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More problems for the 605, 587 BCE dating - Nebuchadnezzar and Jerusalem?

 

Historians hold that Babylon fell to Cyrus’ army in October 539 B.C.E. Nabonidus was then king, but his son Belshazzar was coruler of Babylon. Some scholars have worked out a list of the Neo-Babylonian kings and the length of their reigns, from the last year of Nabonidus back to Nebuchadnezzar’s father Nabopolassar.

According to that Neo-Babylonian chronology, Crown-prince Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians at the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C.E. (Jeremiah 46:1, 2) After Nabopolassar died Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon to assume the throne. His first regnal year began the following spring (604 B.C.E.).

The Bible reports that the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in his 18th regnal year (19th when accession year is included). (Jeremiah 52:5, 12, 13, 29)

Thus if one accepted the above Neo-Babylonian chronology, the desolation of Jerusalem would have been in the year 587/6 B.C.E.

But on what is this secular chronology based and how does it compare with the chronology of the Bible?

 

Some major lines of evidence for this secular chronology are:

Ptolemy’s Canon:

Claudius Ptolemy was a Greek astronomer who lived in the second century C.E. His Canon, or list of kings, was connected with a work on astronomy that he produced. Most modern historians accept Ptolemy’s information about the Neo-Babylonian kings and the length of their reigns (though Ptolemy does omit the reign of Labashi-Marduk).

Evidently Ptolemy based his historical information on sources dating from the Seleucid period, which began more than 250 years after Cyrus captured Babylon.

It thus is not surprising that Ptolemy’s figures agree with those of Berossus, a Babylonian priest of the Seleucid period.

 

Nabonidus Harran Stele

(NABON H 1, B): This contemporary stele, or pillar with an inscription, was discovered in 1956. It mentions the reigns of the Neo-Babylonian kings Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-Merodach, Neriglissar. The figures given for these three agree with those from Ptolemy’s Canon.

 

VAT 4956:

This is a cuneiform tablet that provides astronomical information datable to 568 B.C.E. It says that the observations were from Nebuchadnezzar’s 37th year. This would correspond to the chronology that places his 18th regnal year in 587/6 B.C.E.

However, this tablet is admittedly a copy made in the third century B.C.E. so it is possible that its historical information is simply that which was accepted in the Seleucid period.

 

 

Business tablets:

 

Thousands of contemporary Neo-Babylonian cuneiform tablets have been found that record simple business transactions, stating the year of the Babylonian king when the transaction occurred. Tablets of this sort have been found for all the years of reign for the known Neo-Babylonian kings in the accepted chronology of the period.

From a secular viewpoint, such lines of evidence might seem to establish the Neo-Babylonian chronology with Nebuchadnezzar’s 18th year (and the destruction of Jerusalem) in 587/6 B.C.E.

However, no historian can deny the possibility that the present picture of Babylonian history might be misleading or in error.

 

 

It is known, for example,

That ancient priests and kings sometimes altered records for their own purposes. Or, even if the discovered evidence is accurate, it might be misinterpreted by modern scholars or be incomplete so that yet undiscovered material could drastically alter the chronology of the period. 

 

Evidently realizing such facts

 

Professor Edward F. Campbell, Jr., introduced a chart, which included Neo-Babylonian chronology, with the caution: "It goes without saying that these lists are provisional. The more one studies the intricacies of the chronological problems in the ancient Near East, the less he is inclined to think of any presentation as final. For this reason, the term circa [about] could be used even more liberally than it is."—The Bible and the Ancient Near East (1965 ed.), p. 281. 3

 

Christians who believe the Bible have time and again found that its words stand the test of much criticism and have been proved accurate and reliable.

They recognize that as the inspired Word of God it can be used as a measuring rod in evaluating secular history and views. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)

 

For instance, though the Bible spoke of Belshazzar as ruler of Babylon, for centuries scholars were confused about him because no secular documents were available as to his existence, identity or position. Finally, however, archaeologists discovered secular records that confirmed the Bible. Yes, the Bible’s internal harmony and the care exercised by its writers, even in matters of chronology, recommends it so strongly to the Christian that he places its authority above that of the ever-changing opinions of secular historians.

 

But how does the Bible help us to determine when Jerusalem was destroyed, and how does this compare to secular chronology?

 

The prophet Jeremiah predicted that the Babylonians would destroy Jerusalem and make the city and land a desolation. (Jeremiah 25:8, 9) He added: "And all this land must become a devastated place, an object of astonishment, and these nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years." (Jeremiah 25:11)

 

The 70 years expired when Cyrus the Great, in his first year, released the Jews and they returned to their homeland. (2 Chronicles 36:17-23) We believe that the most direct reading of Jeremiah 25:11 and other texts is that the 70 years would date from when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and left the land of Judah desolate.—Jeremiah 52:12-15, 24-27; 36:29-31.

Yet those who rely primarily on secular information for the chronology of that period realize that if Jerusalem were destroyed in 587/6 B.C.E. certainly it was not 70 years until Babylon was conquered and Cyrus let the Jews return to their homeland. In an attempt to harmonize matters, they claim that Jeremiah’s prophecy began to be fulfilled in 605 B.C.E. Later writers quote Berossus as saying that after the battle of Carchemish Nebuchadnezzar extended Babylonian influence into all Syria-Palestine and, when returning to Babylon (in his accession year, 605 B.C.E.), he took Jewish captives into exile.

Thus they figure the 70 years as a period of servitude to Babylon beginning in 605 B.C.E. That would mean that the 70-year period would expire in 535 B.C.E.

 

 

But there are a number of major problems with this interpretation:

 

Though Berossus claims that Nebuchadnezzar took Jewish captives in his accession year, there are no cuneiform documents supporting this.

 

 

More significantly:Jeremiah 52:28-30 carefully reports that Nebuchadnezzar took Jews captive in his seventh year, his 18th year and his 23rd year,

not  his accession year. Also, Jewish historian Josephus states that in the year of the battle of Carchemish Nebuchadnezzar conquered all of Syria-Palestine "excepting Judea," thus contradicting Berossus and conflicting with the claim that 70 years of Jewish servitude began in Nebuchadnezzar’s accession year.—Antiquities of the Jews X, vi, 1.

Furthermore, Josephus elsewhere describes the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and then says that "all Judea and Jerusalem, and the temple, continued to be a desert for seventy years."

(Antiquities of the Jews X, ix, 7)

He pointedly states that "our city was desolate during the interval of seventy years, until the days of Cyrus." (Against Apion I, 19) This agrees with 2 Chronicles 36:21 and Daniel 9:2 that the foretold 70 years were 70 years of full desolation for the land. Second-century (C.E.) writer Theophilus of Antioch also shows that the 70 years commenced with the destruction of the temple after Zedekiah had reigned 11 years.—See also 2 Kings 24:18–25:21.

But the Bible itself provides even more telling evidence against the claim that the 70 years began in 605 B.C.E. and that Jerusalem was destroyed in 587/6 B.C.E.

As mentioned, if we were to count from 605 B.C.E., the 70 years would reach down to 535 B.C.E. However, the inspired Bible writer Ezra reported that the 70 years ran until "the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia," who issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to their homeland. (Ezra 1:1-4; 2 Chronicles 36:21-23) Historians accept that Cyrus conquered Babylon in October 539 B.C.E. and that Cyrus’ first regnal year began in the spring of 538 B.C.E. If Cyrus’ decree came late in his first regnal year, the Jews could easily be back in their homeland by the seventh month (Tishri) as Ezra 3:1 says; this would be October 537 B.C.E.

However, there is:

no reasonable way of stretching Cyrus’ first year from 538 down to 535 B.C.E. Some who have tried to explain away the problem have in a strained manner claimed that in speaking of "the first year of Cyrus" Ezra and Daniel were using some peculiar Jewish viewpoint that differed from the official count of Cyrus’ reign. But that cannot be sustained, for both a non-Jewish governor and a document from the Persian archives agree that the decree occurred in Cyrus’ first year, even as the Bible writers carefully and specifically reported.—Ezra 5:6, 13; 6:1-3; Daniel 1:21; 9:1-3.

Jehovah’s "good word" is bound up with the foretold 70-year period, for God said:

"This is what Jehovah has said, ‘In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon I shall turn my attention to you people, and I will establish toward you my good word in bringing you back to this place.’" (Jeremiah 29:10)

Daniel relied on that word, trusting that the 70 years were not a ‘round number’ but an exact figure that could be counted on. (Daniel 9:1, 2) And that proved to be so.

Similarly, we are willing to be guided primarily by God’s Word rather than by a chronology that is based principally on secular evidence or that disagrees with the Scriptures.

It seems evident that the easiest and most direct understanding of the various Biblical statements is that the 70 years began with the complete desolation of Judah after Jerusalem was destroyed. (Jeremiah 25:8-11; 2 Chronicles 36:20-23; Daniel 9:2) Hence, counting back 70 years from when the Jews returned to their homeland in 537 B.C.E., we arrive at 607 B.C.E. for the date when Nebuchadnezzar, in his 18th regnal year, destroyed Jerusalem, removed Zedekiah from the throne and brought to an end the Judean line of kings on a throne in earthly Jerusalem.—Ezekiel 21:19-27.

 

(JW Archive Material)

 

Letusreason

 

 

 

　

Claudius Ptolemy—a Fraud

How certain can we be of the presently accepted chronology of the ancient Babylonian Empire? For many years, chronologists have put heavy reliance on the king list of Claudius Ptolemy, a second-century Greek scholar often considered the greatest astronomer of antiquity.

However, in his new book "The Crime of Claudius Ptolemy," the noted physicist Robert R. Newton of Johns Hopkins University offers proof that many of Ptolemy’s astronomical observations were "deliberately fabricated" to agree with his preconceived theories "so that he could claim that the observations prove the validity of his theories."

 

In its comments on Newton’s book, "Scientific American" magazine notes: "Ptolemy’s forgery may have extended to inventing the length of reigns of Babylonian kings. Since much modern reconstruction of Babylonian chronology has been based on a list of kings that Ptolemy used to pinpoint the dates of alleged Babylonian observations, according to Newton ‘all relevant chronology must now be reviewed and all dependence upon Ptolemy’s [king] list must be removed.’"—October 1977, p. 80.

 

These findings illustrate why secular history and chronological reckoning cannot be relied upon when they conflict with the Bible. Unlike secular historians, the Bible writers had nothing to gain by misrepresenting the facts. Also, what they wrote became part of "all Scripture" that "is inspired of God."—2 Tim. 3:16.

Misdeeds in the Scientific Past

Great scientists of the past were not all as pure and dedicated as we are made to believe. Besides Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727; see page 6), here is a list of some others whose misdeeds have also come to light. 

 

Claudius Ptolemy, of the second century C.E., whose geocentric view of the universe held sway for 1,400 years, was considered "the greatest astronomer of antiquity." Today scholars believe that he obtained his data, not by observations, but by copying the work of an early Greek astronomer, Hipparchus of Rhodes. He was also suspected of having obtained some data by working backward from the results he expected.

 

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Italian mathematician and astronomer, noted for the testing of falling weights at the leaning tower of Pisa, was regarded as the founder of modern experimental science for his reliance on observable facts rather than the writings of Aristotle for answers. Yet contemporaries had difficulty reproducing his results, and he was known for his "thought experiments," imagining rather than observing the outcome.

 

Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), Austrian monk and botanist, was credited with the discovery of the laws of heredity. His experiments with garden peas pioneered the science of genetics. His theory and data agreed so precisely that some investigators thought "he made occasional subconscious errors in favor of expectation," while others felt he was guilty of data selection, using only those that agreed with his theory.

 

Robert Millikan (1868-1953), eminent American physicist, won the 1923 Nobel prize for determining the electric charge of the electron. In recent years, scholars studying Millikan’s lab notebooks detected data selection—discarding the half that did not suit his theory—even though his paper specifically stated that this was all the data obtained "during 60 consecutive days."

 

Sir Cyril Burt (1883-1971), leading figure in British psychology, helped shape England’s educational policy by his work on the IQ of children and his theory that intelligence is largely inherited. Another psychologist, in preparing Burt’s biography, discovered fraud in nearly everything Burt published in the last 30 years of 3

his life. "His work often had the appearance of science, but not always the substance," said the biographer.

 

 

"If the luminaries of scientific history would on occasion misrepresent their data for the personal vindication of seeing their ideas prevail, the temptations must be all the greater for contemporary scientists,"

says the book Betrayers of the Truth. Whether this is true or not, science and scientists are no exception when it comes to fraud and deception!

(JW Archive Material)

 

Letusreason

 

 

Doc 2

 

The Problem with Setting Bible Historical Dates

NOTE:The purpose of this document is not to raise questions about the accuracy of the Bible and the dates that are suggested therein, but to illustrate the unreliability of using secular dating as a basis for establishing Bible history.

 

Through the centuries, Bible scholars and students have been trying to establish dates for the events described in the Bible, so that some link can be made to the second coming of Jesus and the Battle of Armageddon. As the result, some have focused on the first destruction of Jerusalem as a reference point, setting its date as 587-BCE or 607-BCE (depending on the particular religious viewpoint). How did they arrive at these dates?

Well, using the accepted secular date for the destruction of Babylon, 539-BCE, and adding two years into the reign of King Darius, then subtracting seventy years (per Zechariah 1:1, 12) brings us to a destruction of Jerusalem in 607-BCE. However, popular historical data sets the destruction of Jerusalem at 587-BCE. So, which (if either) of these dates is correct? Despite all the wrangling about this matter, it's hard to tell.

To illustrate the gravity of the problem, let's just start with the accuracy of our current calendar system (Gregorian), and see how documented its starting point is:

The Gregorian calendarwas established in the late 16^thCentury, and it dates all events from the birth of Jesus. However, it is generally thought that there is no zero (or birth of Jesus) year for this calendar, so Jesus was actually born about 2-BCE… and this defies all logic. The reason for this anomaly is said to be; that the calendar was based on Roman numerals, which have no zero. Yet, the creators of this calendar were fully aware of the existence of, and of the need for a zero as the time of the birth of Jesus. But be that as it may; when was Jesus born?

Notice that the date for the birth of Jesus is actually in doubt, for using the Gregorian calendar with its 'no zero year' as a starting point, some scholars place Jesus' birth as being 4-BCE, based on the description of the date of his birth found in Luke 2:1. Could this be accurate? Well, that would put the destruction of Jerusalem in 70-CE at exactly 40 years from Jesus' death (in 30-CE), which might make some sense. However, such a date would throw the prophecy of seventy weeksor 490-years, (as found in the book of Daniel) off by three years. For, many accept that the order to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (the starting point for the prophecy) happened in 455-BCE.

The Command to Rebuild the Temple

At Ezra 1:1-4, it is recorded that Persian King Cyrus (pronounced Kai-russ) sent out the decree that the Temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem was to be rebuilt, even providing materials for that rebuilding work; and it says that this happened in the first year of his reign. When does secular history say that he began his reign? Secular history puts that date at 559-BCE, and it says that he is the conqueror of Babylon. However, the Bible (at Daniel 5:31) says that Darius (pronounced Dah-ree-oss) the Mede conquered Babylon at age 62, and Cyrus isn't mentioned until sometime later (See Daniel 6:28).

As for Darius; historians say that there was no such king of the Medes, for their kingdom was overthrown by Cyrus the Great in 548-BCE, and that Babylon was destroyed in 539-BCE. So, Babylon (they say) was conquered by Cyrus the Persian; and the account in Daniel, which says Darius the Mede did the conquering, is in error. They say that Darius was a Persian king whose reign (522-BCE to 486-BCE) followed that of Cyrus.

However, notice that the account in Ezra tells us of a King of Persia, also named Darius, who reigned after Cyrus and after the time of Xerxes and his son ArtaXerxes (see Ezra 4:24). But earlier (see Ezra 4:5), Darius the King of the Medes is shown to be living at the time when King Cyrus gave the order to rebuild the Temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem. So as you can see; historians have simply missed the fact that there were two kings named Darius.

Jewish historians have long claimed that there truly was a Darius, king of Media, and they say that he was the maternal uncle of Cyrus. And the fact that Darius was a Mede and that he did rule the land of the Chaldeans is once again confirmed at Daniel 9:1. Notice that in this reference, Darius' father was said to be AhasuErus, who is not the same as the later AhasuErus (Xrexes) that is mentioned in the book of Esther, but Astyages(the previous king of Media).

Then there is another mentioning of Darius as the king, immediately following the fall of Babylon, at Zechariah 1:1. That this is not Darius the king of Persia who historians say succeeded Cyrus, is confirmed at Zechariah 7:1-6, where it shows that God's Temple had not yet been rebuilt, and it mentions the seventy years of Jewish captivity as something that was ongoing. Also, the Persian king was said to have lived sixty-three years, while the Bible shows that the Median king lived at least sixty-six years.

So, which is wrong, the Bible or the historians? Probably neither. For, archaeological records tell us that there was a lesser Persian king under Cyrus, who was related to him and who had once been a king of Media. In fact, he was the grandfather of the later Darius I. His name (from Persian inscriptions) was Arsames, and it seems likely that he was the Darius mentioned in Daniel 5, Ezra 4, and Zechariah. It is not unusual for ancient kings to be known by other names; and the fact that his grandson took the same name (Darius), is a good indicator that Arsames is the same as the Darius who conquered Babylon.

Now, if secular history is right, the order of Cyrus for the Jews to return to their homeland (his first year) happened in 559-B.C.E., not 537, and this throws all the calculations for the time of Jerusalem's destruction out the window. Yet, according to Jewish historians, all of this happened some eighty-seven years later than the historical dates (see the table below):

 

 

The Orthodox Jewish Timeline : Chronological Dates Based On The Seder Olam Rabbah Dates
(1) With A Year 0
Seder Olam Rabbah Date	Modern Proleptic Gregorian Calendar Date	Event In Jewish History
2892	868 B.C.E.	David becomes King of Israel.
2924	836 B.C.E.	Solomon becomes King of Israel.
2928	832 B.C.E.	Jerusalem: First Temple started.
2935	825 B.C.E.	FirstTemplecompleted. It takes 7 1/2 years to build the Temple and was completed in the autumn of the 11th year of Solomon's reign.
2964	796 B.C.E.	In the region of Judea: Division of the Kingdom of Israel into two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Israel in northern Judea and the Kingdom of Judah in southern Judea.
3338	422 B.C.E.	Babylonians destroy First Temple on the 9th of Av and exile the Jews to Babylon.
3389	371 B.C.E.	Babylon falls to Medes and Persians under Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Great of Persia; Cyrus reigns; Proclamation of Cyrus, he permits Jews to return to Eretz Yisrael. Return to Israel. Minority returns in Nissan - same month as Exodus from Egypt. Persian Empire.
3391	369 B.C.E.	Darius the Persian permits Jews to rebuild Temple in Jerusalem. Second Temple started. Medean Empire.
3408	352 B.C.E.	SecondTemplecompleted.
3828	68 C.E.	Romans destroy Second Temple - 9th of Av. About 2,000,000 killed. Cruelty, Exile, Slavery. Destruction of Second Temple by Romans (according to some, the year was 3829 = 69 C.E.).

 

Also notice that the chart above even disagrees with the current (absolute) secular date of Jerusalem's destruction, putting it at 68-B.C.E., which seems to imply no zero year. So, who is right here?

The Destruction of Jerusalem to the End of 'Gentile Domination'

As you can see, determining the date for the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon isn't as easy as it looks, for everything hinges upon trust in 'absolute' dates, and there simply aren't any such things. So, you can go with secular history, or rely on Bible prophecies, or on Jewish history, but argue as you wish; the answer you select is improvable and still open to debate. For, secular historical data is questionable, the reference-point dates of Bible prophecies are unclear, and the Orthodox Jewish historical dates leave little room to accommodate the eras of the Greek and Roman empires.

But, if the date of the destruction of Jerusalem does in fact tie into the end of 'gentile rule' and the second coming of Jesus, as some say it does; doesn't God want us to understand when Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon? It could be.

Using the 607-BCE date as the destruction of Jerusalem, one religious group has looked to the words of Daniel 4:32 to show when Jesus would become king and the period of gentile rule (domination of God's people) would end. For there it speaks of 'seven times' (or 2,520 days of years), which will show that, 'Jehovah is over the kingdoms of men, and He gives it to whomever He wishes.'

So, if this is a prophecy of the second coming of Jesus, and it started in 607-BCE (as the date for the destruction of Jerusalem); adding 2,520 years (with no zero year) brings us to 1914-CE as the end of 'gentile domination' and the beginning of the reign of Jesus. This did (years after it was suggested) seem plausible, since World War One ('nation rising against nation') started in that year.

 

However, if the date of Jerusalem's destruction is moved forward another one-hundred-and-twenty years (as an example), and if the prophecy of Daniel 4:32 does in fact have any modern application, and if we knew the actual dates without calendar aberrations, this period could yet come in the near future. Confused? If so, we've done our job. Leave dogmatic conclusion to those who have stopped learning and bought into someone else's doctrines.

 

 

Doc 3

Jerusalem's Destruction
587 or 607?

NOTE: This document takes the position that Jerusalem was destroyed in 607-BCE. To read an opposing opinion, please see the document, When Was Jerusalem Destroyed?And to read an explanation of the complexities of trying to determine Bible dates from secular historical data, see the linked document, The Problem with Setting Bible Historical Dates.
Actually, we (the editors) agree that the 607-B.C.E. date is the more likely, despite the claims of historians, because the numbers simply work out better when calculating the radio-carbon dating of the fall of JeriCho, the most likely PharaOh of Egypt at the time of the exodus, and archaeological findings dating to the time of JoSeph. For more information, see the link in Exodus, Which Was the PharaOh of the Exodus?

Most secular historians point to 587/586-B.C.E. as the date for the desolation of Jerusalem, and many pages that have been written to prove this is true. But the question for Christians is; What does the Bible say? Can the Bible prove or disprove either date? Let’s take a closer look using Bible prophecies and events.

When Did NebuChadnezzar’s Reign Begin?

Most historians agree that 539-B.C.E. is the date of the overthrow of Babylon, for there is much evidence pointing to this. So, it is called an absolute date. However, secular historians say that Babylon’s king (NebuChadnezzar) began his reign in 605-B.C.E., while the Bible seems to indicate that his reign began in 625-B.C.E. What accounts for the 20-year discrepancy?

Notice that the Bible says at Jeremiah 52:12, 13 (NIV): ‘On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.'

Editor's Note:The words 'nineteenth year' do not appear here in the Septuagint. However, that it was the nineteenth year is indicated at Jeremiah 32:1.

The Bible shows that the Jews returned to their homeland in the first year of King Cyrus, which would have been 537-B.C.E. So, we arrive at 607-B.C.E. for the start of the desolation of Jerusalem by counting 70 years back from 537-B.C.E. (using the prophecy of the 70-years of Jerusalem’s desolation). And since the destruction occurred in NebuChadnezzar’s 19th year, if we count 18 years back from 607-B.C.E., this shows us that the date when NebuChadnezzar began his rule was 625-B.C.E.

Now, secular historians (who calculate their dates by how long each Babylonian King reigned) count back from what they think is the 19^th year of NebuChadnezzar’s reign (539-B.C.E.) and conclude that 587-B.C.E. was the year that Jerusalem was desolated. However, the Bible leaves us no doubt that they are wrong. Let us show you why.

JerusalemUninhabited for Seventy Years

The simple reason for concluding that 607-B.C.E. is the correct date can be found at Daniel 9:1, 2, which reads, ‘It was during the first year of the reign of Darius, the son of AhasuErus from the seed of the Medes, who ruled over the kingdom of the Chaldeans, that I DaniEl came to understand the number of the years from the words that [Jehovah] had given to the Prophet JeremJah, for there he prophesied that Jerusalem would lie desolate for seventy years.’

That this period is true is confirmed in the record at 2 Chronicles 36:20, 21, where we read, ‘Then he carried off everyone who was left to Babylon, where they served as slaves for him and his sons until the Medes came along and fulfilled the words of [Jehovah] through Jeremiah, and the land had observed its Sabbaths. For, during the seventy years that the land lay desolate, it was observing the Sabbath.’

Now, the Hebrew word that is translated desolate here is shama, which also means desert or wilderness… a place where no one lives. So, according to the Bible, Jerusalem was a desolate waste for 70 years. Then if Babylon was destroyed in 539-B.C.E., and Cyrus released the Jews in his first year (as the scriptures tell us), the date that Jerusalem was re-inhabited was 537-B.C.E… and counting back 70 years brings us 607-B.C.E.

But if (as historians say) Jerusalem started its desolation in 587-B.C.E., the 70-years of the Bible record would bring us to 517-B.C.E. Is it possible that 517-B.C.E. was when the Jews returned? No, for by that time, as both the books of Zechariah (written in 518-B.C.E.) and Haggai (written in 520-B.C.E.) show, the Jews had built houses, planted crops, and were working on the Temple. Why, Jerusalem had definitely been inhabited for quite some time before 517-B.C.E. So, 587 doesn’t fit into the prophecy or the Bible record.

Daniel's Exile

Some also claim that Daniel was in Babylon during the 2^nd year of NebuChadnezzar’s reign. So, they reason that if NebuChadnezzar started his rule in 625-B.C.E. and Daniel was brought into exile before that, he would have been well over 100-years-old when he died, since he lived under the rule of Cyrus and Darius after Babylon was conquered.

But notice what Daniel 1:1 says: ‘It was during the third year of the reign of JehoiAkim (the king of Judah) that NebuChadnezzar (the king of Babylon) came to Jerusalem and attacked it.’

Note that it was NebuChadnezzar who did the conquering and took the exiles, and among these exiles was Daniel, for Daniel 1:5, 6 says, ‘Then the king arranged for them to eat at the king’s table each day, to share in his banquet wine, and to have them taken special care of for three years. And after that, they were to be brought before the king.’

So, Daniel had been in captivity for at least three years by the end of this period, right?

But Daniel 2:1, 2 says, ‘It was in the second year of the reign of NebuChadnezzar that he had a dream, which disturbed him so deeply that he couldn’t sleep. So, the king said to call [his] officials, priests, sorcerers, and Chaldeans, to have them interpret the dream.’

This is one of the dreams that Daniel interpreted.

So, critics argue that this convincing proof Daniel was there in the 2nd year of NebuChadnezzar’s reign. But if Daniel had already been there at least 3 years, how could he interpret the dream in NebuChadnezzar’s2nd year? It would have been at least his3rd year. So, why did Daniel write that it was in the 2nd year of NebuChadnezzar’s reign?

The obvious reason for this is that Daniel was writing from the perspective of how many years the Jews had been under NebuChadnezzar’s rule. He was speaking of how many years NebuChadnezzar had ruled them, not how many years he had been king!

Notice for example, what Jeremiah 52:28 tells us. ‘These are the people whom NebuChadnezzar took into exile: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews.’

So, if the first exiles were taken by NebuChadnezzar in the 7^th year of his rule, then how could Daniel have been there to interpret his dream in the 2nd year of his reign?

The fact is; Daniel was taken into exile at the same time as Ezekiel, JehoiAchin, and the rest of the first exiles, which was around 617-B.C.E. So, he would have been less than 100-years-old when he served under both Cyrus and Darius. And that would have been very possible for a man full of God's Spirit and having Jehovah's support.

JehoiAkim's Rule

Promoters of the 587-B.C.E. theory argue that what the Bible says about the rule of JehoiAkim disproves 607-B.C.E. as the date of Jerusalem’s desolation. Does 607-B.C.E. fit in with the Bible history about JehoiAkim? Yes it does! Note:

JehoiAkim began his rule in 628-B.C.E., and he reigned for 11 years, For 2 Chronicles 36:5 tells us, ‘Twenty-five years old was JehoiAkim when he began to reign, and for eleven years he reigned in Jerusalem.’

NebuChadnezzar began his rule in 625-B.C.E. (the 4th year of JehoiAkim). For Jeremiah 25:1 tells us, ‘The word that occurred to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judahin the fourth year of JehoiAkim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, that is, the first year of NebuChadnezzar the king of Babylon.’

JehoiAkim was set up as a vassal king by NebuChadnezzar in 620-B.C.E., for 2 Kings 24:1 tells us, ‘In his days NebuChadnezzar the king of Babylon came up, and so JehoiAkim became his servant for three years. However, he turned back and rebelled against him.’

NebuChadnezzar conquered JehoiAkim in 617-B.C.E., then JehoiAchin reigned for 3 months thereafter. And during this time, many Jews were taken into captivity.

Note what 2 Kings 24:12-17 tells us about this: ‘Then JehoiAchin (the king of Judah) surrendered to the king of Babylon, along with his mother, servants, governors, and eunuchs, so the king of Babylon [took him captive] during the eighth year of his reign. Then he went in and took all the treasures in the Temple of [Jehovah], and all the treasures in the king’s palace. And he had all the gold things that Solomon (the king of Israel) had placed in the Temple of [Jehovah] cut off and removed, just as [Jehovah] said would happen. Then he took all the governors and all the important people from Jerusalem and carried them into captivity (some ten-thousand people), including all the contractors and their workers, so all that was left in the land was just poor people. He carried off JehoiAchin, his mother, his wives, his eunuchs, and all the great people of the land. He took them all from Jerusalem and resettled them in Babylon. He also carried off seven thousand of [Judah’s] greatest men, a thousand contractors and their craftsmen, and a thousand of the best soldiers, and took them to Babylon.’

2 Chronicles 36:5 tells us: ‘Twenty-five years old was JehoiAkim when he began to reign, and for eleven years he reigned in Jerusalem; and he continued to do what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah his God.’

Now, Daniel said that it was in JehoiAkim’s 3rd year that he was conquered, but he had to be speaking about the third year from the time that he started as a vassal king to NebuChadnezzar, for how could he be conquered in this 3rd year if he reigned for 11 years? So, NebuChadnezzar’s 8th year was JehoiAkim’s 11th year, just as the scripture shows.

Jeremiah 52:28 confirms this, for it says, ‘These are the people whom NebuChadnezzar took into exile: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews.’

So, he took exiles at the end of the 7th year (or at the beginning of the 8th year as described in 2 Kings 24), and in the 18th year of his reign.

Thereafter (in 617), Zedekiah began his rule, which lasted 11 years until 607-B.C.E. So Jeremiah 52:12, 13 tells us, ‘And in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that is, [in] the nineteenth year of King NebuChadnezzar, the king of Babylon, NebuZaradan the chief of the bodyguard, who was standing before the king of Babylon, came into Jerusalem.And he proceeded to burn the house of Jehovah and the house of the king and all the houses of Jerusalem; and every great house he burned with fire.’

Ezekiel's Exile

Since Ezekiel gives many prophecies in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem, it is vital that we establish exactly when Ezekiel was taken into exile. At Ezekiel 40:1 we read, ‘In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, in the start of the year, on the tenth [day] of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city had been struck down, on this very same day the hand of Jehovah proved to be upon me.’

So, here we can definitely establish that Ezekiel was in exile some 11 years before the destruction of Jerusalem. Using secular chronology, this would be597/598-B.C.E., but according to the Bible it would be 617/618 -B.C.E. Keep these dates in mind, because they are vital for the rest of our discussion.

Egypt's Forty-Year Desolation

Ezekiel prophesied that NebuChadnezzar would plunder and desolate Egypt… and he even showed how long that desolation would last! This prophecy is a key to establishing when the desolation of Jerusalem took place.

Part of that prophecy was made in the 27th year of Ezekiel’s exile, for we read at Ezekiel 29:17-19, ‘Now it came about in the twenty-seventh year, in the first [month], on the first [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah occurred to me, saying … Here I am giving to NebuChadnezzar the king of Babylon the land of Egypt, and he must carry off its wealth and make a big spoil of it and do a great deal of plundering of it; and it must become wages for his military force.’

Now, counting 27 years from 597/598 -B.C.E. (the date of Ezekiel's exile according to secular chronology) brings us to 570-B.C.E. But if we count 27 years from 617/618-B.C.E., that brings us to 590-B.C.E. These dates are very important when considering the prophecy that Ezekiel made about how long the land of Egypt would be desolated. For, notice how long Ezekiel then said Egypt was to be desolated (Ezekiel 29:12), ‘And I will make the land of Egypt a desolate waste in the midst of desolated lands; and its own cities will become a desolate waste in the very midst of devastated cities for forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.’

Now let’s compare the dates. Ezekiel gave this prophecy in 570-B.C.E., so the desolation had to take place sometime after that. Vat 4956 (the source that establishes the 37th year of NebuChadnezzar and which secular historians believe to be 568-B.C.E.) also talks about NebuChadnezzar’s campaign against Egypt. So according to secular chronology, NebuChadnezzar desolated Egypt in 568… his 37th year. So, the 40-year desolation would have ended in 528-B.C.E. But Cyrus let all the exiles go in 537-B.C.E.!

Historical records show that Egypt actually had an alliance with the last Babylon King, Nabonidus, before the destruction of Babylon in 539, so Egypt had been repatriated before 539… and 568 to 539 is less than 30 years. So, how could Egypt have been desolated for 40 years?

Now let’s compare these dates to what the Bible shows to be true. Ezekiel would have made the prophecy in 590-B.C.E., and the 37th year of NebuChadnezzar’s reign would be the year 588-B.C.E., which would also be the year that Egypt was desolated. Now let’s add the 40 years of desolation, and we arrive at the year 548-B.C.E., which allows plenty of time before their restoration (sometime before 539-B.C.E.). It amazingly fits into the Bible prophecies and chronology.

The Seventy-Year Prophecy for Tyre

In Ezekiel 26:1-4 we read of a prophecy that was to be fulfilled upon Tyre. It says, ‘And it came about in the eleventh year, on the first [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah occurred to me, saying … Here I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up against you many nations, just as the sea brings up its waves. And they will certainly bring the walls of Tyre to ruin and tear down her towers, and I will scrape her dust away from her and make her a shining, bare surface of a crag.’

Now, we can establish that Ezekiel made this prophecy either in 586-B.C.E. (according to secular chronology) or in 606-B.C.E. (according to Bible chronology).

Then notice what Isaiah 23:15-17 tells us: ‘And it must occur in that day that Tyre must be forgotten seventy years, the same as the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of a prostitute: Take a harp, go around the city, O forgotten prostitute. Do your best at playing on the strings; make your songs many, in order that you may be remembered. And it must occur at the end of seventy years that Jehovah will turn his attention to Tyre, and she must return to her hire and commit prostitution with all the kingdoms of the earth upon the surface of the ground.’

Now lets return to Ezekiel 26:7, 8 and see how what he wrote ties into the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, Here I am bringing against Tyre NebuChadnezzar the king of Babylon from the north, a king of kings, with horses and war chariots and cavalrymen and a congregation, even a multitudinous people.’

So, we see that Tyre was besieged by NebuChadnezzar, and for 70 years Tyre was ‘forgotten.’ This doesn’t mean that Tyre was to be desolated for 70 years, but that it was merely forgotten as a major commercial center.

Now, secular history would try to tell us that the siege of Tyre began shortly after the desolation of Jerusalem, which they say is around 586/7-B.C.E. And if so, the 70 years would therefore end in 517-B.C.E. But Ezra 3:6, 7 tells us ‘When the seventh month arrived the sons of Israel were in [their] cities. And the people began to gather themselves as one man to Jerusalem. And they proceeded to give money to the cutters and to the craftsmen, and eatables and drink and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians, to bring cedar timbers from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the permission granted by Cyrus the king of Persia to them.’

This event happened in 537/536-B.C.E., only 50 or so years after the siege of Tyre. And Isaiah 23:18 was fulfilled at this time when Tyre was hired by Jehovah, for the scriptures says, ‘And her profit and her hire must become something holy to Jehovah.’ (Because Tyre was supplying cedar timbers for Jerusalem, it was a holy work performed by Tyre).

So, secular chronology can’t be correct! The siege of Tyre could have only taken place in 606-B.C.E. shortly after the true date of the destruction of Jerusalem in 607-B.C.E. For if we count 70 years from 607/606-B.C.E., we arrive at just in the right year, 537/536-B.C.E. when the timbers were supplied for Jehovah's rebuilding work.

True Bible Chronology

As you can see, the timelines are impossible if 587-B.C.E. is the correct date of Jerusalem's desolation because:

The 70-year prophesy about Tyre, which began after the destruction of Jerusalem. If that happened in 586, it would bring us to 516, some 20 years after the exiles returned and Tyre provided cedars for the Jew’s rebuilding work.

The 40 years of devastation on Egypt. It that began in 568, the 40 years ends in 528, but all the exiles were released in 537.

The 70 years that Jerusalem was to be uninhabited and desolate. If 587 is correct, the desolation would have ended in 517, when houses had been built and crops grown for some 20 years.

So, here is the true chronology:

625 – NebuChadnezzar begins his rule

617 – Daniel, Ezekiel, and JehoiAchin were exiled

614 – Daniel’s training ends

607 – Jerusalem was destroyed and the 70 years begin

606 – Ezekiel prophesies against Tyre

606 – The siege of Tyre and the 70 years of being forgotten begins

605 – Daniel interprets NebuChadnezzar’s dream

590 – Ezekiel gets the prophecy of Egypt’s desolation and tells of the siege of Tyre is now completed (it lasted 13 years according to Josephus)

588 – Egypt’s 40-year desolation begins

548 – Egypt’s 40-year desolation ends

539 – Babylon is conquered

537 – the Jews are restored to their homeland and the 70 years end

536 – the 70 years on Tyre end when they provide timber for Jerusalem.

Yes, the date of 607-B.C.E. the fall of Jerusalem fits perfectly with the Bible. It is in fact the only date that does fit perfectly… no other date will work!

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EDITOR’S NOTE:While we (the editors) tend to agree with the 607-B.C.E. date, because it appears to be more in line with Bible prophesy, we have found that the point which readers attempt to use this date to prove (that mankind has been on the earth for just a little over 6,000 years) is probably badly flawed, for it is based on obvious miscalculations and on mistranslated scriptures. Please look at the OUR NOTEin the article by Jehovahs Witnesses, ‘1975 – A Marked Date?’ Also, see the OUR NOTEAND THE LINKS concerning the obvious errors in the Masoretic text periods in Genesis Chapters 5 and 11.

One of our advisers sent this note:‘I would remove the argument about the timing of Daniel's exile (3 years of training and then interpreting a dream in the second year of NebuChadnezzar). Those who make this argument are not taking into consideration the calculation of regnal years/ascension years for Babylonian kings. By the facts, this is entirely possible, hence it is not an argument against secular history's timeline.’

Another reader commented:

‘Something else you could add is Jer 1:3 where the originator of the prophecy of the 70 years states that Jerusalem went into exile in the 11th year of Zedekiah which is of course when Jerusalem started the 70 years of desolation. It would seem that Jeremiah gave a brief summary of the time period of his prophecy and the kings involved at the very beginning of his book to prevent any misunderstanding that the 2 events were at the same time. 68 years later Daniel interprets the writing on the wall then later under Darius the Mede recalls the 70 years of Jerusalem's desolation by Jeremiah and how it was close to completion. Dan 9:1,2 as you stated comfirmed this. Cyrus a little later gives the release order and the Jews were then allowed to return right on time 70 years after the desolation started. Whether any from the start of the exile were still alive aside from Daniel cannot be determined but for sure the next generation did. Most of the focus for the 587/6 crowd is with the exile rather than the desolation. There were some Jews removed some years before and this becomes part of their argument but misses the point of what the prophet was saying that the desolation would be for 70 years and the exile would be coincident with it. 607 is the only date that fits this scenario.’

 

For alteration in the translation by secular scholars of the VAT 4956 document and the photographic evidence, please see WT Oct 1-2011 and WT Nov 1-2011

 

Letusreason

These documents were passed on to me, the author is unknown and looks at the argument for the fall of Jerusalem!

 

Three documents

Looks at the view that Jerusalem fell in 587 (doc 1) Part 1

Problems setting biblical historical dates (doc 2) Part I

Looks at the view that Jerusalem fell in 607 (doc 3)Part II

 

Doc 1

When was JerusalemDestroyed?

Introduction

Accepted Secular History

Biblical Dating

The Seventy Years of Jeremiah

Daniel’s Understanding of the Seventy Years

Ezra’s Understanding of the Seventy Years

The Testimony of Zechariah

The Lifespan of Daniel

Archeological Evidence

NOTE: This document takes the position that Jerusalem was destroyed in 587-BCE. To read an opposing opinion, please see the document, 587 or 607 – The Bible View.And to read an explanation of the complexities of trying to determine Bible dates from secular historical data, see the linked document, The Problem with Setting Bible Historical Dates.

A quick look at any secular source will give 586 or 587 -BCE as the year of Jerusalem’s destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. Yet many people feel it was actually destroyed some 20 years earlier in 607-BCE (1). Proponents of the 607 date, state it is based on biblical evidence rather than secular histories. The answer of when the correct date for Jerusalem’s destruction has become very important to several groups who use the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar as the starting point for calculations relating to Christ’s return, the apocalypse, the gentile times or the history of the modern nation of Israel.

This document is not an attempt to discredit any individual or group, for many of them have been and continue to be very zealous in their worship. Nor are we trying to counter doctrines that are dependent on a specific date. However since any calculation is only as good as the date you start with, lets examine the current evidence used for one date or the other. Is it reliable or suspect?

Accepted Secular History

A good place to start is by looking at general reference works and encyclopedias. Below are some brief quotes from respected secular sources. Use the Bibliography links to read the entire articles.

... The intervening years after the fall of Samaria (722-BCE), and after the destruction of Jerusalem (586-BCE), were probably marked by closer intercourse, similar to the period of union in the popular traditions relating to the pre-monarchical age. (b1)

... This brought about the final siege of the city, which was at length taken and destroyed (B.C. 586). (b2)

... Some of the most important prophets and poets lived during the Babylonian Exile, the period of captivity that followed Babylon’s conquest of Judah in 587 or 586 B.C. (b3)

... In 586 B.C. it fell to the Babylonians, and the Temple was destroyed. (b4)

... Nebuchadnezzar subsequently engaged in several military campaigns designed to increase Babylonian influence in Syria and Judah, capturing Jerusalem in 597 BC, bringing King JehoiAchin to Babylon. Another siege of Jerusalem occurred in 586 BC, ending in the destruction of both the city and the Temple and the deportation of many prominent citizens to Babylon. (b5)

... Ashkelon was utterly destroyed by [Nebuchadnezzar], the Babylonian leader who later destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple in 586 B.C.E. (b6)

The Babylonian Exile (586–538) marks an epochal dividing point in Old Testament history, ... (b7)

... A new revolt occurred (588-587 BC) in Judea. After a siege of about a year, Jerusalem was finally destroyed in 586 BC ... (b8)

You will note all of the sources vary by no more than 1 year in their dating and do not mention any dissention or uncertainty. We will examine on what evidence this is based, and whether that evidence is reliable; first however let us examine the bible, as it remains the best most accurate source of information on ancient history.

Biblical Dating

The Bible contains no absolute dates, since our calendar was not invented when any part of the Old Testament was written. It is not possible, therefore, to date events directly. However, the Bible does provide many relative dates.

One example can be found at Daniel 1:1 ‘In the third year of the kingship of JehoiAkim the king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and proceeded to lay siege to it.’ Then follows an account of how the holy things in the temple were taken to Babylon, and some prominent Israelites were taken captive; among them Daniel. In Daniel 2:1, we likewise find an event dated in the 2nd year of Nebuchadnezzar.

This was how events were dated in the Biblical times. If we can date the reigns of the Kings, in this case JehoiAkim and Nebuchadnezzar, we can date the events. Any dating therefore requires some independent non-Biblical evidence. Only relative dates can be taken from the Bible itself. To reach actual dates we need an event that is dated both in the bible and in secular history. Using one of these pivotal dates we can use the relative dates of the bible to calculate the actual dates. The one date nobody seems to have a problem with is the capture of Babylon by Cyrus the Great in 538 -BCE

The Seventy Years of Jeremiah

The problem is that during the period of the Judean exile the biblical record is less than comprehensive. One can easily order and count events during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, however perhaps because there were no reigning Judean kings to base dates on, the bible is nearly silent as to the historical timetables until the days of Babylon’s capture. The only biblical dating possible is based on a prophesy of Jeremiah, and some references by Zechariah.

Consider first Jeremiah 25:11-12: ‘And all this land must become a devastated place, an object of astonishment, and these nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it must occur that when seventy years have been fulfilled I shall call to account against the king of Babylon and against that nation,’

Supporters of the 607 date for Jerusalem’s destruction say this scripture shows that 70 years would pass from the time of Jerusalem’s destruction and the land being desolate, to the time when the Jews would be restored to their homeland (2). Is this the case?

Well remember Jeremiah prophesied not only to the Judeans, but he was commissioned as a ‘prophet to the nations’ (Jeremiah 1:5). Who were the nations Jeremiah was speaking of with the phrase ‘these nations’? Continue down to Jeremiah 25:17-26 and he makes clear it would include all of the nations in the Palestinian area and even to the rest of the earth. And although the context speaks of desolations, you will notice the seventy years themselves were a time of servitude, not desolation. Also, notice that the end of the seventy years would be marked not by a return of the Jews but by an accounting with Babylon.

Next, let’s look at Jeremiah 29:10, as it is presented in several translations:

‘This is what the LORD says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.’ - NIV

‘For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.’ - NASB

‘For thus says the Lord, When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and keep My good promise to you, causing you to return to this place.’ - AMP

‘After Babylonia has been the strongest nation for seventy years, I will be kind and bring you back to Jerusalem, just as I have promised.’ - CEV

The King James and other bibles have confused matters slightly by their incorrect use of the phrase ‘at Babylon’ rather than ‘for Babylon’, but that aside, a look at the context in Jeremiah 29:4-11 shows these words to be part of a letter sent from Jeremiah to those who were taken captive from Jerusalem in the second (of three) deportations. This second deportation happened eleven years before Jerusalem’s final destruction. Jeremiah is telling the captives they should settle themselves and not expect a quick return as some false prophets had predicted, for only after seventy years had been accomplished ‘for Babylon’ would they return. This only makes sense if the seventy years had already begun.

If the seventy years were to begin with the destruction of Jerusalem some ten years after Jeremiah’s words were written, it would mean the people Jeremiah was writing to would have to wait even longer than seventy years. Plus to do so would mean God had already decided that Jerusalem would be destroyed. And if this were this case, the later warnings recorded at Jeremiah 38:17, 18 would have no meaning. It reads:

‘Jeremiah now said to Zedekiah: ‘This is what Jehovah, the God of armies, the God of Israel, has said, ‘If you will without fail go out to the princes of the king of Babylon, your soul will also certainly keep living and this city itself will not be burned with fire, and you yourself and your household will certainly keep living. But if you will not go out to the princes of the king of Babylon, this city must also be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will actually burn it with fire, and you yourself will not escape out of their hand.’

If God had already decided to burn the city ten years before he did it, such a warning would have been futile. However if we understand the seventy years to be years of servitude, then the warning to Zedekiah is clear, serve Babylon and the city and its inhabitants will be spared, rebel against God’s appointed agent, Nebuchadnezzar, and be destroyed.

Daniel’s Understanding of the Seventy Years

The prophet Daniel was aware of the contents of Jeremiah’s letter, and personally experienced its dramatic fulfillment when the King of Babylon saw the writing on the wall – literally. Daniel interpreted these mysterious writings:

‘And this is the writing that was inscribed: ME’NE, ME’NE, TE’KEL and PAR’SIN. ‘This is the interpretation of the word: ME’NE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and has finished it. ‘TE’KEL, you have been weighed in the balances and have been found deficient. ‘PE’RES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.’ (Daniel 5:25-28)

Yes, God had ‘numbered the days’ of the kingdom of the Babylonians. Exactly seventy years after they finally defeated the Assyrians, the Medes and the Persians under King Cyrus put an end to the Babylonian dominance. Daniel concludes: ‘In that very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed’ (Daniel 5:30).

This obviously refers back to the prophecies of Jeremiah. This ‘numbering of days’ was of course revealed in advance and not kept secret (Amos 3:7).

Let’s look at Jeremiah 25:11, 12 again and note the order of events:

‘And all this land must become a devastated place, an object of astonishment, and these nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it must occur that when seventy years have been fulfilled I shall call to account against the king of Babylon and against that nation,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.’

Firstthe seventy years had to run out, and then the king of Babylon would be called to account. Any interpretation that puts the ending of the seventy years after Babylon was called to account, is a contradiction of the text.

The Exiled Jews no doubt appreciated the significance of the end of the Babylonian empire. They knew that this would have to happen before they could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and the city. Only after ‘seventy years are completed for Babylon’ would Jehovah fulfill his words to ‘come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.’ (Jeremiah 29:10)

It was these words that Daniel found when he started to examine these prophecies immediately after the fall of Babylon:

‘In the first year of his reigning I myself, Daniel, discerned by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of Jehovah had occurred to Jeremiah the prophet, for fulfilling the devastations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.’ (Daniel 9:2)

Daniel simply says that seventy years had to pass before Jerusalem’s devastations could end. He does not say that these seventy years started when Jerusalem was destroyed. Many translations use the plural, ‘devastations.’ This would seem to argue against applying the seventy years to a single devastation of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The Jerusalem Bible even uses the expression ‘the successive devastations of Jerusalem.’

The Hebrew word for ‘devastation’ is chorbah. It does not mean complete destruction. Nebuchadnezzar took prisoners and booty from Jerusalem already in his accession year. Every year after this, his army passed through the land, no doubt causing more destruction, added to this the Bible speaks of marauder bands causing havoc in this time (2 Kings 24:2; Jeremiah 35:11). Ezekiel refers to ‘the inhabitants of these devastated places’ (Ezekiel 33:24, 27), which makes it obvious the word need not necessarily refer to places that are completely devoid of people. Comparing also Nehemiah 2:17, we see that the Bible calls Jerusalem devastated even after the Jews had returned to it. The term devastated place or devastations does not then have to be applied just to the time after Jerusalem’s destruction, but can rightly apply to the entire period.

We can see that Daniel 9:2 gives no support to a 607 dating. First, Daniel nowhere states that the seventy years started when Jerusalem was finally destroyed. Second, the devastations of Jerusalem started many years before the final destruction.

Ezra’s Understanding of the Seventy Years

The next Bible verse we will examine in regards to the seventy years is also concerned with the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Again, the text must be examined with the words of Jeremiah himself in mind. Ezra the scribe concludes his chronicles about the kings of Judah with these words:

‘Furthermore, he carried off those remaining from the sword captive to Babylon, and they came to be servants to him and his sons until the royalty of Persia began to reign; to fulfill Jehovah’s word by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had paid off its Sabbaths. All the days of lying desolated it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.’ (2 Chronicles 36:20, 21)

These words could imply that the land was desolated for exactly seventy years. But even if that is the case, the devastations still started before the final destruction of Jerusalem, so this lends no support to the 607 dating. Moreover, Ezra did not say that the period of seventy years ran parallel with the period the country laid desolated. He simply said that the seventy years had to end before the time of desolation was over.

Consider as well Ezra’s reference to the Sabbaths. Since Jeremiah nowhere mentions Sabbath years in relation to the seventy years. Ezra must be referring to another prophecy recorded at Leviticus 26:33-35. Ezra does not equal the time needed to pay off Sabbaths with the seventy years. He refers to two different prophecies, and states that two periods had to be completed before the Jews could return: the Sabbath rest and the seventy years of Babylonian supremacy.

There are two principles in relation to the Sabbath rest worth remembering. If the land had to rest for seventy years, this would have to mean that for 490 (7 x 70) years, the Jews had not kept Sabbath. This takes us back before the reign of the righteous David, even before Saul who was the first king. Is it likely that the country did not hold Sabbath for a single year during the reigns of Saul, David, Solomon, and Josiah? On the other hand, using accepted chronology the country was desolate (in this sense, not being used for agriculture) for approximately 50 years (536-BCE to 586-BCE = 50 years). This (7 x 50 years) brings us back very close to the time of the division of the Kingdom, which is attributed to the faithlessness of the king.

Let us now look at the remaining biblical evidence, the testimony of Zechariah.

The Testimony of Zechariah

Consider Zechariah 1:7 which reads: ‘On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, that is, the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Jehovah occurred to Zechariah the son of BarachiJah the son of IdDo the prophet.’

Most everyone seems to again agree that this corresponds to February 519-BCE. Notice what a messenger of God said at that time as recorded in verse 12 of Zechariah: ‘So the angel of Jehovah answered and said: ‘O Jehovah of armies, how long will you yourself not show mercy to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, whom you have denounced these seventy years?’

Yes, for 70 years God had denounced the cities of Judah. This takes us back to 589-BCE. According to backers of the 607 chronology, nothing of significance happened this year, moreover It would be ludicrous for this angel to say the cities had been denounced for ‘seventy years’ if this period started eighteen years after the complete destruction of the capital! In the established chronology however, this was the year when Nebuchadnezzar started the final siege on Jerusalem (2. Kings 25:1; Ezekiel 24:1, 2; Jeremiah 52:4).

Supporters of the 607 chronology have likewise linked these seventy years with the prophecy of Jeremiah, however if this angel was talking about a seventy year period from 607 to 537 - that had ended some 18 years earlier then why would the angel ask ‘how long?’ These very words demonstrate that at this point the period of denouncing had not yet ended. And since they continued, they must have started with a major event in 589-BCE. This seventy years is not the same as that of Jeremiah, nor is it even a prophetic period. The angel is simply stating that for seventy years of time Judah has been denounced, and is asking how much longer it will continue to be so.

Zechariah later delivers an even more fatal blow to those who insist on the 607 chronology. Consider Zechariah 7:1-5:

‘Furthermore, it came about that in the fourth year of Darius the king the word of Jehovah occurred to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, that is, in Chislev. And Bethel proceeded to send Sharezer and Regem-melech and his men to soften the face of Jehovah, saying to the priests who belonged to the house of Jehovah of armies, and to the prophets, even saying: ‘Shall I weep in the fifth month, practicing an abstinence, the way I have done these O how many years?’ And the word of Jehovah of armies continued to occur to me, saying: ‘Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, When you fasted and there was a wailing in the fifth month and in the seventh month, and this for seventy years, did you really fast to me, even me?’

