10. Persia Through the Jewish Looking-Glass 231

10.PersiaThrough the JewishLooking-Glass Persia holds aspecial place in Jewishtradition. Whereas the Bible’scastofvil- lains and oppressive states is along one, the Persian kingdom stands out as a shining exception.The victories of Cyrus toppled the Babylonian empire,the king released the Israelites from their bondage, ordered the restoration of their sacred objects, and authorized theirreturn to the homeland—even encouraged and helped to finance it. Cyrus, not surprisingly,receivesavery good press in Jewishsources. And so, by extension, does the Persianrealm under whose aegis the Jews dwelled quite contentedly(as far as the recordgoes)for two centuries thereafter.Cyrus enjoys extraordinarilyhighesteem from the author whom we conventionallylabel as Second Isaiah and in the booksofEzra-Nehemiah. Second Isaiah heapspraise upon him, proclaiming his triumphs over all foes, prophesying his victory over Babylon, his liberation of the exiles, and his instructions to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple, as the arm of the Lord.¹ The Book of Ezraontwo separate occa- sions records adecree (or two decrees) in which Cyrus officiallyauthorizes the construction of the Temple, the restoration of the sacredarticles, and provisions for paying the costs.² And allusion to his role in the creation of anew temple re- surfaces in the Sibylline Oracles.³ Nor is this rosy portrait of Cyrus apurelyJewishconstruct.Hegets high marks in Herodotusand in Aeschylus’ playthe Persae. Xenophon madehim the subjectofalaudatory fictional biography. Alexander the Great paidsignal homagetothe tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae, orderingits repair,renovation, and enhancement.Itwas apoint of pride for the Macedonian king. The Jews certainlyhad reason to express gratitude.Cyrus’ successfulsup- planting of Babylonian rule made possible the Israelite return from exile and le- gitimized the reconstruction of the Temple, accordingtotradition. The portrait, however,istoo good to be true. Cyrus, as we know,did not always act as the gen- tle and generous conqueror.⁴ But that raises afundamental question. Whateverthe truth of the matter, whyshould the Jewish composers of Deutero-Isaiah and of Ezra-Nehemiah have presented apicture that underscored Jewish debt to agentile ruler and de- pendence upon aforeign power?Grateful Jews huddlingunder the protection of Isa., ., ., .–., .–, .–. Ezra, .–, .–. Sib.Or., –. See J. Wiesehöfer, Ancient Persia (London, ), –,with references. 230 10.Persia Through the Jewish Looking-Glass the powerful prince is not the most uplifting image. Would this not simplyrein- forcethe idea of the helpless subordinate nation suffering under oppressive des- pots and prosperingunder benevolent autocrats?Such aconstruct of Persia would do little to bolsterthe self-esteem of the Jews. Iwant to reexamine the representation of Persianrulership in awhole range of Jewish texts. AndIwant to suggest that the portrait is not quite so flatteringas we customarilythink.Jewish writers who fashionedthe representation had more devious ends in view than mere gratitude towardorreassurance from the mighty monarch. The projected idea of Persia allowed them to reconceive their own so- ciety within alargerMediterranean empire. The prophecies of Second Isaiah herald the victories and benefactions of Cyrus the Great.Onthe face of it,the prophet shows remarkable prescience. Aconsensus sets the author in the earlyyears of Cyrus’ reign, prior to the fall of Babylon in 539,and thus agenuine anticipator of events.⁵ The proposition is implausible. Asharp prognosticator,informed of Cyrus’ taking of Ecbatana in 550 and of Sardis in 546,might have forecast thatBabylon was next on the agenda. But it would take considerable clairvoyancetoenvisageCyrus’ decree to liberate the exiles, rebuild Jerusalem, and restorethe Temple.⁶ Andgreater foresightstill would be required to record in advance the re-peopling of Judah and the construction of the walls of Jerusalem.⁷ This reads very much likethe clarity of hindsight.⁸ See, for instance, C.R. North, TheSecond Isaiah (Oxford, ), –;C.Westermann, Isaiah –:ACommentary (Philadelphia, ), –;P.R.Ackroyd, Israel under Babylon and Per- sia (Oxford, ), –;J.Blenkinsopp, Isaiah – (New York, ), .Doubts, however,haveappeared in A. Kuhrt, “Nabonidusand the Babylonian Priesthood,” Pagan Priests:Religion and Powerinthe Ancient World, ed. M. Beard and J. North, (Ithaca, ), –,esp. ;K.Baltzer, Deutero-Isaiah (Minneapolis, ), –;J.Goldstein, Peo- ples of an Almighty God (New York, ), –. Isa., .–, .. Isa., ., ., .–. To be sure, the prophet speaks of the devastation of Babylon and the humiliation of its gods; Isa., .–, .