When was Jerusalem Destroyed?
DanielÕs Understanding of the
Seventy Years
EzraÕs Understanding of the
Seventy Years
A quick look at any secular source will give 586 or 587 -BCE as the year of JerusalemÕs 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 JerusalemÕs destruction has become very important to several groups who use the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar as the starting point for calculations relating to ChristÕs 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 BabylonÕs 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 SolomonÕs 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 ÔIn 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.Õ 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 BabylonÕs capture. The only biblical dating possible is based
on a prophesy of Jeremiah, and some references by Zechariah.
Consider
first Jeremiah 25:11-12: ÔAnd 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,Õ
Supporters
of the 607 date for JerusalemÕs destruction say this scripture shows that 70
years would pass from the time of JerusalemÕs 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 Ôprophet to the nationsÕ (Jeremiah 1:5). Who were the nations Jeremiah was
speaking of with the phrase Ôthese nationsÕ? 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,
letÕs look at Jeremiah 29:10, as it is presented in several translations:
ÔThis is what the LORD says: ÔWhen seventy years are
completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to
bring you back to this place.Õ - NIV
ÔFor thus says the LORD, ÔWhen 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.Õ - NASB
ÔFor 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.Õ - AMP
ÔAfter Babylonia has been the strongest nation for seventy
years, I will be kind and bring you back to Jerusalem, just as I have
promised.Õ - CEV
The
King James and other bibles have confused matters slightly by their incorrect
use of the phrase Ôat BabylonÕ rather than Ôfor BabylonÕ, 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 JerusalemÕs 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 Ôfor BabylonÕ
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 JeremiahÕs 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:
ÔJeremiah
now said to Zedekiah: ÔThis is what Jehovah, the God of armies, the God of
Israel, has said, ÔIf 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.Õ
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 GodÕs appointed agent,
Nebuchadnezzar, and be destroyed.
DanielÕs Understanding of the Seventy Years
The
prophet Daniel was aware of the contents of JeremiahÕs letter, and personally
experienced its dramatic fulfillment when the King of Babylon saw the writing
on the wall – literally. Daniel interpreted these mysterious writings:
ÔAnd
this is the writing that was inscribed: MEÕNE, MEÕNE, TEÕKEL and PARÕSIN. ÔThis
is the interpretation of the word: MEÕNE, God has numbered the days of your
kingdom and has finished it. ÔTEÕKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and
have been found deficient. ÔPEÕRES, your kingdom has been divided and given to
the Medes and the Persians.Õ (Daniel 5:25-28)
Yes,
God had Ônumbered the daysÕ 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: ÔIn
that very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killedÕ (Daniel 5:30).
This
obviously refers back to the prophecies of Jeremiah. This Ônumbering of daysÕ
was of course revealed in advance and not kept secret (Amos 3:7).
LetÕs
look at Jeremiah 25:11, 12 again and note the order of events:
ÔAnd
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,Õ is the utterance of
Jehovah.Õ
First the 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 Ôseventy years are
completed for BabylonÕ would Jehovah fulfill his words to Ôcome to you and
fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.Õ (Jeremiah 29:10)
It was
these words that Daniel found when he started to examine these prophecies
immediately after the fall of Babylon:
ÔIn 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.Õ
(Daniel 9:2)
Daniel
simply says that seventy years had to pass before JerusalemÕs devastations could end.
He does not say that these seventy years started when Jerusalem was destroyed.
Many translations use the plural, Ôdevastations.Õ 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 Ôthe successive devastations of Jerusalem.Õ
The
Hebrew word for ÔdevastationÕ 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 Ôthe
inhabitants of these devastated placesÕ (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 JerusalemÕs 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.
EzraÕs 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 JeremiahÕs 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:
ÔFurthermore,
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 JehovahÕs 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.Õ (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 EzraÕs 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: ÔOn 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.Õ
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:
ÔSo the angel of Jehovah answered and said: ÔO 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?Õ
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 Ôseventy yearsÕ 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 Ôhow long?Õ 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:
ÔFurthermore,
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: ÔShall I weep in the fifth
month, practicing an abstinence, the way I have done these O how many years?Õ
And the word of Jehovah of armies continued to occur to me, saying: ÔSay 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?Õ
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 NebuchadnezzarÕs 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 Ôruler over all the jurisdictional district of Babylon and the chief
prefect over all the wise men of BabylonÕ (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?
To read
an opposing opinion, please see the document, 587 or 607 – The
Bible View
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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, NebuchadnezzarÕs father NaboPolasar was still alive thus these years are counted to him, as is NebuchadnezzarÕs 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
(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
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One of our
advisors sent the following note:
ÔI 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.Õ