When was Isaiah 45:13 fulfilled?

Question

Isaiah 45:13[NIV] I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty."

When was Isaiah 45:13 fulfilled?

Answer 1

The beginning of the Second Temple period (586 BC-AD 70) is marked by the return of Jews to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon in 538 BC. They were allowed to return under an edict issued by Cyrus King of Persia. By 515 BC the reinstated Jewish residents had completed building the Second Temple.

2 Chronicles 36:23 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’”

Ezra 1:2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.

Ezra 7:8 Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him

Answer 2

"When was Isaiah 45:13 fulfilled?"

The time period that led to the rebuilding of God's city, Jerusalem, commenced in the year of 538 BC, but was not completed until decades later. The 'him' in question here, soon to be aroused in righteousness, was Cyrus II of Persia, commonly known as Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Cyrus was appointed, anointed even, by God to be the 'shepherd' for His people, a temporal deliverer, serving as an 'illustration' of Jesus Christ, the eternal redeemer. Isa 44:28, 45:1 NASB

In October of 539 BC (an absolute historical date), just months before Cyrus' anointing, the overthrow of Babylon took place by the Medes and the Persians, who were led, not only by Cyrus II of Persia but also by Darius, son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was subsequently made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.

In Daniel 9:1,2 - the emphasis is put on Darius' first approved, if not regnal, year, again 538 BC, whereupon Daniel recognizes that his people are at the end of their 70 years of Babylonian captivity, as previously relayed to Jeremiah by God, a punishment for their sabbatical transgressions, a story in of its self, which we don't need to go into at this time. See Jer 25:11,12 & Lev 26:34-35,43.

Most historical records, put the first destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, which led to the said captivity, in 587/6 BC, but 70 years prior to 538 BC was actually 607 BC, the 'prophetic' 360 day year, being evidenced here, rather than the solar year, but again this is another story, which we also don't need to get into here, in regard to the OP's question.

According to other historical records, the decree of king Cyrus was to actually take effect in 537 BC, although Zerubbabel, along with 49,897 of his Jewish compatriots, did not leave for Jerusalem until 536 BC. In 515 BC, the second Jewish temple was completed, but it wasn't until much later, 444 BC thru 395 BC, which just happened to be the first 49 years of Daniel's, 70 Weeks (490 years) prophecy, after a further Persian king's decree, that of Artaxerxes I, in his 20th regnal year, that the city, as talked about in, Isa 45:13 and referred to in Isa 44:28, was completed.

Neither Cyrus, Darius or Artaxerxes, being mere vassals of God, demanded price or reward. These decrees having been instigated by God, Himself, were free of all worldly demands.

NB: The timing of the first 7 weeks (49 years) of Daniel's '70 Weeks' prophecy is hotly disputed, as is the end of the 69th week, amounting to 483 years, which centers around, or should I say ends, with Christ's 'cutting off', i.e. crucifixion. Many a theologian, whether alive or dead, attribute Artaxerxes' first decree, in his 7th regnal year, as the starting point for Daniel's '70 Weeks' prophecy. Some have even tried to attribute Cyrus' decree, as the starting point, but the math doesn't work in either case (Cyrus' decree aside, they try to use the solar year, when only calculations using the prophetic 360 day year should be used, at least IMO) particularly if one considers the death of Christ as having been on April 3, of 33 AD, which I have affirmed many times on this site, particularly in my ...hermeneuticsstackexchange.com/questions/38249/... and which incidentally was recently confirmed to me by our own @HoldToTheRod, in no uncertain terms, in an 'in depth' video series of his that I was recently privileged to see.

Answer 3

Yeddu has given an excellent answer already. Here I'll supplement a little by Pulpit Commentary:

In Greece a fixed sum was established by general consent as the ransom of a captive (Aristot., 'Eth. Nic.,' 5:6). Cyrus, however, in letting the Jews go free, would not be actuated by the paltry motive of pecuniary profit.