(3.) In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, Daniel, after three weeks’ mourning and fasting, had the following vision on the twenty-fourth day of the first month:—He saw near the river Tigris (Hiddekel) a man of extraordinary appearance, who told him that he came in answer to his prayers; that for twenty-one days (x. 13) he was opposed by the prince of the kingdom of Persia, and had on his side only one of the princes, Michael. Future events are foretold: the fall of Persia, the division of the Greek kingdom, the wars between the Northern country (Syria) and the Southern (Egypt), the troubles of the Jews, the ultimate deliverance of the Jews out of danger, and the glorious victory of the teachers “who taught many, and led them to righteousness” (‏המשבילים ומצדקי הרבים‎ xii. 3). When Daniel asked, “Till when have we to wait for the end of these wondrous things?” (‏עד מתי קץ הפלאות‎ Ibid. 6), he was told, “After a season, seasons, and a half (‏למועד מועדים וחצי‎ Ibid. 7) [13] all these things will come to an end.” He further asks, “What then?” He is told, “The things must remain sealed till the time of the end (‏עד עת קץ‎ Ibid. 9), when the wise and good (‏משכלים‎) will understand them.” The vision ends with the words addressed to Daniel: “But thou go toward the end, and thou wilt rest, and rise for thy lot at the end of the days” (xii. 13). Ezra, ‏עזרא‎—The Book of Ezra relates the first return of the Jews under Zerubbabel from Babylon to Palestine by the permission of King Cyrus (‏כורש‎) of Persia, the construction of the altar, the foundation and the building of the Temple by permission of King Darius. It also describes the second settlement of Jews from Babylon in Palestine under Ezra, the Scribe, in the reign of Artaxerxes, and his energy in purifying the community from intermarriages with heathen people. The book is written in Hebrew, with the exception of iv. 8–vii. 27, which includes several documents written in Chaldee by the Persian kings. The author of the book is probably Ezra; he speaks of himself in the first person (vii. 28; viii. 1, &c.); he is also named as the author of the book in the Babylonian Talmud; and lastly, the name of the book is Ezra, although Ezra is only mentioned in the second half of the book. The special merit of Ezra was the promotion of the study of the Law; his name is followed by the title, “A ready scribe of the Law of Moses” (‏סופר מהיר בתורת ה׳‎ vii. 6), and “Scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes for Israel” (‏ספר דברי מצות ה׳ וחקיו על ישראל‎ vii. 11); the task he set to himself was “to study the Law of God (‏לדרוש את תורת ה׳‎), and to practise it, and to teach in Israel Law and judgment” (vii. 10).