I have finished my research on the problem of the chronology of the 70 years of Jeremiah and the 70 weeks of years of Daniel and how they fit with accepted Babylonian and Persian Chronology.
What I want to do here is to explain why it is important and how the Bible is specific and correct in every point. Many would say, "well I already knew that!" What is at issue is that many in the academic community continue to challenge the Bible because the pieces do not fit preconceived ideas. It also causes some relatively offbeat ideas to gain traction as people try to explain the seemingly unexplainable.
In Jeremiah we find two places where he announces specific judgment upon the kingdom of Babylon which will in the future (from his perspective) destroy Judah.
"And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations." Jer 25:12
"For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place." Jer 29:10
When do these 70 years start, and when do they end? Clearly the end is when Babylon is itself conquered. This is done by the Medes and the Persians under Cyrus the Great. He declares that he has been charged to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem:
"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah." Ezra 1:1-2
According to history the Medes and the Persians conquered Babylon, allowing the freedom of the Jews, this occurred in 539 BC. So 70 years before this would be 609 BC. What is happening in 609 BC which would fit this narrative? 609 BC is the year that Josiah dies, the last king who is called good. In fact, there is a clear reference to the judgment to come on Judah at the end of his reign.
"And like unto him (Josiah) was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
Notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal. And the Lord said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there." 2Kings 23:25-27
Immediately after this Pharaoh Necho and Nebuchadnezzar II begin to interfere in the affairs of Judah, and they are no longer free. This can clearly be the time when the 70 years begin. There is a war between Egypt and Babylon, actually very extensive and involving many other players during this time. The chronicles of the kings of Babylon detail the campaigns of Nabopolasser and the early years of his son Nebuchadnezzar II. They are fighting against Assyria with their allies the Medes and Egypt is helping Assyria. After Josiah dies fighting against Egypt (2Ki 23) Pharaoh Necho sets up the king of his choice, This is 609 BC.
After this follows 4 kings:
*Jehoahaz (son of Josiah) for 3 mos
"And Pharaohnechoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold" 2Ki 23:33
Egypt replaces him with:
*Jehoiakim (son of Josiah also called Eliakim) 609-598 BC
"In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years:then he turned and rebelled against him" 2Ki 24:1
"In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it." Dan1:1 (Daniel and others taken captive)
"And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land:for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt" 2Ki 24:7
*Jehoiachin (son of Jehoiakim); 598-597 BC
"At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged" 2Ki 24:10 (second captivity Jehoiachin was 18 years old)
*Zedekiah (son of Josiah; also called Mattaniah) 597-586 BC
"...Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon" 2Ki 24:20
"And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land" 2KI 25:1-3
The kings of Judah are shown in the Biblical narrative to be changing allegiances throughout this period. It fits very well with the changing political situation of the ascendancy of Egypt and Babylon. The first captivity (Dan 1:1) to Babylon is in 605 BC (The one which included Daniel and his three friends and also included Kish the grandfather of Mordecai). The kings of Judah look to
Pharaoh to shield them from Babylon, but their trust is misplaced. In 586 BC is the final end of the kingdom of Judah with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Nebuchadnezzer II in his 19th year. The people of Judah are taken into captivity for the reasons declared;
"And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths:for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years" 2Chr 36:20-21
There is also mention of King Evil-Merodach of Babylon speaking kindly and removing from prison Jehoiachin;
"And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;" 2Ki 25:27
Evil-Merodach is the same as Amel Marduk who reigned from 560-561 BC. He was the first king after Nebuchadnezzar. Since Jehoiachin went into captivity in 597 BC, than 37 years later is 560 BC, exactly where Amel Marduk is placed.
This is the time of Daniel, who lives in Babylon and serves the kings of that city and subsequently the King known as Darius the Mede about whom we will learn more in part 2. The line of Babylonian rulers has ended and Daniel learns by the book of Jeremiah that the time of the captivity is to come to an end. "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." (Dan 9:2)
Thus the 70 years prophesied by Jeremiah are fulfilled and the land has her sabbaths, waiting for the promised release of the captive children. There is much more to say about the timeline of detailed issues during the time from 609 BC until 586 BC. Judah is never truly free to determine its own course because they do not trust in God; and there are detailed records of the campaigns of Babylon against Egypt and Assyria which the Bible only hints at. Much of the story is also found in the book of Jeremiah and the end of 2 Chronicles.
"And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy" 2Chr 36:15-16
Part II will discuss the historical setting of the 70 weeks which Daniel prophesied of. The times after the captivity of Israel and the coming of the Messiah.
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