Written Notes


Review Points

Questions

Supplementary Material

Source Books

Maps:
Ezra
Esther
Nehemiah
Zechariah

Chapter Tests:
Sect D, Ch - Jeremiah to Jesus

571

• April 26, Ezekiel prophecies that Nebuchadnezzar will invade Egypt (Ez. 29:19)
• Ezekiel’s last recorded prophecy at the age of 52.

Ezekiel 29

570

• Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great tree and is warned by Daniel of his pride.

Daniel 4

569

• Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt in fulfillment of Jer. 43:8-13; 46:13-26; Ez. 29:19
• Jeremiah was either stoned by the Jews in Egypt or Nebucadnezzar found him again and took him back to Babylon to live his final years in peace.  Both are traditional endings for Jeremiah’s life.
• Jeremiah is 79 years old and lived his final days either in Egypt or Babylon.
• Daniel is 54 years old and is in the palace in Babylon with Nebuchadnezzar administrative team.

Egypt is taken by Nebuchadnezzar

569
563

• In fulfillment of Daniel’s warning Nebuchadnezzar goes insane and lives in exile for seven years.
• The Babylonian government continues without Nebuchadnezzer.  His administrative team which include Daniel run the empire.

Nebuchadnezzar in Exile

562

• August, Nebuchadnezzar repents and glorifies God. 
• Nebuchadnezzar is restored to his throne
• September, Nebuchadnezzar dies after having humbled himself before God.

Nebuchadnezzar Repents, is Restored and Dies

561

• Evil Merodach, Nebuchadnezzar’s son, begins to reign.
• Evil Merodach releases the 55 year old Jewish king Jehoiachin from 36 years in prison in Babylon.  Jehoiachin had reigned for 3 months and was taken captive at the age of 19.

Evil Merodach

Jehoiachin Released

560

• Jeremiah would be 88 years old if he died in Babylon

559

• Cyrus begins reigning in Persia
• Neriglissar assassinates Evil Merodach as King of Babylon.  Neglissar had been a senior official at the destruction of Jerusalem. 

Cyrus

556

• Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law, Nabonidus, begins to reign.  Nabonidus married Nebuchadnezzar’s daughter Nitocris and they have a son Belshazzar.  Nitocris is the one who sends for Daniel when the hand of God writes on the wall at Belshazzar’s party.

Nabonidus
Nitocris
Belshazzar

554

• Nabonidus left Babylon in the hands of his son Belshazzar (Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson)
• Nabonidus moved to Harran to work on a temple of the old Chaldean moon god Sin.
• Babylonians prefer to worship Marduk

Nabonidus

555

• Nabonidus makes a treaty with Cyrus the Persian king.  Together they conquer most of SW Asia

Babylon and Persia Treaty

553

• Nabonidus marches through Syria, Palestine and Edom building a workforce to restore the family shrine in Harran to the moon god Sin.
• Daniel has the dream of the four beasts in Daniel 7

Daniel 7

552

• Nabonidus moves into Arabia for the next ten years leaving Babylon in the hands of his son Belshazzar.  Nabonidus lives in Teima, Arabia (Central western Saudi Arabia)
• During the years 552-542 inflation increases 50% in Babylon, a famine strikes the land and Nabonidus blames the people for having rejected the moon god Sin.
• In Teima Arabia there is plenty of rain and the spice routes bring prosperity.

551

• Daniel has a vision of a ram (Persian King Darius of 330 BC) and a goat (Alexander the Great of Greece).  These events will take place 220 years in the future.

Daniel 8

549

• Cyrus captures Astyages, the king of the Medes.  Cyrus and Darius begin the empire of the Medes and the Persians.
• Egypt, Persia and Media resume good relations

Cyrus Captures
the King of the Medes

547

• Medes cross the  Tigris and overrun eastern Babylon.
• Elamites overrun southern Babylonia.

Babylonia falls in the east & south

546

• Cyrus defeats C roesus, the fabulously wealthy king of Lydia (in Asia Minor).

