. monethmonth by the Chaldean accompt.
d Artaxerxes Muemon. Darius Hystaspis, saith the Geneva.
Nehem 5.14.
And from the time, that the K. gave mee charge to be Governour in the land of Iudah: from the 20. yeare, even to the 32. yeare, that is, 12 years, I and my Brethren have not eaten the bread of the Governour. Notwithstanding the Wall was finished on the 25. day of Elul, in e 52. dayes.
When the Wall was builded, 7.1.&c.
e That is, the Lockes, Gates and Barres were set up fifty two dayes, after the stone wall was built. vers. 1.
Now the Citie was large and great: 4.but the people were few therein: and the houses were not builded. And f Ieshua begate Ioiakim, Ioiakim also begate Eliashib, Nehem. 12.10.and Eliashib begate Ioiada, and Io…ada begate Ionathan, and Ionathan begate Iaddua. In the dayes of Eliashib, Ioiada, and Iohanan, and Iaddua, 22.were the chiefe Fathers of the Levites, written in the reigne of Dar…us the Persian. f The succession of the hie Priests from the captivity to the translation of the Persian Monarchy to Alexander the Great, whom as Ioseph. Antiq. Iud. lib. 11. cap. 7. & 8. reports Iaddua did meet as he came towards Ierusalem. Now none ought to wonder, that Nehemiah should record this; for from the beginning of Artaxerxes Muemon, whom Nehemiah attended, untill Alexander Magnus, are not threescore yeares.
g The last King of Persia, called also Codomannus, Him Alexander overthrew. Nehemiah lived till the time of Darius the Persian. Nehem. 12.22.Nehem. 6.15. Therefore the Altar erected by the Israelites, Ezr. 33. not long after their returne, even while Cyrus yet reigned, could not be built by Nehemiah, unlesse we say that Nehemiah lived above 200. yeares; which is not credible: For so many yeares at least were betweene Cyrus and Darius the last, whom Alexander overcame.