And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
Kept the feast ... with joy: for the Lord ... turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them - i:e., king of the Persian empire, which now included the possessions, and had surpassed the glory, of Assyria as well as of Babylon and Media (D'Herbelot, 'Bibliotheque Orientale,' sub voce 'Noah'). The three great ancient empires were frequently viewed and spoken of as the same under different dynasties. The use of this title has been accounted for on a different ground-namely, that this chapter, along with the preceding five, was written by Haggai or Zechariah, who, in common with the older Jewish exiles, were accustomed to apply it to the kings that carried them captive (Hervey, 'Genealogy,' p. 318; see Introduction to Ezra).
The favourable disposition which Darius had evinced toward the Jews secured them peace and prosperity, and the privileges of their own religion during the rest of his reign. The religious joy that so remarkably characterized the celebration of this feast was testified by expressions of lively gratitude to God, whose overruling power and converting grace had produced so marvelous a change on the hearts of the mighty potentates, and disposed them, pagans though they were, to aid the cause and provide for the worship of the true God.