So Was It 70 Years, or Not?
If God said the Babylonian captivity would last 70 years, is 66 years close enough? How accurate do we expect God to be? Or does prophecy entail a relaxing of the rules of literalism that we tend to apply everywhere else?
Eugene Merrill’s Kingdom of Priests is, in my opinion, the best OT history text out there. His handling of this issue is one of my few disappointments with the book. He dates Jeremiah’s 70-year prophecy from 605-539, and explains (p. 482):
This is obviously a round number since the captivity was only sixty-six years in fact, but the figure is close enough for Daniel to use it (Dan. 9:1-2). The reference to seventy years in Zechariah 1:12 and 7:5 applies to a different period, that between the destruction of the temple (586) and its rebuilding (515).
God, of course, can use round numbers if he wants to. But my first inclination is to assume that an omniscient God can afford the luxury of being precise. Why should God’s prediction through Zechariah be exact, but his prediction through Jeremiah be excused as “close enough”?
To argue for precision need not mean 70 years to the day. January 9 is not the only day this year that I could legitimately say that I’m 58 years old. But if you ask, “How old are you, 54?” and I say, “Yes” (all the while thinking, “Hey, that’s close enough”), you’d probably consider my reply to be less than forthright. So 70 years need not mean to the day or to the month; but it ought to be assumed to mean 70 years to the year unless it can be demonstrated to be intended otherwise.
The biblical and historical data leave the door open here, because we don’t know exactly when the Israelites actually returned to the land. But nobody—not even Merrill—thinks the return happened in 539. That means we have to pay close attention to the details of the prophecies themselves; because several passages reference a 70-year period, and they don’t all describe it in exactly the same terms.
JEREMIAH 25:9-13
This prophecy came to Jeremiah in 605 BC (Jer 25:1)—Nebuchadnezzar’s first year, and the beginning of Judah’s phased exile to Babylon. It specifies that Judah and the surrounding nations would serve the king of Babylon 70 years (Jer 25:9-13). Everyone agrees Babylon’s terminal year was 539 BC. But what year marks the commencement of Babylon’s regional hegemony? That’s what this prophecy describes, after all.
Babylon (with its allies) destroyed the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, in 612. When the Assyrians relocated their capital in Haran, Babylonian King Nabopolassar conquered it as well, successfully resisting an Assyrian counterattack, decisively driving them beyond the Euphrates, and effectively ending Assyrian dominance in the region in 609. For all practical purposes, that’s when Babylon became the new dominant world power.
That means that when the prophecy was given (605) the 70 years was already underway. No problem; we know that Jeremiah’s next 70-year prophecy (Jer 29) came after that prophetic timeclock had already commenced ticking.
So when did the 70 years of Jeremiah 25 commence? The language of Jer 25:12 allows some flexibility; judgment on Babylon would come when or even after the seventy years are completed. That allows a starting point of either 609, or possibly even 612. In either case, it is at least a full 70 years.
JEREMIAH 29:10
This prophecy came in 597 BC or later (Jer 29:1-2), in a letter addressed to those already in exile (Jer 29:4-7). Because the passage refers twice to Judah’s being carried away “to Babylon” (Jer 29:1, 4), the most natural translation of the lamed preposition in Jer 29:10 is not “for Babylon” but “at Babylon” (KJV, NKJV; cf. NLT). In other words, this prophecy seems to be specifying the duration of Judah’s exile “at Babylon.” Again, pretty much everyone agrees that the exile began in 605; but when did the exile end and the Jews actually return to the land of Judah? I’ll return to that question in a moment.
2 CHRONICLES 36:20-21
The author of Chronicles (Ezra?) provides a theological explanation for Judah’s exile to Babylon: the captivity fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy “until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths . . . seventy years” (2 Chr 36:20-21). This specifically marks the beginning of the 70 years at 605, since it makes reference to the beginning of Judah’s captivity. But again, when did it end? Clearly, whenever the Jews actually returned to the land.
Cyrus took Babylon in 539 BC. The official “first year of Cyrus” (Ezra 1:1) was 538; that was the year he announced his repatriation policy. But what we’re not told in any historical record that I’m aware of is (a) exactly when in Cyrus’s first year the decree was promulgated, (b) how long the Jews’ preparations took, (c) how long the Jews’ return journey took, and therefore, (d) exactly when the Jews actually arrived in Judah.
The task of return was a monumental one. The preparations for uprooting after 70 years were time-consuming endeavors—homes to sell, businesses to liquidate, caravans to organize, temple furniture to catalog and pack (Ezra 1:7-11), and livestock and provisions to gather for the 1,000-mile journey back.