The chronological evidence in these verses gives a wealth of information. They had been fasting in the fifth month in order to commemorate how on that day NebuZaradan, the chief of Nebuchadnezzar’s bodyguard, after two days of inspection, burned down the city of Jerusalem and its temple. They also fasted in the seventh month to commemorate the assassination of Governor GedaliJah, who was of the royal house of King David and whom Nebuchadnezzar made governor of the land for the Jews that were allowed to remain after the destruction of Jerusalem.

The Israelites asked if they should continue this fasting, so they were obviously doing it at the time and had been for seventy years. The date given for this vision of Zechariah (Chislev 9, 4th year of Darius) corresponds to November 518-BCE. This presents a problem if you want to date the destruction of Jerusalem at 607-BCE since this is some ninety years before. When we count seventy years however we come to the accepted chronology of 586/7-BCE.

The Lifespan of Daniel

If one puts the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 there is a major problem with the lifespan of the prophet Daniel as well. Recall that Daniel was exiled to Babylon (3) and completed three years of training. Then in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar he interpreted the dream of the immense image (Daniel 2:1). As a result, Daniel was made ‘ruler over all the jurisdictional district of Babylon and the chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon’ (Daniel 2:48). It would be hard to imagine Daniel was put in such a position as a mere boy. He must have been at least 18 years, and likely older.

Daniel continued to serve in the royal court well into the days of the Medes and Persians (Daniel 10:1). If we are to use the 607 chronology then his interpreting the Dream of the immense image occurred in 624-BCE. This is 86 years before Cyrus conquered Babylon, and since Daniel 10:1 was written in the third year of Cyrus that would make Daniel at least 107 years old, and likely even older. Using the established chronology, he is a much more reasonable 87 years old.

Archeological Evidence

We have seen that the timeline presented in the Bible agrees much more with the secular accepted history than it does with one supporting a 607 destruction of Jerusalem, but just what is that secular history based on?

Click to return to the document Armageddon When?

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Footnotes

(1) Although some other dates have been proposed the difference in understanding of any biblical dating of this time period is always in the length of the exile of the Jews, which is a primary point of this article.

(2) Cyrus issued an order almost immediately after taking power (538-BCE) allowing the Jews to return to their homeland, and some did return by the next year (537-BCE). If you assume the seventy years to be from the destruction of Jerusalem to the Jews return, then starting from 537 and counting backwards you reach 607-BCE.

(3) Although Daniel 1:1 refers to Nebuchadnezzar as king when he attacked Jerusalem and took Daniel captive, Nebuchadnezzar’s father NaboPolasar was still alive thus these years are counted to him, as is Nebuchadnezzar’s ascension year. Calling him king is not unusual, especially for Daniel, when we consider the account of Belshazzar, who Daniel also called king, and history only recently acknowledged as co-regent. So while Nebuchadnezzar may not have yet been the supreme ruler of the land officially he likely was so in daily practice.

Bibliography

(Sorry, this is a contributed article whose author is no longer available to us; and we have found that several of the links below are no longer available due to the number of years since this document was written.

(b1) http://86.1911encyclopedia.org/J/JU/JUDAH.htm
(b2) http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/nebuchadnezzar.html
(b3) http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/PrintArticle?id=ar401940&ss=h2&ed=na
(b4) http://www.bartleby.com/65/je/Jerusale.html
(b5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebuchadnezzar_II_of_Babylon
(b7) http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=73235
(b8) http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/n/nebuchad.asp

EDITOR’S NOTE:While we (the editors) tend to agree with the 607-B.C.E. date, because it appears to be more in line with Bible prophesy, we have found that the point which readers attempt to use this date to prove (that mankind has been on the earth for just a little over 6,000 years) is probably badly flawed, for it is based on obvious miscalculations and on mistranslated scriptures. Please look at the OUR NOTEin the article by Jehovahs Witnesses, ‘1975 – A Marked Date?’ Also, see the OUR NOTEAND THE LINKS concerning the obvious errors in the Masoretic text periods in Genesis Chapters 5 and 11.

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One of our advisors sent the following note:‘I would remove the argument about the lifespan of Daniel. Most scholars that I know (if they accept 607) do not accept that Daniel was in Babylon for the second year of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel's life becomes a sliding scale, fitting it into the timeline where it makes sense. It really is a moot point, since we have no universally accepted point of Daniel's birth. Also, there are records of Nabonidus' mother (if I remember correctly) living to the age of 107.’

 

To be concluded: See, Part II

 

 

 

 

Lay Trinitarians have been led to believe that the expressions used in the above, go to prove that Jesus is Jehovah and thus part of a Trinity! Empirical analysis shows otherwise!

All texts are from the NWT, unless stated otherwise.

Rev 1:17, 18

“And when I saw him, I fell as dead at his feet.
And he laid his right hand upon me and said: “Do not be fearful. I am the First and the Last, 18 and the living one; and I became dead, but, look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Ha′des.”

Rev 2:8, 9

“And to the angel of the congregation in Smyr′na write: These are the things that he says, ‘the First and the Last,’ who became dead and came to life [again], 9 ‘I know your tribulation and poverty—but you are rich—and the blasphemy by those who say they themselves are Jews, and yet they are not but are a synagogue of Satan.”
 

First, it will be noticed, that in the NT Jesus is never, ever called the “Alpha and Omega”, but we do see that he bears the title, “the First and the Last”!

We need to ask ourselves what this means in relation to Jesus! Three times we see the expression “Alpha and Omega”, but only two of them have “the beginning and the end”  and only the concluding one in Rev 22:12, 13 whilst the last on in that text does not, it has only “the first and the last”! Like the title “God” in John 1:1, does the above title “the first and the last” have the same weight of understanding, when it is applied to both Father and Son?

Rev 22:12, 13

“‘Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to render to each one as his work is. 13 I am the Al′pha and the O•me′ga, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”


The First and The Last?

In order to understand the above properly we need to see the context in which they are used!

Let’s look at Rev 1:17, 18 in full,

“And when I saw him, I fell as dead at his feet. And he laid his right hand upon me and said: “Do not be fearful. I am the First and the Last, 18 and the living one; and I became dead, but, look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Ha′des.”

Now let us turn to Rev 2:8 NCV

“The One who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again, says this…”

Here we see that the context is connecting Jesus’ death and resurrection to the understanding of the expressive title “the First and the Last”! Also to be noted is the fact that the expressions “Alpha and Omega” and “the First and the Last”, one is not to be seen in conjunction with the other in the texts above and neither is the expression “the beginning and the end”!

Well, we could ask, what does the expression “the beginning and the end” mean when it relates to Jesus? Simply put, the context shows that the expression “the beginning and the end” relates to Jesus death and resurrection by his God and Father, Jehovah and to be noted, the reason why he (Jesus) is called “the first born from the dead” (Rev 1:5, see also Col 1:18)

The expression “the Alpha and the Omega” also points to what Isaiah said in Isa 44:6,

“This is what Jehovah has said, the King of Israel and the Repurchaser of him, Jehovah of armies, ‘I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God.”

It must be noted that Rev 1:17 and Rev 2:8 where it is stated, “the beginning and the end”, is not to be understood in the same way as the “the beginning and the end” in Isa 44:6, where “the beginning and the end” is referring God the Father, Jehovah, where as with Jesus in mind, the shared expression “the beginning and the end” is to do with his death and resurrection and the context clearly shows that and also in context is where Jesus calls another his God i.e. “my God” in Rev 3:12

The expression “my God” is not an articulation, that the “the beginning and the end” in referring to God the Father, Jehovah in Isa 44:6 would use, as God the Father, Jehovah does not have one who is God to Him, but the Son does, who has a shared title “the beginning and the end”!

Another separation of “the beginning and the end” used in Rev 1:17; 2:8 and that it is not understood in the same way and in the same context, as that “the beginning and the end” used in Isa 44:6, is that in Rev 1:17; 2:8, that expression is restricted to Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection, whereas, God, Jehovah, the “our Father” cannot die (Hab 1:12) whereas, Jesus did die and had to be resurrected by another, his God and Father!

Isa 48:12, 13 is just a repetition of “the beginning and the end” i.e. “the first…the last”!



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