545

• October, Nabonidus returns to Babylon to carry out work on the shrines to the gods and to bring the Babylonian gods from the other cities into Babylon for protection
• Babylon is economically weak  and are not able to defend themselves

539

• Nabonidus flees Babylon and goes 11 miles south to Borsippa (the site of the famous ziggurat which still stands today and is identified in the Talmud as the actual Tower of Babel.)
• September, Cyrus defeats Babylon at Opis and Sippara.  Only the double wall of the city of Babylon remains.
• October 12,  Belshazzar is having a drunken feast when the Lord writes on the plaster of the banquet hall wall: “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin”
• Belshazzar’s mother Nitocris (Nebuchadnezzar’s daughter) hears the noise and enters the banquet hall and suggests that Belshazzar send for a man named Daniel.
• Daniel interprets the writing to mean: God has numbered your days, you have been weighed on the scales and your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persains.
• The Persian military under the leadership of Darius the Mede enter Babylon that night, kill Belshazzar and take over the city of Babylon.
• October 29, Cyrus enters Babylon himself.  Cyrus is presented as a gracious liberator.  Cyrus reverses the policies of the Assyrians and the Babylonians by sending the captured cultures back to their homelands.
• Daniel is 84 years old if he was taken captive at the age of 18 in 605 BC. 
• Daniel prays the prayer in Daniel chapter 9 and receives a visit from Gabriel explaining the “seventy ‘sevens’ ” (9:24)
• Daniel may have shown Cyrus Isaiah 41:2-7, 25; 44:28; 45:1 along with Jeremiah 25:11, 12.  Josephus says Cyrus read these prophecies and an “earnest desire and ambition seized upon him to fulfill what was written.”  Thus, 2 Chronicles 36:22, 23 says, “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word spoken by Jeremiah the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia, to make a proclamation throughout his realm . . .”  The people were sent back to Jerusalem.  Read Ezra 1:1-3

Daniel 5

Babylon Falls to Darius

Cyrus Arrives

Daniel 9

Jews sent back to their land.

PERSIAN-MEDE  EMPIRE

538

• Darius appoints 120 satraps to rule the kingdom with three administrators over them.  One of the administrators was Daniel.  Darius planned on putting Daniel over the whole kingdom (Dan.6:3).
• King Darius is tricked into putting Daniel, age 85, into the lions den.
• Cyrus allows any Jews to return and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem

Daniel in the Lion’s Den

Daniel 6

Ezra 1:2

537

• Darius the Mede dies and Cyrus takes the title of King of Persia
• A remnant of the Jews return to Jerusalem.  It has been 70 years since the first captivity in 605 counting both the year 605 and 537 and the 68 years between
• 800 mile journey from the Chebar River to Jerusalem
• Cyrus provided money, orders for people to assist Jews and the temples sacred vessels.
• The returning Jews left in Mar/Apr and arrived in Jerusalem in Jun/July

Ezra 2
Jews Return 70 Years After First Captivity

536

• An angel comes to Daniel after he fasted for 3 weeks. Daniel receives his final revelation in Daniel 10, 11 and 12.  Chapter 11 will cover the history from the time of Cyrus (536) up through the Macabbean Revolt against Antiochus Epiphanies (168).  The prophecy then continues with the rise of the anti-Christ (11:36)
• Zerubbabel goes to rebuild the temple
• The altar is built and the foundation for the temple is laid.
• Samaritan’s begin to oppose the Jew’s efforts to rebuild the temple (Ez. 4:1-5)

Daniel 10, 11, 12

Ezra 3

Zerubbabel

Altar Rebuilt
Ezra 4:1-5
Jews Opposed

534

• Cyrus gives his son Cambyses the task of preparing for an expedition against Egypt which will finally be unleashed in 525 BC

Cambyses

530

• March 26, at the New Years festival Cyrus appoints his son, Cambyses, as hi sco-regent and successor.  Cambyses is given title “King of Babylon” and Cyrus maintains the title “King of Kings.”

529

• Cyrus dies on the battle field verse nomadic barbarians
• Cyrus was buried in Pasargadae one of the five capital cities (Babylon, Ecbatana, Persepolis, Pasargadae and Susa)
• Cyrus had built an enormous empire with roads, postal system and legal codes.
• Cambyses secures the throne by murdering his brother Smerdis

525

• Cambyses totally defeats Egypt in the eastern delta of the Nile and captures Memphis.
• Cambyses desired to capture the Oasis of Ammon further west in the desert and to march on to Carthage but his 50,000 troops perished in the desert and the Phoenician ships refused to land ships carrying Persian soldiers to attack the Phoenician colony of Carthage.