If Cyrus’s decree were promulgated late in 538, allowing 8 or 9 months of preparation (most of 537), and 4-5 months for the actual journey (based on Ezra’s later journey, Ezra 7:8-9), an actual arrival early in 536 is entirely feasible. Counting inclusively from 605, that’s 70 years.
ZECHARIAH 1:12-16; 7:4-5
Zechariah’s opening prophecies are dated to 520 (Zech 1:1, 7). Zechariah seems to envision this 70-year period (Zech 1:12-16) as ongoing, and the completion of the temple (which would come 4 years later) as the terminal punctuation mark on that period. Zech 7:4-5seems to be looking back in retrospect on the same time period indicated in Zechariah 1. The reference point for the 70 years described in Zechariah, as Merrill’s opening quote observed, seems to be the destruction and rebuilding of the temple (586-516 BC).
CONCLUSION
I’m admittedly starting from a strong bias towards the accuracy of God’s words. No apologies there. So if we have to make assumptions (which everyone does here), I’m going to make feasible assumptions that favor what I consider to be an eminently justifiable bias—the reliability of an omniscient God’s prophetic time estimations. The benefit of any doubt should be settled in God’s favor. And I have this sneaking suspicion that once all the historical data are on the table, we will discover that God’s predictions were not merely “close enough” but far more exact than we ever imagined.
The data seem to me to indicate the possibility of three overlapping but distinct 70-year prophecies:
- 70 years of Babylonian domination over Judah and the surrounding nations (609-539; Jer. 25:11-12).
- 70 years of Jewish captivity in Babylon (605-536; Jer. 29:10; 2 Chron. 36:20-21; Dan. 9:1-2).
- 70 years of indignation on Jerusalem and Judah (586-516), marked by the destruction and rebuilding of the temple (Zech. 1:12ff; 7:5).
It looks to me like God may well be precisely accurate three times over.
22 responses to “So Was It 70 Years, or Not?”
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Hello !
I am writing to thank you for an explanation of the seeming contradiction regarding the 70 year desolation of Jerusalem. ( First of all, may I say that I cannot truly understand this issue. Feeling a bit ignorant at this moment. I hope you can help me. I am confused.)
I have a statement by another person in which they say :
It seems clear that the first wave of returnees to Jerusalem by Cyrus’s decree, resulting in the commencement of temple reconstruction, did not end the 70-year desolation. Eight years after the death of Cyrus, Daniel is still praying for the restoration of Jerusalem ( Daniel 9: 1-19 )in the first year of Darius. Cyrus died in 529 BC and was succeeded by his son Cambyses, who in turn was surrounded by Darius in 521 BC ( after an eight-month interlude of a usurper in 522 BC ). So at least 18 years after the first wave of captives returned to Jerusalem and began to rebuild the temple, Daniel is still fervently praying for an end to the desolation of Jerusalem ( Daniel 9 ).
My question: Why is Daniel still praying for an end to the restoration of Jerusalem in Daniel 9 ? ( According to this commentator .) Didn’t the Jews return already?
I am seriously confused.
Thnak you again for your wonderful article ! It has helped me. I hope to ubderstand more as time goes on and as God allows.
Thank you !
Yvonne Seger
Yvonne, thanks for reading and writing. Your confusion is fair, because of the appearance of “Darius” in both Dan 9:1 and Ezra 4:24. But it’s not the same person. Some have suggested that “Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus [Xerxes]” was a governor in the up-and-coming Persian Empire who was appointed (by Cyrus) as a local regent over a Babylonian segment of the new Persian Empire that took shape under Cyrus with the defeat of Babylon in 539. Another view is that “Darius” was not a personal name but a title and, as such, a reference to Cyrus. In either case, it’s not the same individual identified by that name/title in Ezra 4:24 who authorized the continuation of the temple construction (any more than the Nehemiah or Mordecai mentioned in Ezra 2:2 were the prophet and the uncle of Esther, or the Ahasuerus/Xerxes mentioned in Dan 9:1 was the same king in the time of Esther, some 60 years later). So Daniel’s prayer in 9:1 can be dated to 539/38 BC. Daniel is praying on the front end of the return, not after it has already happened. In addition, if Daniel was still praying in 520, he would be (at best) in his late 90s–not impossible, but not likely; and nothing in the context points in that direction unless we confuse the Darius of Dan 9 with the Darius of Ezra 4 and assume it’s the same person; the text does not indicate that and history does not corroborate it. Hope that helps!
Yvonne,
What a coincidence that I come across this page today and it shows you commented earlier!! Im trying to research this topic too and decided to throw in my thoughts. Let me know what you think.
There was a FIRST wave of returnees in 536 after Cyrus the Great issues decree. This is 70 years after the first deportation as article mentions above. (Ezra 1)
There was a SECOND wave of returnees in 520 after Darius I reaffirms Cyrus’ decree. The Temple is completed in 515. This is 70 years after the initial temple was destroyed in 586. (Ezra 5,6)
And there was a THIRD wave of returnees in 458 after Artaxerxes I gives decree to Ezra to beautify temple/reform govt/people (Ezra 7+)
A FOURTH wave returns in 445 when Artaxerxes I allows Nehemiah return to Jerusalem and rebuild walls. This is 70 years after the Temple was completed. (Nehemiah 2+)
So, when Daniel lamented to YHWH about ending of desolation of Jerusalem in the first year of Darius (521), only the first wave had returned and begun to rebuild. The temple still lay in ruins. The city still decimated. Although their 70 years of serving the king of Babylon was over, there was still much work to be done.
When did the desolation that Daniel spoke of actually end? I choose to go with 515 when the Temple was rebuilt/completed because it’s 70 years after the complete destruction of Jerusalem in 586. With the Temple completed, the Israelites could properly worship YHWH again. But it could be 70 years after that in 445 when Jerusalem was complete/made whole again. The walls were rebuilt, defenses set up, leadership established and the Israelites finally settling into their own towns (Neh 7:73).
Haven’t found a concrete answer yet.
Im here because Jer 25:11,12 says 70 years they would serve the king of Babylon and after the 70 years the king of Babylon would be punished. Since Babylon was defeated in 539 by Cyrus, 70 years before that puts us at 609. Nebuchadnezzar didnt start “ruling” Judah until 605 when the 1st deportation took place. Im trying to find evidence to account for the missing 4 years.
This article give a reasonable explanation though I think its a stretch.
Hello Layton !
I want to thank you for helping me to find some sort of a plausible answer to my question. You have helped me to understand this issue. The questions that I had seemed to have no answers. I was very confused and God knew I needed help. You were that help. Thank you.
I should not be amazed when God reaches down and helps me with my struggles about things in Scripture……but I am always amazed with God. He is so faithful.
Thank you again so very much.
Yvonne
Hello Jeremy !
Let me say thank you to you as well. Both you and Layton have given me answers and I do appreciate them. I don’t know how to reconcile the missing four years that you are looking for. ( I’m not sure I could be of much help. Sorry. )
I thank you very much for your explanation on this issue. I appreciate your help. God is so good.
Yvonne
Aloha Layton!
Back again after more studies and wanted to thank you for such a great, great article! More research on this end cleared up some stuff and am now trying to cap one last thing which brought me back here. Go figure.
First, the 609 starting date for “this land and against all the surrounding nations” and “these nations will serve the king of Babylon” mentioned in Jer25 absolutely makes sense. I was so hyper focused on Judah being punished that the “surrounding nations” didnt register.
2nd, what brought me back today was the gap between 605 and 538 not being 70years. Your explanation is the most reasonable one that can explain this gap because, yes, “close enough” doesn’t quite cut it so thanks for helping me reconcile this last issue I was having with 70 years.
Third, appreciate you for clearing up the question Yvonne had. Your explanation was a lot more clear and makes much more sense. Not till after I wrote that comment did I find out that the Darius mentioned in Daniel was not Darius I.
To close, heaps on heaps of thanks being thrown your way for your insight and for putting this info online. Really appreciate it.
Hey Jeremy, thanks for reading and engaging. It’s a complex issue, but my default is always to give God the benefit of the doubt. I think he not only means what he says, but also knows how to say exactly what he means. Grateful the article was helpful.
Hello there…great article…My main concern is regarding a conversation I had with Jehovah Witness acquaintances ..They claim without a doubt that the Temple was destroyed in 607 BC…They go to Daniel chapter 9 and point out the 70 years of desolation and say it can only be reconciled with the 607 destruction and 537 (allowing for a year or so for Jewish people to return to Judah)…any other date like 597 or 587/586 doesn’t add up mathematically…They say after the first exile, people remained and the land was cultivated so no Sabbath rests until total destruction of Temple..They care not about the overwhelming secular and historical evidence..They say many records are in error and the Bible is right. While I do feel the Bible is right, how can I explain Daniel 9…No one seems to be able to answer this and I want to harmonize the history with the Bible…Thank you!!
Hey James, Daniel 9:2 speaks of the desolations [charbah] of Jerusalem, which just means the city was in ruins; it doesn’t reference land-Sabbaths. However, 2 Chronicles 36:21 mentions the land itself having rest, which is a clear reference to the covenantal warnings in Lev 25:4-5 and 26:34-43. That neither must nor can mean that there was no agriculture at all, however. I.e., it’s clearly not intended as an absolute statement that no one would plant a crop anywhere in Israel for 70 years. The northern kingdom (which was included in the original warnings in Lev. 25 and 26) remained populated and therefore cultivated throughout that time, just not by Israel. Likewise, it’s absurd to imagine that the entire land of Judah was utterly depopulated for the duration of 70 years. There were still Jews and others living in Judah as well even after the destruction of the temple; that’s not just common sense and historical record, but Lev. 26:36 anticipates that very situation even in the context of that judgment warning. The whole focus in the original warning is not on the land (as if the land itself needed those sabbaths); the focus is on the judgment on the people by evicting them from their land. They would not be there to cultivate the land for 70 yrs; i.e., the land would enjoy its rest from them because God would evict them (as a nation) from the land, just as he promised.
Replying to James B Ramundo above (sorry for the late reply):
It’s important to understand the motivation of JW’s in regards to their 607 date for the destruction of Jerusalem. It is the only way their math/numerology works for their claim that Christ began ruling from heaven in 1914. Their entire theology hangs upon that date.
In most respects, you’ll probably find JW’s to have a more flexible interpretation of things if it aligns with their application of Biblical Inerrancy. But when it challenges their specific theology, it’s incredibly threatening to their entire worldview.
Also important to understand, that JW’s are a high control group that do not tolerate open dissent or disagreement. It will take an unusually open minded Witness to have any prolonged discussion with you on topics that challenge their theology.
Your best option, if attempting to help a visiting Witness “wake up” from their indoctrination, might be to engage them on less contentious topics to begin with. Agree to study the Bible with them, but be prepared to help break down the logical fallacies presented in their publications. JWfacts is a great informational site that analyzes a lot of their doctrines and the fallacious reasoning used to support them.
(Speaking as a former JW, who realized an invisible return/presence does not harmonize with Jesus’ warning at Matthew 24:23-27. Not to mention many, many other errors in scriptural interpretation.)
We know when Darius ruled by the infamous line of Daniel to Belshazzar: mene mene Tekel Perec:
And your kingdom is divided to you this day,
BETWEEN THE PERSIANS AND THE MEDES. CYRUS AND DARIUS CORULED THE EMPIRE; AND DANIEL WAS MADE THIRD REGENT OVER THE WHOLE ESTATE,
Serving both kings at same time. It would appear from scripture that Darius held the longer rule as we see a lineage of sons assuming the throne from Cyrus. But the hand of the Lord wrote exactly what would happen that the kingdom was taken from Belshazzar in ONE DAY, and divided BETWEEN the Persians and the Medes. This should clear up any confusion as to in Darius seed of mede shows up. And any discrepancy in our historical archives is there for done on purpose, for the book also tells us “there shall surely be those who will try to establish the vision, but the vision is sealed unto the time of the end.” Therefore we can assume that even all the history of Alexander the Great was an attempt to fulfill and establish the vision ahead of time, but it’s fulfillment is reserved unto the end. God bless.
The lord says in Jeremiah 25-30 that “at the end of the 70 years I will visit the iniquity of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and bring babylon to an end.” So yes that is the first period of 70 years ending at time Nebuchadnezzar and belshazzar lost the kingdom to the Persians and the Medes. It is interesting that the lord continues the 70 years through the time determined by destruction of the temple. I conclude this to be the result that all the land must rest in desolation for 70 years. So if different pieces remained occupied, then the period of 70 years of rest still lingered in completion for cities such as Jerusalem, and that count could not begin until Jerusalem too was decimated and allowed to rest her 70 years as well.
According to the research of Sir Robert Anderson in his work “The Coming Prince”, he states that “From the tenth day of Tebeth B.C. 589, to the twenty-fourth day of Chisleu B.C. 520, was a period of 25,202 days; and seventy years of 360 days contain exactly 25,200 days.” and he references “The ninth year of Zedekiah” for 589 and Hag. chapter 2 vs 10, 15-19 “The Second Year of Darius Hystaspes” as the other source. Considering that many nations at that time used a calendar of 360-day years, is it possible that this is the correct chronology? Thanks.
Thanks for your explanations and a refreshing discussion! So unlike many we find online. And thanks for beginning with the assumption that God knows whereof He speaks and it is we who must ferret out the truth. If we could explain everything, that would be a bit scary, wouldn’t it! What an incredible, wonderful God we serve! Blessings.
1948 -2018- 70 years 7 week /3.6 ×2 2025 Jerusalem capital is the key now.
Hi Jeremy,
Under your heading of 2 Chronicles 36 you state that the mention of
‘the land paying off its sabbaths’
as Fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophecy. As far as I can see , nowhere in Jeremiah does he mention the land needing to pay off its sabbaths.
2 chronicles mention of the land paying off its Sabbath is parenthetical as it highlights the result of the Jews not paying attention to the warnings Jehovah have through Jeremiah in harmony with Jehovah’s warning at Leviticus 26
Hello Jeremy, thanks for endeavoring to study and helping many, me inclusive come to the light/knowledge of the word of God. I have a question to put a cross, when do the 70 weeks begin and come to an end?
Thanks
i agree … that there are 3 lots of 70 years …. that need to be taken into account…. not just one
there are the 70 years of the suppremacy of babylon, which, when viewed from the view point of jerusalem, … begins with the death of Josiah … the last rightious king of Judah… in 609bc
one could argue that the last independant king was Jehoahaz … the fourth son of Josiah … he was put on the throne by the people … but his rule only lasted 3 months …
for me … because the scripture puts a lot of focus on Josiah … i believe he is the big marker of this particular 70 year period
There is the 70 years captivity ….. and while much is made about the various noted captivities that happend … there is one in particular that attention is drawn to by scripture …. in ezekiel … that captivity … of Jehoiachin
ezekiel tags a lot of events and prophesies to this 70 years …. including the years of the captivity of the king
and this is the one that is dated to 597bc
and then there is the 70 years servitude of the nation …. that is also noted to be … for the rest of the land… which is of course referencing to the missed sabbatical years …. and is dated to start in 604bc when daniel was taken by the babylonians …. to serve the babylonian king
now with this one … you might just want to take note …. that this aligns perfectly with the 70 weeks prophesy of dan 9 … as interpreted by the protestants for 400 years …. as starting from the decree of ezra 7 in 457bc …
the 70 7s … total 490 years …. and is to be broken down into 49 year cycles …. as exampled by the first 7 7s
and if you project this 49 year cycle backwards from 457bc … you will come to 604bc ( 2 49 year cycles earlier)
so this lot of 70 years .. appears to be aligned with the known 7 year cycle of the second temple era ..,. and with the 7 year cycle of daniel 9 …
is this perhaps the jubilee calenddar cycle that every one is looking for??
thing on that for a bit
Is it safe to say after reading all the points and counters points that since the Medes conquered Babylon circa 539 BCE, and the exiled Jews were released by a decree to return (after completing the 70 years mandatory decree), and the first returnees arrived in circa 537BCE? I am trying to simplify the dates to see if they can be reconciled with Bible, and historical chronology. Appreciate a reply
Hello,
It seems very great and open to all opinions expressed on this Matter of the 70 years of Exile accomplishments and the God of Israel 🇮🇱Deliverance for his people.
Besides, when GOD speaks unto us concerning matters,sometimes it may not be that same point of view or calculations of “TIME OF MAN OF EARTH”,As the Writes said :Your age can be 58 and you can answer someone as 54 since its closer.
“A Thousand years is as a DAY in his eyes”(GOD) that makes him GOD over of all things.
So I say;Since GOD has spoken concerning some matter about turning it around, it’s for his Glory alone and does it Well.
Once He had said it,He Do it Good too.
His time is different from our time.therefore we all wait upon him to Act that which He said .Glory to GOD.
Did anyone actually “return”? If you were exiled at age 20 you would be 90 when the first “returnees” left Babylon for Judah. How many would have lived to 90?
And would not many of those deported have been 20, 30 or more? Unless most of those deported were teenagers or younger, few of those going to Judah under Zerubbabel would have been exiled to Babylon and now were actually returning. The great majority of the original exiles would have died or be in their 80s and 90s. Would not those who went from Babylon to Judah be sons and daughters of the original group? Most of those “returning” were likely born in Babylon. Also, were there not just a very few taken to Babylon in 605BC? Wasn’t larger group of some 10,000 taken in 597BC?
My vote would be for a literal 70 years .
Hi Bruce, I believe what it intends is Judah as a whole returned to Jerusalem. So yes actually, a fact I had not noticed before. Is many where probably children and grandchildren of the original exiles. But that actually works better as to the workings of God. As generally he likes to clean house of the guilty. Who hardened their necks and ignored his simple commands. In favor of their own ideas and plans.