–.Cyrus, in fact,proved to be agentle conquerorinBabylon, honored its deities,and spared the city;see the “Cyrus cylinder”,A,Kuhrt, “The Cyrus Cylinder and Achae- menid Imperial Policy,” JSOT, , –;J.B. Pritchard, TheAncient Near East: An Anthol- ogyofTexts and Pictures (Princeton, ), –, –.The discrepancyhas often been pointedout; e.g. C.E. Simcox, “The Role of Cyrus in Deutero-Isaiah,” JAOS , , –.But the languageofSecond Isaiah is metaphorical here,the conventional thunder of prophets. The lines certainlydonot requirethat the author live beforeCyrus’ triumph in Bab- ylon;so, rightly, Goldstein, Peoples of an Almighty God, –.They represent,infact,aJew- ish spin on Cyrus’ deeds.The discrepancycauses no surprise. 10. Persia Through the Jewish Looking-Glass 231 The role of Cyrus in the conception of Second Isaiah is clear and consistent— and not necessarilytothe credit of the king.Cyrus serves as the instrumentof God. The author does not ascribe anysterlingqualities or lofty aims to the ruler of Persia. It is God who summonsCyrus to his service, delivers up nations to him, and subjects kingstohis power.⁹ Cyrus is the shepherd of the Lord, even his “anointed one,” whom God leadsbythe hand to do his will, i.e. to subdue nations and strip monarchs of their weapons.¹⁰ Even the title and authority of Cyrus derive from divineelection.¹¹ The Lordalone instructs his shepherd to an- nounce the rebuildingofJerusalem and its temple and to restorethe exiles.¹² God calls his agent to carry out predeterminedduties and to fulfill the wordofthe Lord.¹³ In short,Cyrus’ successagainst Babylon amountstolittle more than the discharge of divine commands.¹⁴ Deutero-Isaiah has, in effect,claimedfor Yahweh the imperial accomplishments of the Persian king.That work constitutes not so much celebration or admiration as usurpation. Cyrus’ victories came at the behest of God and for the benefit of the Jews.¹⁵ Deutero-Isaiah assumed pro- phetic garb to place aJewish stamp upon Cyrus’ achievements. Josephus, in his rewritingofthe story,got the messageright.Where did Cyrus getthe idea of liberating the Israelites and orderingthe reconstruction of the Temple?Hegot it from reading the Book of Isaiah!¹⁶ Astrikingly similar idea maybefound in the famous fiction of Alexander the Great at the gates of Jerusalem. The invincible Macedonian monarch, according to the tale, marched upon the HolyCity,intent upon taking it,but was stopped dead in his tracks. The HighPriest appeared before Alexander,dressed like avi- sion that Alexander had once had and that promised him conquest of the Persi- an empire. Alexander performed proskynesis and acknowledgedthe power of Yahweh. Jewishpriests duly displayedthe Book of Daniel to him—never mind that it had not yetbeen written—and it prophesied the fall of Persia at the hands of aGreek. That was all that Alexander needed. The story,asisclear,ap- Isa., ., .. Isa., .–.. Isa., .–. Isa., ., .. Isa., .. Isa., .–. Indeed the futurebelongs to the people of Israel whowill be a “light unto the nations;” Isa., ., ., ., ..The covenant has now devolvedfromthe house of David to the Israelites as acollective;Isa., .–;cf. Blenkinsopp, Isa. –, ;Baltzer, Deut. -Isa., .Wheth- er this implies arejection of monarchygenerallyonthe part of Deut.-Isa., as is suggestedby R. Albertz, Die Exilzeit, .Jahrhundert v. Chr. (Stuttgart, ), –,ismorequestionable. Jos. A. J. .–. 232 10.Persia Through the Jewish Looking-Glass propriates for Jewish ends the futureconquests of Alexander the Great.They had all been foretold and guaranteed by Yahweh himself.¹⁷ The parallel with Cyrus in Second Isaiah is close. Yahweh gave Cyrus the meanstocreate the Persianem- pire—and gave Alexander the means to destroy it.Inboth cases the Jews were beneficiaries. Their godcould claim credit for the imperial successesofthe mightiest of conquerors. The stories have less to do with history thanwith appro- priation. The conception by Second Isaiah gains reinforcement from the Book of Ezra. That text supplies two versions of apurported decree by Cyrus, one in Hebrew, the other in Aramaic, authorizingthe rebuildingofthe Temple in Jerusalem. The authenticity of those documents is disputed and dubious.But they reveal much about the Tendenz of the author. The book of Ezrabegins with Yahweh stirring up the spirit of Cyrus to issue an empire-wide proclamation. The edict asserts that Yahweh hasaccorded him all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed him to see to the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. The king then exhorts all of God’speople to moveto Jerusalem and assist in the construction of the Temple to the Lord, godofIsrael whose dwelling place is Jerusalem. Those who remain, he adds, should support the project with their wealth, resources,and voluntary donations.¹⁸ It is not easy to swallow this text as the genuine article. An open declaration to the entire realm that the Jewishgod had promised Cyrus all

Load more