Introduction: The Continuation of the Prophecy Concerning Cyrus
Chapter 45 in Yeshayahu is in fact a direct continuation of the previous chapter. There it was said: "[Hashem] Who says of Cyrus: He is My shepherd, and he shall fulfill all My desire; and saying of Jerusalem: She shall be built, and of the Temple: Your foundation shall be laid." We explained there two meanings of "My shepherd" (ro'i): the simple one, from the language of a shepherd - he tends My flock; and the second, from the word ra'ayon (idea or counsel) - I reveal to him My thoughts and designs. "And he shall fulfill all My desire": Cyrus, king of Persia, will fulfill My desire, which is the rebuilding of the Second Temple, an undertaking begun by Cyrus.
"To His Anointed, to Cyrus" - What Does "Anointed" Mean Here?
כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה לִמְשִׁיחוֹ לְכוֹרֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר הֶחֱזַקְתִּי בִימִינוֹ לְרַד לְפָנָיו גּוֹיִם וּמׇתְנֵי מְלָכִים אֲפַתֵּחַ לִפְתֹּחַ לְפָנָיו דְּלָתַיִם וּשְׁעָרִים לֹא יִסָּגֵרוּ׃ - So said Hashem to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and I will loosen the loins of kings, to open before him double doors, and gates shall not be shut.
From when did Cyrus become "anointed" (mashiach)? Rashi, and indeed most of the commentators, explain that any appointment to greatness is referred to as anointing (meshichah), as in the verses: "I have given them to you for anointment" (concerning the priestly gifts), "and you shall anoint Hazael," "you shall anoint as prophet in your place," and "because Hashem has anointed me." Anointing means appointment - appointing a person to greatness. Here too, "to His anointed, to Cyrus" refers to the appointment and high station Cyrus would receive from Hashem. And what was the appointment? To redeem the Jewish people: that nations would be delivered into his hand, so that the people of Israel could return to their land and build the Second Temple. Radak likewise explains that this refers to the appointment Hashem bestowed upon Cyrus.
The Gemara in Tractate Megillah (12a) explains this quite differently: "Rav Nachman bar Rav Chisda expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written, 'So said Hashem to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held'? Was Cyrus the Messiah? Rather, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the Messiah: I have a grievance before you concerning Cyrus. I said, 'He will build My House and gather My exiles,' yet he said, 'Whoever is among you of all His people... let him go up.'" According to this, the Holy One, Blessed be He, is speaking to His anointed, and about Cyrus. Why specifically to the Messiah? Because the Messiah is appointed over the redemption. As it were, the Holy One, Blessed be He, comes to the Messiah and says: Look, I had great expectations for Cyrus, and he failed to live up to them. The expectation was that he would rule over nations, that I would loosen the loins of kings before him, that double doors and gates would not be shut, that he would fight, bring the people of Israel back to their land, and build the Temple. In practice, however, instead of being active he was passive: "Whoever is among you of all His people... let him go up" - he opened the gates, whoever wants may go. That was not his task. His task was that the nations would be subdued beneath him and that he would actively gather the exiles. In the end, only about fifty thousand people went up in the days of Ezra and Nechemiah - is fifty thousand people the Jewish nation? That is barely a neighborhood! Cyrus failed to fulfill his role, and that is the grievance.
Rashi adds that this is also evident in the cantillation notes (ta'amei hamikra): above the word limshicho ("to His anointed") is a zarka, and a segolta ordinarily follows a zarka, but here there is no segolta. This indicates that there is a pause: "So said Hashem to His anointed," and then "concerning Cyrus" as a separate thought. The cantillation proves that "to His anointed" does not join directly with Cyrus; Cyrus is not the Messiah, and because he did not exert himself in this matter, there is a claim and grievance against him.
Hashem's Promises to Cyrus in the First Verse
"To subdue nations before him" (lerad lefanav goyim) - according to the plain meaning, this is related to flattening and leveling (leraded): all the nations will be flattened before him. "And I will loosen the loins of kings" - Rashi and Radak explain that when one wants to strengthen a person, he girds his loins, as in the phrase, "Gird your loins like a man," or Eliyahu, who girded his loins and ran before Achav. But when one wants to weaken someone, he loosens the loins. That is, the kings will be weakened before you, and you will overcome them. "To open before him double doors, and gates shall not be shut" - according to Rashi and Radak, delatayim refers to the doors, while she'arim refers to the gateway structure where the doors are mounted; I will open the doors, and subsequently the gates will not be shut.
