And Daniel continued even to the first year of king Cyrus.
וַֽיְהִי֙ דָּֽנִיֵּ֔אל עַד־שְׁנַ֥ת אַחַ֖ת לְכ֥וֹרֶשׁ הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Daniel remained present until the initial year of King Cyrus. We will later clarify that despite the current notation indicating his presence before Cyrus’s first year, it is also mentioned that he was there during the third year of King Cyrus and in the first year of Darius.
He did not include these elements casually but intended to reveal the duration of the entire prophecy. To accomplish this, he presented the prophecy's beginning and indicated its conclusion, allowing us to calculate the years of the preceding kings and thus comprehend the full span of the prophecy. Additionally, the Prophet illustrates that he beheld Cyrus, the one responsible for liberating the captives. In this earthly existence, he found comfort in witnessing the freedom of his fellow countrymen; for in the very first year of his reign, Cyrus instructed those Jews who were willing to return to Judea and he restored the temple of God, having received the prophecy from the revered Daniel regarding the foretelling by the Prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah explicitly stated, "Speak to Jerusalem, saying, ‘You shall be exalted, and you shall inhabit the city of Judah. Speak to Cyrus to understand, and to do all My will’" (Isaiah 44:26, 28). The Lord declared to His anointed Cyrus, assuring him that he would guide him, facilitating obedience from nations and rendering obstacles ineffective. "I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut apart the bars of iron; I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places" (Isaiah 45:1, 2). Having received this revelation, Cyrus permitted all Jews wishing to return to their homeland to do so. The book of Chronicles reveals the timing, stating: "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, when the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah was fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up’" (2 Chronicles 36:22, 23). Consequently, the blessed Daniel, demonstrating the timeline of the prophecy, included these accounts in the Hebrew scriptures, and Daniel lived even before the initial year of Cyrus's reign. We, in turn, will exalt the good Lord, who both strikes and heals, inflicts wounds and binds up, disciplines and extends His mercy. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS