Chronology Part II the 70 weeks in Daniel

"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks:the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate" Daniel 9:25-27

This passage is also mentioned by Jesus in Mark 13:14 "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee..." thus marking this as a key passage in our understanding of the end times. We are not concerned with the final week here, its time is to be yet fulfilled, but with the first 7 and 62 weeks which have historically happened.

The beginning of this time is the command to restore and to build Jerusalem, fulfilled in Cyrus' command after he became ruler of Babylon. This year we showed in part I is 539BC.
"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

What follows has been confused in many ways, trying to fit each piece of Persian/Median history, statements from Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah as well as the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, together has left some wondering how these disparate witnesses can be reconciled. Some confusion occurs because of the kingly names being reused, particularly Darius and Artaxerxes.

We will begin with the kings of the Achaemenid line in Persia: These dates are generally accepted throughout the academic community, and unlike many Egyptian dates are felt to be certain.

Cyrus 559-530 BC; Contemporary with Darius the Mede, Dan 5:30; Dan 9; Dan 10:1at this time
Cambyses 530-522 BC
Darius I 522-486 BC
Xerxes 486-465 BC (Ahasuerus)
Artaxerxes 465-424 BC
Darius II 424-405 BC
Artaxerxes II 404-358 BC
Artaxerxes III 358-338 BC
Arses 338-336 BC
Darius codomannus 336-332 BC (defeated by Alexander the Great)

When we read in Ezra about the trouble caused by the people of the land we see the same order of the first five kings,
"Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
 And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote..." Ezra 4:4-7
We know that the name Ahasuerus is often associated with the name Xerxes, and if Cambyses is covered in the term from Cyrus to Darius than all of the first five kings are covered in this section. At the end of chapter 4, Artaxerxes writes back to cease the restoration and verse 24 tells us this ceased unto the second year of Darius, obviously speaking of Darius II. His second year would be 422 BC, 117 years from the 539 BC command from Cyrus to rebuild.
In Ezra 5:1 we hear the call begin, "Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied..." It is at this time that we enter the time of these prophets, Nehemiah and Joshua son of Jozedek.

So looking back at the prophecy of Daniel we see 7 weeks, 62 weeks, troublous times, and a final week determined upon Israel. If we split this up we get a 49 year period, a 434 year period and what would seem to be a third period which I believe is clearly in-between the first two.

The first 7 weeks, or 49 years is from 539 BC to 490 BC. This extends from the command to restore Jerusalem by Cyrus into most of the reign of Darius I, matching with the Cyrus to Darius in Ezra 4 noted above.
Next we want to determine when the 62 weeks, or 434 years, begins. We have an advantage in that we know when it ends; when Messiah is cut off. We know that Jesus was crucified in 30 AD. 434 years before this is 404 BC, exactly at the beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes II.

If this is correct, than the interregnum covers from c490 to c404 BC, or 86 years, covering the reigns of Xerxes (Ahasuerus), Artaxerxes I and Darius II. These are the exact kings mentioned in Ezra as being involved in the letter writings back and forth when the enemies of Israel are determined to make the Jews stop their rebuilding projects. During the reign of Darius II, the Jews, with the help of Nehemiah and Haggai and Zechariah begin again to rebuild and eventually a search is made by Darius II to find the original decree of Cyrus. (Ezra 5:17-6:13)
Nehemiah 2:1 states that He left for Jerusalem in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, one we would take to be Artaxerxes I and therefore the year 445 BC. He continued for 12 years unto 433 BC Neh 5:14; 13:6) It is during this time that he begins to sanctify Israel to seek the Lord.
Haggai 1:1; Zech 1:1; are in the second year of Darius...; being Darius II, and nearing the end of the troublous times. Zech 7:1 is in the fourth year of Darius.

It is interesting to note that Zechariah mentions another period of 70 years in Zech 7:5, this is the 4th year of Darius being 420 BC, or 70 years after the date of 490 BC we get for the end of the first 7 weeks (49 years). He is speaking near the end of the interregnum, encouraging the people to seek the Lord and get on with the job (Also see Zech 1:12), but the beginning of this period is when the first work ceased. It is quite instructive to see that the people were near the end, they had come at the command of Cyrus, been encouraged by Nehemiah in the midst of the troublous times to rebuild the wall, had gotten Darius to find the decree of Cyrus and now years later were nearing the end of rebuilding the temple. This was not a light thing because it solidified the place of Israel as a nation again. Here we read the prophecies of Zechariah 7-14 and Malachi in the context of coming into the fulness of what God had planned for them and the ultimate judgment of God on them and all the nations round about. Malachi particularly echoes Zech 7:5. The people are losing heart, growing weary, but the prophets come to correct and to instruct that they might not weary even though it had been generations since the command to rebuild.

Finally the job is finished and the worship of God re-instituted:
"And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king" Ezra 6:14-15
This is 418 BC, the sixth year of Darius II.

"Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra..." Ezra 7:1 This would be Artaxerxes II. Here we have the beginning of the period of 62 weeks unto the Messiah. The wall is rebuilt, the temple in operation and the Jews dwelling again in their homeland.

What have we learned? The Bible speaks of many kings of the Persian empire and gets everyone in proper order and helps us to understand what is happening around the command of God. Not a single statement fails to fit exactly into this construct.

Below is a graphic representation of the timeline which incorporates all these things:

Daniel’s 70 weeks	Judah	Egypt	Babylon	Media	Persia	70 weeks of Daniel	Notes	High Priest	Greece
? AD						Final Week
??????	1948 return						Church Age
30 AD							Messiah (Jesus) crucified
4 BC						404 BC-30 AD
100 BC
200 BC
300 BC		Ptolemy	Seleucus						Cassander
310 BC
332 BC					Darius III (Artashatta/Codomannus) 336-332 BC		Battle of Guagamela 331 BC		Alexander conquers Persia 332
340 BC					Artaxerxes IV (Arses) 338-336 BC
350 BC		reconquers Egypt 343 BC			Artaxerxes III (Ochus) 358 BC-338 BC
360 BC					Artaxerxes II
370 BC	32nd year Neh 5:14; 13:6				Artaxerxes II
380 BC	20th yr of Artaxerxes Neh 2:1				Artaxerxes II	Walls rebuilt in troublous times		The Levites in the days of Eliashib- to the reign of Darius the Persian
390 BC					Artaxerxes II			And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada (Neh 12:10)
400 BC		Amyertaus	Battle of Cunaxa 401 BC		Artaxerxes II 404BC-358 BC	62 weeks or 434 years	Ezra 7:1; during the reign of Artaxerxes comes Ezra the priest 7th year of Artaxerxes	Joiakim son of Joshua	The 10,000 and Xenophon (Anabasis)
405 BC					Darius II
410 BC					Darius II
415 BC					Darius II		Finished Temple (House of God) in 6th year of Darius; Ezra 6:15
420 BC	Zech 1:1,7 2nd yr of Darius (Ezra 5:1); Haggai 1:1; 2:10		Zech 1:12 is KEY	Edict of Cyrus rediscovered in Ecbatana of the Medes	Darius II 424 BC-405 BC	Ezra 6:15 6th year of Darius finished house	Wall still broken down Neh 8 Ezra & Nehemiah (Zech 1:12 2nd year of Darius (Lo these 70 years; 490-420) Zech 7 4th year)  Zech 7:5, Edict of Cyrus rediscovered; Ezra 5; Ezra 6&7 work continues	Ezra 3:2 build the altar
425 BC	Zerubabel				Artaxerxes			Joshua son of Jozadek
430 BC					Artaxerxes		Alternate Esther? (Josephus)
435 BC					Artaxerxes
440 BC					Artaxerxes
445 BC					Artaxerxes
450 BC					Artaxerxes	? 86 yr interregnum	KEY Ezra 4:24 work ceased unto 2nd year of Darius	Ezra 7:1 7th year of Artaxerxes
455 BC					Artaxerxes (Longimannus)		Ezra 4:7
460 BC		Inaros Revolts in Egypt			Artaxerxes 465 BC-424 BC
465 BC					Xerxes
470 BC					Xerxes		Esther; Ahasuerus over 127 provinces
475 BC					Xerxes
480 BC					Xerxes				Battles of Thermopylae, Salamis and Platea
485 BC					Xerxes 486 BC-465 BC		Ezra 4:6 Xerxes = Ahasueras		Daniel 11:2; stirs up Greece
490 BC					Darius I				Battle of Marathon vs Greece
495 BC					Darius I
500 BC					Darius I
505 BC					Darius I
510 BC					Darius I		founds Persepolis (Paarsa)
515 BC					Darius I		Darius conquers in civil war
520 BC					Darius I 522 BC-486 BC		Darius the usurper, called king of kings
525 BC					Cambyses
530 BC					Cambyses 530 BC-522 BC	7 weeks or 49 years, 539-490 BC	Opposition all the days of Cyrus until Darius and into the days of Ahasueras Ezra 4
535 BC	Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah	Daniel 9; 1st year Darius the Mede		Darius the Mede rules Babylon short time to 538	Cyrus	Daniel 9:25-27	Ezra 1:1 Cyrus’ command freeing Jews to return
539 BC	Ezra 1:1		Belteshazzar regent/Babylon	Darius the Mede	Cyrus (First year as king of Babylon)	609 BC-539 BC	Cyrus conq Babylon 539 BC
540 BC
545 BC			Nabonidus		Cyrus
550 BC			Nabonidus		Cyrus 550 BC-530 BC		Cyrus deposes Astyages 550 BC
555 BC			Nabonidus 555-539 BC (after 2 others)	Astyages	Achaemenids		Cyrus marries Astyages daughter
560 BC			Others	Astyages
565 BC			Nebuchadnezzer 605-562 BC	Astyages
570 BC	Zedekiah 597-586 BC		Nebuchadnezzer	Astyages		70 years of Jeremiah 25 and 29	Israel served Babylon until released by Cyrus
575 BC			Nebuchadnezzer	Astyages
580 BC			Nebuchadnezzer	Astyages
585 BC			Nebuchadnezzer	Astyages 585-549 BC Median
590 BC			Nebuchadnezzer	Cyaxares
595 BC	Jehoiachin		Nebuchadnezzer	Cyaxares
600 BC	Jehoiakim		Nebuchadnezzer	Cyaxares			Second captivity 2 Kings 24:1-10 598/7 BC 2Chr 36 Jer 52 Esther 2:1
605 BC	Jehoahaz	Battle of Carchemish 605 BC	Nebuchadnezzer 605-562 BC	Cyaxares			First captivity 605 BC (Dan 1:1) Mordecai’ ancestor (Esther 2:6) captivity 597 with Jehoiachin
610 BC	Josiah		Nabopolasser 626 BC-605 BC	Cyaxares		609 BC-539 BC	2 Kings 23:26-27 after Josiah Jehovah turns Judah over. Pharaoh Necho deposes Jehoahaz
625 BC	Josiah 640-609 BC	Pharaoh Necho	Nabopolasser 626 BC-605 BC	Cyaxares 624-585 BC Median		Isa 44:27-45:1 Isaiah prophecies of Cyrus