The Malbim explains: I appointed Cyrus so that he would fulfill My word, and furthermore, "whose right hand I have held," to lead him into battle and conquest. In his view, lerad is not from flattening, but from dominion and subjugation (rediyah), as in "and rule over the fish of the sea and over the beasts of the earth" - I gave him the power to dominate nations. "And I will loosen the loins of kings" - swords are girded upon the loins, and I will loosen their loins so that there will be no sword upon their hips to go out and fight. If so, what are you waiting for, Cyrus? I have paved the way before you.
Nor did he need to fear fortified cities. Should one say, "They have no swords, but how shall I conquer fortified cities?" regarding this it is said, "To open before him double doors." The Malbim distinguishes differently from Rashi: delatayim are the inner doors, whereas she'arim are the outer city gates. Not only will I open the outer gates, but even the inner doors. To this day our language reflects this: a "door" (delet) denotes something more internal, while a "gate" (sha'ar) denotes something external. Everything is opened before you - enter and rule over them.
"I Will Go Before You" - The Removal of All Obstacles
אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ אֵלֵךְ וַהֲדוּרִים אֲיַשֵּׁר דַּלְתוֹת נְחוּשָׁה אֲשַׁבֵּר וּבְרִיחֵי בַרְזֶל אֲגַדֵּעַ׃ - I will go before you and level the crooked paths; I will shatter doors of bronze and cut down bars of iron.
The Holy One, blessed be He, promises him that He will go before him and guide him. The Malbim explains: Even though your strength is too weak to accomplish such a feat of might, I will go before you. And when Hashem goes before you, at what point are you limited? There are no limits whatsoever.
"And level the crooked paths (vahadurim ayasher)" - this is the source of the well-known Hebrew idiom "to smooth things over" (literally, to straighten the rugged places). Rashi explains that hadurim refers to a wall, following Targum Yonatan's translation "shuraya" - meaning, I will conquer and level the wall before you. Another explanation: hadurim are winding, crooked paths, derived from a path that turns back and circles around (hadarah), not running straight. The Holy One, blessed be He, promises that you will have no crooked paths, only straight ones. The Malbim adds that this design was intentional from the start: when they built a fortress, they deliberately laid out winding paths around it so that an enemy could not easily approach and conquer it. Just as they would construct a river or moat around the fortress, with only a drawbridge lowered to enter and exit, all to prevent enemy access. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will level these winding paths, and you will be able to advance directly to the gate.
"I will shatter doors of bronze and cut down bars of iron" - in the natural course of events, when one comes to breach a door, one first breaks the lock or bar and then enters through the door. Yet here, the order is reversed: first, I will shatter the doors, and afterward I will cut down the bars. Why? To show that this conquest does not proceed naturally, but through a miracle. Therefore, Cyrus, merely go out to battle and see how much I will assist you.
"Treasures of Darkness and Hidden Hoards" - The Reward
וְנָתַתִּי לְךָ אוֹצְרוֹת חֹשֶׁךְ וּמַטְמֻנֵי מִסְתָּרִים לְמַעַן תֵּדַע כִּי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה הַקּוֹרֵא בְשִׁמְךָ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And I will give you treasures of darkness and hidden hoards of secret places, so that you may know that I am Hashem, Who calls you by your name, the God of Israel.
Treasures of darkness are all the silver, gold, precious stones, and pearls that a person stores away and places in a dark, concealed location. Babylon was brimming with treasures, and Scripture refers to it as "Madhevah" (Yeshayahu 14:4), which Chazal interpret as a realm that measures out gold (madadah zahav), a land replete with taxes and gold, the mistress of gold. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: All of its treasures and hoards - I will give to you.