Cambyses Defeats Egypt

522

• Gaumata, a pseudo-Smerdis, claims the throne back in Babylon
• Cambyses disappears from history near Mt. Carmel on his return to Babylon

521

• Darius Hystaspes executes Gaumata and takes the throne of the Persian empire
• Darius Hystaspes searches the royal archives in Babylon and finds that Cyrus had ordered the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.  Opposition stops.
• Within two years Darius Hystaspes stabilizes the empire.

Darius Hystaspes

520

• The two prophets, Haggia and Zechariah, minister in Jerusalem.
• August 29, the word of the Lord comes to Haggai and the book of Haggia begins.
• October 17, Haggai 2:1-9 the word of the Lord is a message for Zerrubabel, the governor, Joshua, the high priest, and the remnant of people
• Oct/Nov Zechariah records his first message from the Lord in Zechariah 1:1-6
• Darius Hystaspes searches the royal archives in Babylon and finds that Cyrus had ordered the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.  Opposition stops.
• Rebuilding of the temple resumes after opposition had stopped it 16 years earlier. (Ezra 5-6)
• December 18, 520, Haggai prophecies blessings on the remnant (Hag. 2:10-23)

Haggai

Zechariah

Haggai 1:1-15
Haggai 2:1-9
Zechariah 1:1-6
Ezra 5-6
Haggai 2:10-23

519

• February 15, in one night Zechariah is given a series of eight night visions in one night:

Zechariah 1:7-6:8

518

• December 7, Zechariah receives the word of the Lord in the fourth year of Darius Hystaspes (Zech. 7)

Zechariah 7

516

• The temple is completed by Zerubbabel.  It has been 70 years since the temple was destroyed in 586.

Ezra 6:13-18
Temple Rebuilt 70 Years After It Was Destroyed

490

• Darius attacks Athens by sailing across the Agean Sea and land 20 miles from Athens on the plains of Marathon.
• The Persians had 600 ships with 20,000 men; Athenians had 10,000 men
• A Greek runner ran 150 miles in 36 hours to Sparta for help but Sparta didn’t come
• Miltiades, an Athenian general, launched an attack by charging down the hill in formation with thin middle ranks.
• Persia broke through the middle line but found themselves trapped and rushed back to their ships
• The Persians headed for the bay of Athens but the Athenians out ran them there and Persia returned home.
• Athenians captured 7 Persian ships.  Casualties suffered: Persia-6,400 Athens-192

Battle of Marathon

485

• Xerxes begins to reign
• Samaritans take this chance to file a complaint (Ezra 4:6)
• Xerxes says stop rebuilding the rebellious city Jerusalem

Xerxes

Ezra 4:6

483

• Xerxes displays his vast wealth and military power at a banquet in preparation for his invasion of Greece.

Esther 1

481
480
479

• Xerxes goes to war against Greece.  Persia fights the battles of:
• Thermopylae – The movie “300” with Spartan king Leonidas with his 300 men fight Xerxes
• Salamis – Persians occupied Athens and burned the temple. The Persians move their ships into a strait through a bottle neck thinking the beached Greek trireme ships were trapped.  Xerxes watched from his ivory throne placed on a hill in disbelief as his ships were rammed, congested and unable to maneuver while Persians ships continued to sail into the bottle neck. Xerxes headed back to Persia leaving behind 1/3 of his troops that burnt Athens to the ground.
• Plataea – In what looked like a rout of the Greeks, the Persians failed to stay organized and are driven from Greece
• These Greek battles fulfill Daniel 11:2 “a fourth Persian king, who will be far richer. . .will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.”  This sets the stage for the rise of Alexander the Great who will seek deliverance and revenge for the burning of Athens in 336 BC.

Battles of:
Thermopylae
Salamis
Plataea

Daniel 11:2

478

• Esther goes to Xerxes and becomes Queen in Dec/Jan

Esther 2

474

• Esther’s fifth year as queen. 
• April 17 is the date set to meet to determine fate of Jews

Esther 3:7
Haman
Esther
Mordecai

473

• According to Haman’s plans and Xerxes order the Jews are to be killed in Persia on March 7
• March 7, the Jews defnd themselves. The Jews kill 500 men in Susa and 10 of Haman’s sons.

Esther 3:12-14

465

• Xerxes is inside his bedchamber when he is assassinated by 3 conspirators.  They convince Artaxerxes, Xerxes’s son, to slay his older brother.  They then try to kill Artaxerxes who is only wounded but kills his attacker. 
• Artaxerxes becomes Persian Emperor and will reign for 41 years
• Esther would be about 38 years old if she became queen when she was 25.

