Text: Isaiah 44:28
OT Text Referred to: Ezra 1:1-3
Subject: Temple worship and sacrificial system
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment
Significance: Isaiah 44:28 prophesies that Cyrus will say of Jerusalem "Let it be rebuilt" and of the temple "Let its foundation be laid." Ezra 1:1-3 records the direct fulfillment: Cyrus's decree states "The LORD, the God of heaven... has appointed me to build a house for Him in Jerusalem." The verbal correspondence between prophecy and fulfillment is striking: Isaiah promises a foundation-laying decree; Ezra records its issuance. Ezra adds that "the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus" (הֵעִיר יְהוָה אֶת־רוּחַ, he'ir YHWH et-ruach), making explicit that the pagan king's political decree was the result of divine initiative, exactly as Isaiah 44:28-45:1 portrayed Cyrus as God's chosen instrument.