At the end of the previous chapter, God's greatness is described: "I who say to the deeps: be arid; I shall dry up your rivers" (44:27). Immediately following, another verse begins with the same words, "I who say": "I who say of Koresh: he is My shepherd, fulfilling all My will" (44:28). Almost seamlessly, amidst the depiction of God's greatness, we are introduced to a dramatic revelation — the prophet discloses the name of Koresh, destined to be God's emissary for rebuilding Jerusalem: "he should tell Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and the Sanctuary, ‘Let her be founded.’" After previously emphasizing God's ability to foretell future events, here we are presented with a specific prophecy: the naming of a leader who will lead the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

Chapter 45 systematically presents the prophecy about Koresh: "Thus says the Lord to His anointed one, to Koresh, into whose right hand I invested strength to subjugate nations before him and to loose the belts of kings" (45:1). Koresh is depicted as a divinely chosen leader (even referred to as "His anointed") who will gain dominion over nations and kings. All of this is for the sake of the people of Israel (45:4) and to bring Koresh himself to recognize God's greatness: "To know that it is I the Lord who calls your name – I, the God of Israel" (45:3). Earlier in Yeshayahu, the focus was on Assyria, another empire described as a tool in God's hands — though Assyria boasted in its own power and failed to acknowledge its divine role. Here, however, Koresh, leader of the new empire, is portrayed as recognizing his role as God's emissary and even invoking God's name.

In Sefer Ezra, we see this prophecy fulfilled through Koresh's famous declaration: "Thus says Koresh, king of Persia: ‘The Lord, God of the heavens, has granted me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, in Yehuda’" (Ezra 1:2). Koresh here acknowledges God's sovereignty and, as a result, grants permission for the Jews to return to their land and rebuild Jerusalem. But was Koresh truly such a righteous man? Examining the fascinating artifact known as the Cyrus Cylinder reveals a remarkably similar declaration made to the Babylonians. This suggests that Koresh's actions can be understood not as stemming from profound piety or recognition of the one true God, but as part of a broader political policy of religious tolerance and inclusion toward the various peoples under his rule. What does this imply about our understanding of this chapter? We’ll leave it as an open question for reflection.

Another significant issue raised by this chapter is the dating of chapters 40–66 in Sefer Yeshayahu. We will address this question in greater detail later, but for now, it is worth noting that the explicit mention of Koresh by name in a prophecy is one of the main reasons scholars argue that these chapters were composed in a later period than the prophet Yeshayahu's lifetime. Why would Yeshayahu, who lived generations before the destruction of the Temple, already prophesy about the future return to Zion, including the naming of the leader of the empire that would facilitate it? Alternatively, one could assert that this is precisely the power of prophecy through God's word: to foresee the future and speak of consolation and redemption even before the destruction. (See, for example, Rashi on Yeshayahu 44:7 and 45:3; Ibn Ezra on 45:5; Alsheikh on 45:6–7.)