Ezra 6:22

Feast of unleavened bread. This was observed for one week, as required by the law (Ex. 12:15; 13:7; Lev. 23:6). On the spiritual meaning of the feast see 1 Cor. 5:8. King of Assyria. It is generally understood that Darius is meant here, and it is surprising to find him called “king of Assyria.” It is true that the Persian kings never called themselves “King of Assyria,” although from Cyrus until Xerxes they bore the title “King of Babylon” in addition to their other titles. Since Babylon had been part of Assyria for centuries, but had finally replaced that empire, occupying all its former possessions, it is possible that the name Assyria is here used as a synonym for Babylonia (see on 2 Kings 23:29). According to another interpretation, Assyria here is simply a designation for the great power of Western Asia, whether at the time the statement was made this power might be Babylonia, Persia, or some other power. Support for this view is found in recently discovered documents of the intertestament period, in which the Seleucid kings are called Assyrians.