And why did Cyrus merit this? Because he genuinely acknowledged Hashem. Cyrus proclaimed, "All the kingdoms of the earth has Hashem given me" (Ezra 1:2). This stands in stark contrast to the great monarchs who preceded him: the king of Assyria said, "By the strength of my hand have I done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding" (Yeshayahu 10:13), and Nebuchadnezzar said, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High" (Yeshayahu 14:14). They were all filled with arrogance - yet truly, what do you possess of your own? The Holy One, blessed be He, gives you everything. The only one who acknowledged Hashem's greatness from the outset was Cyrus. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged it only after he was struck down with a severe blow and lived for seven years like a wild beast of the field, as recounted in Sefer Daniel; initially, his path was one of arrogance. Radak adds that Cyrus observed that those who preceded him fell on account of their pride; therefore, he guarded himself against arrogance and recognized that everything comes from Hashem, Who casts down and lifts up.
The Malbim explains: After I grant you the power to conquer the fortresses - the doors will be shattered and the roads leveled - I will also give you both the treasures and the hoards. And why? For two reasons. First, "so that you may know that I am Hashem, Who calls you by your name": a name expresses renown and greatness, as in the phrase "May your name be throughout all the earth," and I publicize your name so that you will be able to conquer all those kingdoms. Second, "the God of Israel": I am the God of the Jewish people, having linked My Name exclusively to them, and I have a salvation to bring about here - the Jewish people. You are merely an instrument for their redemption. When the name of Israel is degraded among the nations, His Name, so to speak, is degraded; and when the name of Israel is exalted among the nations, His Name is exalted. Therefore, I will elevate and magnify your standing.
Rashi explains "Who calls you by your name" - even before you were born, I had already called you by your name, Cyrus. And where else do we find that an individual was called by his name many years before his birth, with his future deeds foretold? King Yoshiyahu: the prophecy of the man of God (Iddo) spoken to Yeravam as he stood to burn incense on the altar, when Yeravam stretched out his hand and ordered, "Seize him!" - and his hand withered (I Melachim 13). There it was stated that a king would arise named Yoshiyahu, who would eradicate idolatry and slaughter upon the altar the priests who ministered there.
The Difference Between Tamun (Concealed/Buried) and Nistar (Hidden)
The Malbim asks: What is the difference between burying or stashing an object (lehatmin) and concealing an object (lehastir)? Seemingly, they are one and the same. He also notes this distinction in the narrative of the spies sent by Yehoshua, where Rachav both "hid" (histirah) them and "stashed/buried" (hitminah) them among the stalks of flax. In Lashon HaKodesh, there is a genuine distinction: what is buried/stashed (tamun) is not necessarily hidden from sight (nistar), and what is hidden is not necessarily buried. If I am looking for you and you hide behind a wall, you are hidden (nistar), but not buried (tamun). If I take an object and cover it with a blanket in plain view of everyone, it is covered/stashed (tamun), but not hidden (nistar), since everyone knows where it is. If I place it in a location no one knows about and also cover it up, then it is both tamun and nistar. This is the meaning of "treasures of darkness and hidden hoards of secret places" - not only that which was stashed away, but also that which was stashed in secret places where no one knows its whereabouts: both buried in the ground and in an unknown location. Both of these the Holy One, blessed be He, promises to Cyrus.
"For the Sake of My Servant Yaakov" - Everything for the Sake of Yisrael
לְמַעַן עַבְדִּי יַעֲקֹב וְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּחִירִי וָאֶקְרָא לְךָ בִּשְׁמֶךָ אֲכַנְּךָ וְלֹא יְדַעְתָּנִי׃ - "For the sake of My servant Yaakov, and Yisrael My chosen one, I called you by your name; I gave you an honorable title, though you did not know Me."
The name "Yaakov" always represents the Jewish people in their lower spiritual state, evoking the heel (akev), whereas "Yisrael" represents their essence at the higher level, signifying mastery and nobility (sararah). The Holy One, blessed be He, says: All of this is "for the sake of My servant Yaakov" - from the standpoint of their service and deeds, they are not worthy of this exalted level, and they are still in the category of Yaakov, as they were not completely righteous in that era. But from the standpoint of My having chosen them to be My portion, they are "Yisrael My chosen one." On the basis of your deeds, you are Yaakov; but on the basis of the Holy One, blessed be He, having taken you to Himself and chosen you, you are Yisrael, possessing distinction and nobility. This is precisely reflected in the verse: "for the sake of My servant" corresponds to Yaakov, while "My chosen one" corresponds to Yisrael.
