Sheshbazzar
Prince of Judah and governor at the first return
The leader to whom Cyrus entrusted the temple vessels in 538 BC. He brought them to Jerusalem and is credited with laying the temple’s foundations.
Ezra calls Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah and says that Cyrus’s treasurer counted out the temple vessels to him (Ezra 1:7–11). A later report to King Darius names him governor and says that he laid the foundations of the temple (Ezra 5:14–16). Nothing more is known of him, and how he relates to Zerubbabel, who leads the work in the rest of Ezra, is not explained in the text.
In the timeline
- 538 BC, estimated dateThe Edict of Cyrus and the First Return
Cyrus of Persia, having taken Babylon, allows the Judean exiles to go home and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and hands back the temple vessels. A first group returns.