Artaxerxes

464

• Artaxerxes says to stop rebuilding the rebellious city
• Artaxerxes says “this city will not be rebuilt until I so order.”

Ezra 4:7-23
Ezra 4:21
Daniel 9:25

458

• In Artaxeres’ seventh year he issues the decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem
• April 8, Ezra leaves Babylon and arrives in Jerusalem on August 4
• December 19 the people assemble and the investigation of intermarriage begins

Decree to Rebuild

Ezra
Ezra 7: 8-9, 12-26
Daniel 9:25
Ezra 10:9-16

457

• Ezra committee ends their three month long investigation into intermarriage by Mar/Apr

Ezra 10:17

446

• Nov/Dec, Nehemiah is in Susa and hears a report from a Jew from Jerusalem that the walls of Jerusalem have not been rebuilt

Nehemiah Nehemiah 1

445

• Artaxerxes 20th year
• Mar/Apr, Nehemiah, Artaxerxes cup bearer, speaks to Artaxerxes about Jerusalem’s ruined wall system (Neh. 2:1)
• August 10, Nehemiah begins to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
• Opposition to building the walls (Neh. 4, 6)
• October 2, The walls of Jerusalem are completed in 52 days (Neb. 6:15)
• October 8, Ezra reads the Law to public for first time in thirteen years (8:2)
• October 9, the people of Jerusalem celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (8:13)
• October 30, Israel confesses their sin (Neh. 9)
• If Esther was 25 when she married Xerxes she is now 58.

Nehemiah 2:1
Nehemiah 4
Nehemiah 6:15
Nehemiah 8:2
Nehemiah 8:13
Nehemiah 9

433

• Nehemiah is recalled to Artaxerxes after a 12 year absence
• Artaxerxes is in his 32 year as the king of the Persian Empire

Nehemiah 5:14; 13:6

432

• The book of Malachi is written.
• Malachi accuses:
• the priest of not honoring God
• the people of unlawful marriages
• the people of having given up on the Lord’s return
• the people of failing to give properly to God
• Malachi ends with a promise in 3:1, “See, I will send my messenger.”

Malachi

430
to
370

• The High Priest in Jerusalem
• After Zerubbabel the high priest fulfills the role as governor.  The high priest position gains power and becomes the head of the Jewish state
• The priestly line was made up of an aristocratic class that could trace their lineage back to Zadok (of David’s day) and some back to Aaron.
• A tenth of the produce of the land was given to the Levites; 1 of every 25 loaves of bread went to the priest; The first born of all the cattle went to the priest; A part of every sacrifice were the priestly fee; Fines and vows went into the priest’s pocket; plus more.
• In addition to having the religious power the priests soon gathered in the governmental power, the economic power and the political power.
• The only thing above the priest was the written Law of Moses which began to be seriously studied in the days of Ezra.
• The Scribes
• Since a man who could know the law could control the priest the scribe eventually rose to a position of power and dignity.
• Jewish People
• The major portion of Jews lived outside of Judea and were caught up in the commercial spirit in Susa, Ecbatana, Persepolis, Mesopotamia, Syria, Seaport cities of Asia Minor, Egyptian delta.
• Jewish View of Gentiles
• Isaiah’s View: The Messiah’s kingdom would include all nations
• Nehemiah’s View: The Messiah’s kingdom would only be Jewish
• Samaritan Division
• Division had always existed between the returning Jewish exiles and those that had never left the land but had stayed and intermarried.
• The high priest brother, Manasseh, married the daughter of a Samaritan
• Judea demanded a divorce but Samaria invited Manasseh to move
• Manasseh moved to Samaria and another temple on Mt. Gerizim was built
• The two groups moved further apart until John could write in John 4:9, “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”
• Language
• Jewish religion was growing narrower and more intense
• The world was moving in on the Jews
• Aramaic was the language of the nations with trade and government
• Aramaic began to co-exist with Hebrew until due to lack of use the Hebrew language was dropped.
• With the loss of the Hebrew language the Hebrew scriptures became unreadable.  When read in public the Hebrew had to be interpreted for the Aramaic speaking crowd as occurs in Nehemiah 8:8

High Priest

Scribes

Jewish People

Gentiles

Samaritans

Aramaic