The Malbim adds a principle: miracles that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs for His own glory are not prophesied about in advance, whereas miracles performed for the sake of the Jewish people are prophesied before they occur, with the Holy One, blessed be He, announcing in advance what is to come. And this is the meaning: since I have done this for the sake of My servant Yaakov, therefore "I called you by your name" and also "I gave you an honorable title" - I conferred upon you an epithet of honor and distinction. And why did you merit all this? Because this is a miracle for the sake of the Jewish people, and it had to be announced beforehand. "Though you did not know Me" - when you were not yet even born, My prophets were already speaking of you.
Rashi interprets "though you did not know Me" not merely as a description, but as a grievance: I called you by a great name and gave you an honorable title - and what happened in the end? You did not know Me; you did not fulfill My will and did not live up to expectations. I said, "He shall build My city," but when he arose and became king, he merely said, "Whoever is among you of all His people..." (Ezra 1:3), casting the entire burden off his own shoulders. You were supposed to march at their head and fight for them; all the renown and all the promises were granted so that you yourself would carry it out.
The Radak explains "I called you by your name, I gave you an honorable title": many years before the exile of Israel, the prophet prophesied about the fall of Babylon; at times Cyrus is mentioned explicitly by name, and at times he is mentioned as a king who would arise without naming him - which is the meaning of "I gave you an honorable title," a title alone. In both instances alike, "though you did not know Me," meaning that you still did not know Me, that is, you did not proceed to fulfill what I commanded.
"I Am Hashem and There Is None Else" - Refuting Dualism
אֲנִי יְהֹוָה וְאֵין עוֹד זוּלָתִי אֵין אֱלֹהִים אֲאַזֶּרְךָ וְלֹא יְדַעְתָּנִי׃ - "I am Hashem, and there is none else; there is no God beside Me; I girded you, though you did not know Me."
At first glance, this verse seems out of place. Until now, we were dealing with instructions to Cyrus, his conquests, and the expectations placed upon him - so why suddenly "I am Hashem, and there is none else beside Me"? The Radak explains: since He told him "I girded you," meaning I will gird your loins with strength, and even before you knew Me, I already declared through My prophets that I would grant you power over all the kingdoms of the earth - it is clear that I am the Master of all power and there is no power beside Me; who, then, could possibly stand against you?
The Malbim, however, offers a magnificent explanation here, prefacing it with an introduction: among the Persian people at that time, dualism had spread. This belief, which was common among many ancient nations, asserted that it is impossible for both good and evil to emanate from a single power; that which is good cannot do evil, and that which is evil cannot do good. Therefore, in their view, there are two primary forces in the universe: a good power and an evil power. The good power bestows goodness, joy, sustenance, marriage, and childbirth; while the evil power brings death, sorrow, suffering, and wars. These two forces are locked in perpetual combat: when evil prevails, evil increases in the world, and when good prevails, good increases, and the world will be redeemed in the future when good gains the upper hand. According to their doctrine, light is the creation of the benevolent god and darkness is the creation of the malevolent god, and they wage war until light ultimately triumphs over darkness.
According to this view, darkness is not merely the absence of light, but an independently existing entity. A brief note is in order here: there is a major dispute among the Jewish commentators, including the Vilna Gaon, as to whether darkness is an independent creation or merely the absence of light, though we will not delve into that here. Seemingly, our verse comes to resolve this question:
יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חֹשֶׁךְ עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹרֵא רָע אֲנִי יְהֹוָה עֹשֶׂה כׇל־אֵלֶּה׃ - "Former of light and Creator of darkness, Maker of peace and Creator of evil; I am Hashem, Who does all these things."
The phrase "He forms light and creates darkness" implies that darkness is an independent creation, though some say it is merely the absence of light. While an actual creation of darkness certainly exists - as we saw in the plague of darkness - our ordinary darkness is not an entity created in its own right; rather, when there is no light, darkness automatically ensues. And this is the line of understanding we will follow.