There is a problematic individual; Darius the Mede. He is mentioned as king of Babylon by Daniel when it is first conquered by the Medo-Persian empire, and he is the one who famously had Daniel thrown into a den of lions. I believe that he is the Median General who first took Babylon for Cyrus, and he only reigned for 1 year in Babylon before he died; this fits perfectly with the book of Daniel which mentions no further years of Kingship for him. The General is known as Agabu and is known to have lived only a short time after the conquering of Babylon, fitting with the only mention of him in Daniel. The following is a very good monograph on the subject which I recommend reading if you are interested in Darius the Mede. http://www.auss.info/auss_publication_file.php?pub_id=654
Some have said that Darius the Mede was Astyages the Father-in-law of Cyrus, I have not seen clear evidence for this in the contradictory accounts which exist, but either way, he was not Cyrus himself, but a king under the Great King, and as the Bible makes clear, a short-lived ruler of Babylon.

The next difficult persons are Mordecai, Esther and the Ahasuerus who marries Esther. (Ahasuerus is believed to be a title by some, but as a name it is linked to Xerxes, beginning his reign in 486 BC). According to the book of Esther, 2:5, Mordecai's Grandfather Kish went into captivity with Jeconiah (Jehoiachin). This is important, for the common idea that Mordecai went captive with Jehoiachin is untenable chronologically as he would be about 125 years old at this time. Mordecai appears in Shushan, a different city from Babylon, a city of the Medes and palace of Xerxes, remember that the Medes were allies of Babylon and must have shared in the captives taken from Jerusalem. In addition we know that Ahasuerus ruled from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces (Esther 1:1), an extent which did not happen until after Cyrus and a division which has not yet been identified. Therefore I conclude Esther is a wife of Xerxes. (Alternatively she could be a wife of his son Artaxerxes I)

"Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away" Esther 2:5-6

Lastly is Joiakim son of Joshua son of Josedech. Joshua is a key player throughout the interregnum period and his son Joiakim takes over from him according to Nehemiah 12:26. Joshua seems to be High Priest during much of this troublous times, and is mentioned in what appears to be early returnees with Zerubabel and appears up to 70 years later in Zechariah but passes the priesthood to his son Joiakim at what was likely a very old age.

So much more to say, the story is great, Covering over 200 years of time and more than anything else teaching us to trust in God. To hear the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah in the context of exactly what was occurring and the tremendous opposition that they faced speaks to faithfulness and determination to seek the kingdom of God (Here represented in the temple in Jerusalem) above your own life. They were fought against, in peril, and yet persevered to trust God to see it through.

Chronology Part I the 70 years prophesied by Jeremiah

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.