In the first year of Darius, the son of Assuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans:
בִּשְׁנַ֣ת אַחַ֗ת לְדָרְיָ֛וֶשׁ בֶּן־אֲחַשְׁוֵר֖וֹשׁ מִזֶּ֣רַע מָדָ֑י אֲשֶׁ֣ר הָמְלַ֔ךְ עַ֖ל מַלְכ֥וּת כַּשְׂדִּֽים׃
3 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Darius of Midian speaks here. When referring to the first year, the prophet is not indicating the initial summer of his reign but rather the first year as king. This period can also be recognized as the time he captured the followers of Belshazzar.
During the initial year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus from the Median lineage, who reigned over the Chaldean realm, it is important to note that this Darius is the one who, alongside Cyrus, triumphed over both the Chaldeans and Persians. This clarification is made to ensure he is not confused with the Darius in whose second year the temple was constructed—contrary to Porphyry's assertion aimed at extending the timeline referenced in Daniel—or with the Darius who faced defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great. By identifying him as the first of the Median line and emphasizing his victory over the Chaldean kingdom, the name is distinguished to eliminate any misunderstanding caused by the similarity of names.
It is clear that one kingdom belongs to Darius, the son of Assyrian ancestry, while the other is identified with Cyrus the Persian. The prophet refers to Darius not simply as a Midianite but as ‘of the tribe of Mizk,’ clarifying that he is not of Midian descent on both paternal and maternal sides. Darius ruled in the Chaldean empire after Belshazzar perished due to his wickedness, struck down as a result of God’s judgment. It appears this Darius held power for a brief period. As the prophesied time reached its fulfillment and the prophetic words of Jeremiah regarding the seventy years came to Daniel’s understanding, the blessed Daniel earnestly began to pray to the Lord on behalf of his people. This period concluded with the reign of Cyrus the Persian, as noted by the blessed Ezra.
In the introduction to his writings, he briefly recounts the conquest of Jerusalem, the captivity of his homeland, and the resettlement of the exiles in Babylon, stating: ‘And there were his servants and his sons, even unto the kingdom of Jesse, in fulfillment of the words of the Lord from the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, Till the land be willing to keep its sabbaths, throughout all the time of its desolation, the sabbaths shall be kept in fulfillment of the years seventy. To Cyrus king of Persia of the first summer, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah’ (2 Ezra 1:57, 58; 2 Ezra 2:1).
The most sacred Jeremiah proclaims: ‘Behold, I will send, and I will bring all the tribes of the north, and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon My servant: and I will bring him upon this land, and upon its dwellings, and upon all the languages round about it: and I will kill them, and will put them to terror, and to destruction, and to everlasting reproach. And I will destroy from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the fragrance of peace, and the light of the lamp. And it shall come to pass, that the whole earth shall come to desolation, and to terror: and these shall work in the Gentiles unto the king of Babylon seventy years. And when the seventy years shall be fulfilled, upon the king of Babylon, and upon his tongue,’ saith the Lord, their iniquities, and upon the land of the Chaldeans, and I will lay that land in everlasting desolation (Jeremiah 25:9-12). Thus, blessed Jeremiah clarified that the period of captivity would conclude with the downfall of the Chaldean empire, a detail further illuminated by Ezra’s mention of Cyrus.
However, we find that the divine Zechariah presents a different calculation of this timeframe. Following the deaths of Cyrus and his son Cambyses, Darius the son of Istasnus ascended to power. The Prophet indicates the timing by stating: ‘In the twenty-fourth of the first month, which is the month of Sabat, in the second summer of the reign of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias the son of Barachinn the son of Addon, the prophet’ (Zechariah 1:7). Shortly thereafter, the Lord’s word came to Zechariah, and the angel of the Lord responded: “Lord Almighty, until you have mercy on Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, which you have despised, this seventieth summer” (Zech. 1:12)? Some who struggle with disbelief might perceive a contradiction among the holy prophets, yet those strengthened by sacred truths and illuminated by divine grace discern their harmony.
Thus, as we seek a glimpse of this grace for ourselves, let us strive to reveal this concord to those unversed in these matters. The duration of captivity is confirmed by all—the divine Jeremiah, the wise Zechariah, and the blessed Ezra—each proclaiming a period of seventy years. Though they do not count this time from the same year, they affirm that this seventy-year span would conclude, with some asserting its end during Cyrus's reign and others during Darius’s. The blessed Jeremiah and Ezra, counting from the onset of the first captivity, rightly declare seventy years until the time of Cyrus the Persian. Meanwhile, divine Zechariah posits that the period of seventy years culminated during Darius’s reign, as under him the sacred temple was indeed rebuilt.
The people of God were taken into captivity three times: first under Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of the Jews; the second under Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin; and the third under Zedekiah, Jehoiakim's brother and Jehoiachin's uncle. Therefore, a threefold return was necessary. First, Cyrus the Persian granted their release, followed by Darius the son of Istaspes, and finally Artaxerxes, son of Xerxes, who sent Ezra and later Jehoiakim to reconstruct Jerusalem’s walls. Thus, for those first captured, the seventy years of captivity concluded with Cyrus the Persian. The continuation of the temple's desolation also ended in Darius’s second year, as the prophecies of Jeremiah and Zechariah align with Ezra's account in truth. Upon discerning this timeframe, and recognizing its approach to fulfillment, the blessed Daniel declares:
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS