Thanks for this interesting research!! But it always amazes me how involved all the researchers get into explaining just how the 70 years work while COMPLETELY ignoring Josephus. Josephus is a Jewish historian and comments on this period and the 70 years thus I would think the Jews' own interpretation of when the 70 years began and ended would be pertinent, if only to modify or dismiss it if disagreed upon, but it's not ever mentioned.Thus here is the JEWISH interpretation of when their 70 years began and ended based upon Josephus, Antiquities 11.1.1:
IN the first year of the reign of Cyrus 1 which was the seventieth from the day that our people were removed out of their own land into Babylon, God commiserated the captivity and calamity of these poor people, according as he had foretold to them by Jeremiah the prophet, before the destruction of the city, that after they had served Nebuchadnezzar and his posterity, and after they had undergone that servitude seventy years, he would restore them again to the land of their fathers, and they should build their temple, and enjoy their ancient prosperity. And these things God did afford them; for he stirred up the mind of Cyrus, and made him write this throughout all Asia: "Thus saith Cyrus the king: Since God Almighty hath appointed me to be king of the habitable earth, I believe that he is that God which the nation of the Israelites worship; for indeed he foretold my name by the prophets, and that I should build him a house at Jerusalem, in the country of Judea."
Now here are the basics: 1. Please note that the PEOPLE did not leave the land after the destruction of Jerusalem. It was made a critical point that the people being off the land is what made the land "desolate", in conjunction with the land lying fallow and not being productive. The LAST DEPORTATION which is the reference above, did not occur until 4 years after the destruction of Jerusalem in the 23rd year of Jeremiah. This is another key historical point not addressed by any of the above. But why?2. The actual chronology relating to coordinating Zechariah 1:7 and Zechariah 7, which mentions two periods of 70 years, one ending in the 2nd of Darius dated from the "denunciation of the cities" (i.e. the destruction of Jersualem) and the other from the "mourning in the seventh month" for Gedaliah ending in the 4th of Darius. Explanation? Gedaliah was killed in the 20th year of Nebuchadnezzar, a year after the destruction of Jerusalem in the 7th month. He began to be mounted by the following year. Thus there is a two-year difference from the 70-year period ending in the 2nd year from the destruction of Jerusalem and the 4th year ending 70 years of mourning. But, as noted in #1 above, the 70 years of total desolation of the land of people didn't begin until the 23rd year of Nebuchadenzzar, so therefore the Jews were still in exile in the 2nd and 4th year of "Darius". Thus this is a reference to "Darius, the Mede" the king who conquered Babylon with Cyrus. So these two 70-year periods are not the same 70-year period that was to count from the 23rd year. This proves that Darius the Mede ruled for 6 years as a sole ruler before Cyrus began to rule and in the first year of Cyrus the Jews were then released.CONCLUSION: In conclusion, if you want to know when exactly the 70 years occurred as prophesied by Daniel, when ALL THE PEOPLE were off the land, you need only consult the Jewish historian Josephus who tells you it began at the time of the last deportation.WHAT ABOUT THE SERVITUDE OF THE "NATIONS"? This is an issue that does distract from a direct and simple explanation of the 70 years and it why there is flexibility in interpretation. But basically, if you check Jeremiah 25 you'll see the references is to the "families of the north" that would be removed. So basically, the land paying back it's sabbaths for 70 years included BOTH the Northern Kingdom of the 10-tibes of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. But the Northern kingdom was repopulated by a foreign people after the 10-tribe kingdom was removed. Thus for the entire land to be desolated to pay back it's sabbaths for 70 years both the Jews in the South who were deported in the 23rd year and the "nations" who were inhabiting the northern kingdom had to be deported and this is the specific reference to these "nations"; but which also included the surrounding cities that were also to drink the bitter cup of Nebuchadnezzar's destruction including all those cities mentioned in Jeremiah (i.e. Tyre, Sidon, Ashkelon, etc.). That is where the "nations" reference comes from since in order for this entire land to pay back it's sabbaths, the Jews plus all other inhabitants had to be evacuated and that's the reference to the "nations". Thus these nations are the ones who also serve the same 70 years from the 23rd year of Nebuchadnezzar until the 1st of Cyrus.KEY CORRECTIONS TO RUSSEL, ET AL: So the key Biblical corrections for the above would be:1. Jeremiah 52:30 -- last deportation and desolation of the land of people did not occur until 4 years after the fall of Jerusalem, so 70 years could not begin before 23rd year of Nebuchadnezzar. A scripture ignored.2. Josephus clearly gives the 70-year reference from a historical point of view as beginning with the last deportation as well when the 'poor people' went off the land and it's their "servitude" that was for 70 years, so there is no doubt who served the 70 years. He doesn't mention the "nations" but the last of these were deported in the same 23rd year.3. Just in case the witnesses come back with a statement claiming that the land really was desolated the same year as Jerusalem was destroyed, using the claim that Gedeliah was killed that same year and the remaining Jews ran down to Egypt: a) Note that Gedeliah's mourning did not begin until 2 years after the destruction of Jerusalem (Compare Zech 1 and 7) and thus he was killed in the 20th year of Nebuchadnezzar, not the 19th year. True, the Jews did run down to Egypt, but Jeremiah 44:14 and 28 shows that of those left from being killed by Nebuchadnezzar as prophesied, some would return to Judah. Thus there were will people in Judah in the 23rd year, if only stopping briefly there on their way from Egypt at the time of their deportation to Babylon. So no way can there be a claim that the destruction of Jerusalem was the desolation of the land. In fact, those who were left in the land were left specifically to harvest crops and Gedaliah was inviting the scattered ones to Judah to harvest crops, proving harvesting was still going on into the summer of the 20th year of Nebuchadnezzar. So all considered, it's plain and simple. Just follow Josephus and begin the 70 years of Jeremiah's prophecy at the time of the last deportation, and you can't go wrong. Darius the Mede conquered Babylon with Cyrus, true, but the Jews were not released immediately. Darius the Mede ruled for 6 years while the Jews were still in exile until Cyrus became king in Babylon. Cyrus began counting his rulership years over at that time since he was king not just over Persia but over the Medo- part of the Medo-Persian empire which was now united under one king. Thus in the this first year of Cyrus as king of the united Persian empire were the Jews and many others released to begin to rebuild the empire. Now what I can't figure out is how come all those scholars and Bible students couldn't have figured this out before, and why didn't they bother checking to see how Josephus handled the 70 years? They went right to debating points of scripture, to their error, with no critical reference to Josephus. ????Thanks, again, for this interesting research!! I didn't realize Russell was so into the 70 years. Canon