Key Verse

Daniel 9:2

²in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.

Based on the concept of approximation, a popular interpretation of the beginning year of the seventy years of the dominance of Babylon was 605 B.C. when the first group of Jews were taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian empire was demolished by the Persians in October 539 B.C. ¹. Cyrus the Great took over Babylon in 538 B.C. assuming that 539 B.C. is the accession year and 538 B.C. is the first year of the reign as mentioned in Ezra 1:1 when Cyrus the Great decreed that the Jews were allowed to return and rebuild the Jerusalem temple (Ezra 1:1-3). The timespan of 605 B.C. to 538 B.C. was about 67 years which can be rounded to 70 years.

This article presents a more accurate view based on the scriptures and history such that approximation is not necessary in interpreting the seventy year period in Jeremiah's prophecy. If we study the scriptures more carefully, there are two characteristics of this period of seventy years. The first characteristic is that Babylon became the dominant empire such that other nations would exist under its shadow. Prophet Jeremiah wrote that these nations would serve Babylon seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11). The second characteristic is that Jerusalem was in desolation. As prophet Daniel wrote that Jerusalem would be in desolation for seventy years (Daniel 9:2).

The Bible is clear in marking the end of the seventy-year period, namely, the punishment and end of the Babylonian empire. As prophet Jeremiah wrote that when the seventy years are completed, God would punish Babylon and his nation (Jeremiah 25:12). Having the privilege to witness the end of the Babylonian empire and its transition to the new era of Persian Empire, Daniel knew that the seventy year period had ended such that he turned to God in prayer asking for mercy to end the desolation of Jerusalem and forgiveness of his fellow people without delay (Daniel 9:18-19). Indeed, God was about to fulfill what Jeremiah had written at the time when Daniel was praying by moving the heart of king Cyrus such that he made proclamation to allow the people of Judah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (2 Chronicles 36:22-23). At the same time, God sent angel Gabriel to inform Daniel another prophecy which is like a sequel to Jeremiah's prophecy. Jeremiah's seventy year prophecy concerns only a snapshot of Israel and the temple in history. The prophecy given by angel Gabriel concerns the eternal future of Israel and the world when sin is put to an end and atoned for by the Messiah who is put to death such that everlasting righteousness is ushered in when the resurrected Messiah will come for the second time: the prophecy of the seventy "sevens (Daniel 9:24).

Since Babylon was conquered by Persia in 539 B.C., the beginning year of the seventy years could be computed as 609 B.C. (539 B.C. - 70 years = 609 B.C.). Therefore it is logical to examine relevant historical events in 609 B.C. to see if it is a good starting point of Jeremiah's seventy-year period. In 609 B.C., king Josiah was moribundly wounded in a battle with the Egyptians who were on the way to assist the Assyrians against the Babylonians (2 Chronicles 35:22-23). When king Josiah died, great mourning permeated Judah and Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 35:24-25). 609 B.C. was also the year the united army of Assyria and Egypt decidedly defeated by the Chaldeans marking the end of Assyrian Empire.² With the end of Assyrian empire and the defeat of Egypt, Babylon became the undisputed leading empire in the region. Moreover, God promised that He would not bring disaster to Judah while king Josiah lived (2 Kings 22:15-20). Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that the judgement of Judah was ready to begin after the death of king Josiah when an ungodly king succeeded. It was dated that king Josiah died in July, 609 B.C. ³. Jehoahaz, Josiah's son immediately succeeded to become king of Judah but lasted only for 3 months (2 Chronicles 36:1-2). The reason for the short reign was that the king of Egypt came to Jerusalem and dethroned Jehoahaz and carried him to Egypt making him the first captive of Judah in a foreign land. The king of Egypt made Jehoiakim, the elder son of Josiah, the king over Judah and Jerusalem. Moreover, the king of Egypt imposed a heavy levy on Judah (2 Chronicles 36:2, 4). The estimated time for these events was October, 609 B.C.. I think this was a good starting point of Jeremiah's seventy years prophecy for two reasons. First, Jerusalem was now under the control of foreign power and Jehoahaz was the first legitimate king of Judah that became a captive taken to foreign land. Although Jerusalem was not completely destroyed until 586 B.C., people in Jerusalem should start to feel oppressed and miserable. Military force was likely used by Egypt to enter Jerusalem to capture king Jehoahaz. Moreover, people of Judah were levied an extra financial burden to pay tribute to Egypt. No sovereign nation and king would be willing to undergo a regime change without forces. Therefore, it is not hard to conceive that Jerusalem had been subject to Egyptian military duress or siege such that Judah surrendered to the imputed changes. A few years later in 605 B.C., Egypt itself was decisively defeated in the battle of Carchemish by Babylon (Jeremiah 46:2) such that the Egyptian army was almost annihilated ⁴. Judah was taken over from Egypt by Babylon as a vassal state. Anyway, Judah had already been a vassal state of Egypt since 609 B.C..

One question I have in studying this prophecy is whether the seventy years are prophetic years or calendar years. If it is prophetic years, then the number of days of each year is only 360 days which means that the starting year of the seventy year period is 608 B.C. because (608 - 539) * 365.24219879 / 360 = 70 prophetic years. The number 365.24219879 is the number of days in a solar year. To see that a prophetic year is equal to 360 days, recall that prophet Daniel wrote about the last three and a half years (time, times and a half a time) known as the Jacob's trouble when Israel will be persecuted but will be delivered by God Himself (Daniel 7:25). Similarly, apostle John wrote that the gentiles will trample Jerusalem for 42 months while the two witnesses God appointed will prophesy for 1,260 days (Revelation 11:2-3). Apostle John also wrote that behind the persecution of Israel by the gentiles, the driving force is actually Satan symbolically called the beast (Revelation 13:5). But, God will deliver Israel during this severe persecution (Revelation 12:6, 14). Here, we see that 3 and a half years is equal to 42 months which is also equal to 1,260 days. In other word, a prophetic year is 12 months of 30 days per month.

However, Judah also kept a civil calendar in the Old Testament time and a civil calendar year is quite close to a solar year. The start of a Jewish month is determined by observing the appearance of a new moon. On average, a month is about 29.530585 days long. Therefore, a year is only about 354.36702 days long which is about 10.875176 days shorter than a solar year (365.242196 - 354.36702). Therefore, a Jewish calendar year needs adjustment in order to align with the solar year. Otherwise, a Passover could occur in summer or winter rather than spring. Moreover, a Jewish calendar needs to be compatible with agricultural activities which are critically connected to Jewish life ⁶. The Jewish calendar follows the Metonic cycle which is almost equal to nineteen solar years. Since a Jewish calendar year is about 10.875176 days shorter than a solar year, in the Metonic cycle of nineteen years, there is a shortage of 10.875176 * 19 = 206.628344 days. The shortage is compensated by adding an additional month to seven of the nineteen years in a Metonic cycle because 7 * 29.530585 = 206.714095 days. Therefore, a Jewish calendar year is about (354.36702 * 19 + 206.714095 ) / 19 = 365.2467 days which is quite close to the length of a solar year ⁵.

Since the years of punishment of Judah are linked to the sabbath years, this implies that the seventy years in Jeremiah's prophecy are calendar years rather than prophetic years. A sabbath year is measured by civil calendar because a sabbath year is written in the context of agriculture (Leviticus 25:3-4). Sabbath years are also used in the context of judgement of Israel as written by Moses when they live in the country of their enemies such that the land of Israel enjoys its sabbaths (Leviticus 26:34). The judgement of Judah in Jeremiah's prophecy is an example that the land of Judah enjoyed its sabbath rests while the people of Judah were taken captives in Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:21). By the way, we need to understand that the judgement on Israel was not caused merely by their violation in observing the Sabbath years. The cause of judgement was their disobedience of God's words in general and their worship of idols in particular while ignoring the warnings of the messengers God sent to them (Leviticus 26:1-2; Leviticus 26:14-15; 2 Chronicles 36:15-16).

Conclusion

Jeremiah's seventy years started in 609 BC when Assyrian Empire came to the end and Babylonian Empire became dominant. It was also the year king Josiah died and succeeding king Jehoahaz became the first captive of Judah in a foreign land. The seventy years ended when Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Persian in 539 BC.

Bible REFERENCES