The Malbim explains that those heretics firmly believed darkness was an entity in its own right, the product of an evil deity responsible for death and evil. According to their view, darkness was not a mere absence but an actual acquisition and reality, and the two realities opposed each other like cold and heat; it was difficult for them to accept that everything stems from a single Power. For us today, this is easier to comprehend: an air conditioner cools and a heater warms, and if someone were to wonder how this is possible, we would answer that it all comes from the very same power company. One single power can exert two opposite effects. So too, the Holy One, blessed be He, is one God, and from Him emanates the sefirah of Chessed and from Him the sefirah of Gevurah, and there is no contradiction, for everything stems from one single Root, blessed be He.
And we, the believers, says the Malbim, say to these foolish people: evil and good, light and darkness, life and death are not opposing entities, for darkness, death, and evil are nothing other than the privation of light, life, and good, and are not independent additions to the entity itself. To what may this be compared? A wealthy person - what has he acquired? Silver and gold; he has an acquisition. And the poor person - what has he acquired? Nothing at all. There is no "acquisition of poverty"; he simply lacks money and is therefore poor. Poverty is not an entity, but an absence.
Therefore, everything the Holy One, blessed be He, created in reality was created through acquisitions of good, and everything He formed consists of emanations of good. However, it was necessary for that good to be limited, for if good were limitless, you would already be in Gan Eden, and what room would there be for work and effort? Man's entire purpose in this world is to merit life in the World to Come without the "bread of shame" (nahama de-kissufa), and that merit is attained through effort. In the World of Truth, good is unlimited, but here, if there were no death, no evil, no damage, and no suffering, you would already be in Gan Eden. Therefore, the good is limited: the Holy One, blessed be He, granted life within boundaries, and when those boundaries end, death ensues. Did the Holy One, blessed be He, create death? He created life for a designated time, and when that time runs out, absence naturally occurs. That absence is neither a new acquisition nor a new entity; rather, when existence ceases, absence automatically follows.
And so it is in all matters: evil has no independent reality and no substantial existence; rather, evil is the cessation of good. For example, in a healthy person, the body functions at one hundred percent, each organ harmonizing with the next, the well-oiled machine operating properly. Does this happen on its own? Certainly, someone activated it and created the reality for it to function. And if he withdraws his hand, and the machine begins to creak - did he create a reality of creaking? No, he simply stopped maintaining it. Sickness is also an absence. Sickness was not created in the world; rather, the good was created, and when the flow ceases, a state of evil arises, but evil itself was not created. Every harm and every evil that you see is not a creation, but the bitterness of death and absence that trails on the heels of good. When the good ends, evil naturally follows in its wake. The same is true of light: Hashem created light, and when He removes it, darkness automatically results - not that He created an independent entity of darkness.
The Name Havayah and the Name Elokim
Here lies a wondrous concept. We attribute two primary Names to Hashem: Havayah and Elokim. He has seven Names that may not be erased, and in truth, His Names are endless, and the entire Torah consists of Names of the Holy One, blessed be He. Yet the primary ones are two, and they are the most prevalent throughout Tanach and the teachings of Chazal. In sacred texts, the Name Havayah is called Shem HaEtzem (the Essential Name). In truth, as has been explained, this is not His actual Name, for in terms of His very Essence, which transcends the Sefirot and is above that slender ray through which He channeled His light, He has no name at all, and no thought can grasp Him, for a name denotes limitation, and the Holy One, blessed be He, is subject to no limitation whatsoever. All discussion of Names applies only after the Holy One, blessed be He, emanated Sefirot to the world, their emanation flowing through the Name Havayah. And the Name Havayah denotes bringing into being (mehaveh) - the Holy One, blessed be He, brings all existence and reality into being. This Name represents the aspect of kindness (Chasadim): "Hashem, Hashem, God, merciful and gracious," the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy - the Name Havayah is a Name of mercy.
