Which King gave allowed for the Jews to return and rebuild the temple?

• A. Nebuchadnezzar
• B. Cyrus the Great
• C. Darius
• D. Artaxerxes

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is understanding who opened the way for the people to come back and re-establish the worship center in Jerusalem after the exile. Cyrus the Great, the Persian king who defeated Babylon, issued a decree permitting the Jews to return to Judah and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. This royal order is what made it possible for Zerubbabel and the rest of the returned leaders to begin the reconstruction and honor the rebuilt temple, marking a significant shift from exile to restoration. Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler who had destroyed the temple and carried the people into exile, so his role is the opposite of allowing return. Darius later supported the project and confirmed the work after it began, but the initial permission to return and rebuild came from Cyrus. Artaxerxes is associated with later events, such as Nehemiah’s return to rebuild the walls, not the temple itself. So the king who first enabled the return and the rebuilding of the temple is Cyrus the Great.