Ezra 1:5-11: The Vessels of the Temple

The biblical account sees the support for the return as coming both from the Jewish community in Babylonia as well as from the Persian ruler who returned the sacred vessels taken by the Babylonians when they sacked the Jerusalem Temple in 686 B.C.E.

⁵ Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁶ All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings.

⁷ Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. ⁸ Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.

⁹ This was the inventory: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 silver pans, 30 gold bowls, 410 matching silver bowls, 1,000 other articles.

¹¹ In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem
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