In contrast, the Name that expresses strict justice (dinim) is Elokim. And what is din? Din is a holy sefirah, and Gevurah is one of the holy Sefirot, whose essence is restriction: to give only according to a measured allocation, only what is deserved. Chessed is boundless emanation - this is the Name Havayah, limitless bounty and mercy; then Din arrives and restricts: Is it deserved? According to strict justice, is it fitting? And if not, it is withheld. Thus, all that comes into being in the world is bounty: light, life, livelihood, blessing - everything is brought into being from Havayah, blessed be He. And from where do the judgments arise? From the Name Elokim, which represents restriction. Consequently, Din is not the creation of evil, but rather the restriction of good: the appointed time has arrived and life ceases - this is the judgment and this is the cessation. Once the good ends, evil naturally ensues - but evil is not a creation. Even the Name Elokim does not denote evil, Heaven forbid, but rather the restriction and cessation of good bounty, and from that restriction stems the reality of absence: death, illness, poverty, and all those curses that can, Heaven forbid, befall man.
Notice, too, that the Name Elokim is in a plural grammatical form. Why? Because to an observer, it appears that there are many forces in creation: a force of death, a force of harm. Therefore, we say "HaElokim" - He is omnipotent, the Master of ability and Master of all forces. This is precisely what the Name Elokim comes to express: do not imagine that there is a separate force of evil or death; rather, everything comes from Him, blessed be He, everything stems from the Ein Sof, blessed be He. The Name expresses strength, might, judgment, restriction, and the cessation of bounty, while simultaneously expressing that all the forces that seem manifold are truly one. When the Holy One, blessed be He, suspends the bounty, absence is formed, and it is not an independent power.
The concept of dualism was widely accepted in the Persian Empire. Therefore, explains the Malbim, since the prophet is now prophesying concerning Babylon, the exile, and the redemption that would come about through Cyrus, king of Persia, he does not refrain from arguing against their vanity of beliefs. It is as if the Holy One, blessed be He, is saying: Do not think that because I assign you a mission and designate you to conquer kingdoms, I will not rebuke you where necessary and correct your flawed beliefs. This is the opportunity, at the very moment of appointment, to refute this false belief. This is the meaning of the verse: "I am Hashem" - I bring forth and sustain all existing beings; "and there is none else" - there is no other power, unlike what you believed, that there is an independent force of evil. And if there is no force of evil, where does evil in the world come from? "Beside Me there is no God" - restriction and Gevurah also stem from His power, and there is no power besides Hashem; evil and death are merely the restriction of Chessed, and the moment Chessed is restricted, good is withheld, and a reality of evil automatically ensues. "Beside Me" - I am One in absolute unity, and even though you see good emerging and evil emerging, know that everything stems from one single Root and one Source. And the fact that "I will gird you" and grant you strength even though "you have not known Me" and have not recognized My faith until now - all this is for the purpose of publicizing His Name throughout the world, so that all will know that the Holy One, blessed be He, is an absolute unity, and not like that foolish belief of the Persians.
"That They May Know from the Rising of the Sun"
לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ מִמִּזְרַח שֶׁמֶשׁ וּמִמַּעֲרָבָה כִּי אֶפֶס בִּלְעָדָי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה וְאֵין עוֹד׃ - That they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none beside Me; I am Hashem, and there is none else.
From the rising of the sun to where it sets, throughout the inhabited world, all inhabitants of the earth shall know "that there is none beside Me" - there is nothing other than Hashem, and He is the root of everything in existence, and evil does not emanate from Him, as explained. "I am Hashem, and there is no other" - there is only the force of good, of existence itself, and there is no independent force of evil; rather, evil is merely the absence of good, not a force in its own right.
In summary:
The chapter opens with the appointment of Cyrus: "His anointed" is an expression of appointment and greatness, and according to the Gemara in Megillah - a complaint of the Holy One, blessed be He, against Cyrus for not living up to expectations, as he was meant to conquer, gather the exiles, and build the Temple, yet in practice he merely opened the gates and said, "Whoever is among you of all His people... let him go up." The Holy One, blessed be He, paved the entire path before him: subjugating nations, loosening the loins of kings, opening double doors and gates, leveling roads, miraculously shattering doors of bronze and iron bars, and even granting him treasures of darkness and hidden hoards as his reward. And all this was "for the sake of My servant Jacob, and Israel My chosen" - that Israel is the ultimate purpose, and Cyrus is merely the instrument. Amidst all this, the prophet teaches the foundation of faith against the dualistic belief of the Persians: there are not two forces; evil, darkness, and death have no independent existence, but are merely a contraction and absence of good, and everything stems from a single Root - "I am Hashem, and there is no other."