[1] Qcmbr: In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that is, [in] the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, NebuZaradan the chief of the bodyguard, who was standing before the king of Babylon, came into Jerusalem. And he proceeded to burn the house of Jehovah and the house of the king and all the houses of Jerusalem; and every great house he burned with fire. And all the walls of Jerusalem, round about, all the military forces of the Chaldeans that were with the chief of the bodyguard pulled down.
[2] Qcmbr: It was during the first year of the reign of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus from the seed of the Medes, who ruled over the kingdom of the Chaldeans, that I DanYel came to understand the number of the years from the words that [Jehovah] had given to the Prophet JeremJah, for there he prophesied that Jerusalem would lie desolate for seventy years. [3] Qcmbr: Then he carried off everyone who was left to Babylon, where they served as slaves for him and his sons until the Medes came along and fulfilled the words of [Jehovah] through Jeremiah, and the land had observed its Sabbaths. For, during the seventy years that the land lay desolate, it was observing the Sabbath. [4] Qcmbr: It was during the third year of the reign of JehoYakim (the king of Judah) that NebuChadnezzar (the king of Babylon) came to Jerusalem and attacked it. [5] Qcmbr: These are the people whom Nebuchadrezzar took into exile: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews. [6] Qcmbr: Twenty-five years old was Jehoiakim when he began to reign, and for eleven years he reigned in Jerusalem. [7] Qcmbr: The word that occurred to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, that is, the first year of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon. [8] Qcmbr: In his days Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came up, and so Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. However, he turned back and rebelled against him. [9] Qcmbr: Then JehoIachin (the king of Judah) surrendered to the king of Babylon, along with his mother, servants, governors, and eunuchs, so the king of Babylon [took him captive] during the eighth year of his reign. Then he went in and took all the treasures in the Temple of [Jehovah], and all the treasures in the king’s palace. And he had all the gold things that Solomon (the king of Israel) had placed in the Temple of [Jehovah] cut off and removed, just as [Jehovah] said would happen. Then he took all the governors and all the important people from Jerusalem and carried them into captivity (some ten-thousand people), including all the contractors and their workers, so all that was left in the land was just poor people. He carried off JehoIachin, his mother, his wives, his eunuchs, and all the great people of the land. He took them all from Jerusalem and resettled them in Babylon. He also carried off seven thousand of [Judah’s] greatest men, a thousand contractors and their craftsmen, and a thousand of the best soldiers, and took them to Babylon. [10] Qcmbr: In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, in the start of the year, on the tenth [day] of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city had been struck down, on this very same day the hand of Jehovah proved to be upon me. [11] Qcmbr: Now it came about in the twenty-seventh year, in the first [month], on the first [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah occurred to me, saying … Here I am giving to Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon the land of Egypt, and he must carry off its wealth and make a big spoil of it and do a great deal of plundering of it; and it must become wages for his military force. [12] Qcmbr: Reigns eleven years [13] Qcmbr: Bible - JWs -fall of Jerusalem occurred in Nebuchadnezzer's 19th year - so if it fell 607 he must have started in 625.Fixed by Jeremiah 25.1 [14] Qcmbr: 2 Kings 24:1 [15] Qcmbr: Daniel 1.1:
Daniel says he was beaten in third year of his reign so suggests it was third year of reign as vassal king.
JW argument on site:http://www.2001translation.com/587_or_607.htm
Quote: The fact is, Daniel was taken into exile at the same time as Ezekiel, Jehoiachin, and the rest of the first exiles, which was around 617-B.C.E. So, he would have been less than 100-years-old when he served under both Cyrus and Darius.
Ezekiel 40:1 suggests Jerusalem fell in 11th year after his exile. [16] Qcmbr: Nebuchadnezzer must have taken the rest of the captives here IF Jerusalem fell in 607BC. [17] Qcmbr: JWs - 70 years back from return of Jews in 537 (1st year of Cyrus reign according to bible) [18] Qcmbr:
Secular scholars [19] Qcmbr: Secular date if Jerusalem falls in 587/86
Ezekiel 40:1 suggests Jerusalem fell in 11th year after his exile. [20] Qcmbr:
Ezekiel 29:17-19 IF Ezekiel was exiled in 617/618 BC [21] Qcmbr: Fall of Jerusalem according to most scholars is either 586 / 587 BC. 19th year of Nebuchadnezzer's reign assuming it started in 605BC. [22] Qcmbr:
Ezekiel 29:17-19 IF Ezekiel was exiled in 597/598 BC [23] Qcmbr: Fall of Babylon - called an absolute date. [24] Qcmbr: Bible - fixed by date of Cyrus first year of reign.
Marks end of 70 years of desolation? [25] Qcmbr: Source bible [26] Qcmbr: If 70 years is literal this is the date that would mark return of Jews if Jerusalem was laid desolate in 587. Zechariah and Jeremiah have Jerusalem populated by these dates. Further notes [1] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_dynasty_of_Egypt [2] Qcmbr: In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that is, [in] the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, NebuZaradan the chief of the bodyguard, who was standing before the king of Babylon, came into Jerusalem. And he proceeded to burn the house of Jehovah and the house of the king and all the houses of Jerusalem; and every great house he burned with fire. And all the walls of Jerusalem, round about, all the military forces of the Chaldeans that were with the chief of the bodyguard pulled down. [3] Qcmbr: Cuneiform VAT 4956 - This is a cuneiform tablet that provides astronomical information datable to 568 B.C.E. It says that the observations were from Nebuchadnezzar's 37th year. This would correspond to the chronology that places his 18th regnal year in 587/6 B.C.E. However, this tablet is admittedly a copy made in the third century B.C.E. so it is possible that its historical information is simply that which was accepted in the Seleucid period.
The Late Babylonian astronomical texts, discovered at the site of Babylon (32.5°N, 44.4°E) more than a century ago, contain what is probably the earliest reliable account of the aurora borealis. A clay tablet recording numerous celestial observations made by the official astronomers during the 37th year of King Nebuchadnezzar II (568/567 BC) describes an unusual "red glow" in the sky at night; the exact date of this observation corresponds to the night of 12/13 March in 567 BC. The most likely interpretation of the phenomenon is an auroral display. This event occurred several centuries before the first clearly identifiable observation of the aurora from elsewhere in the world, namely China in 193 BC. The Babylonian auroral observation is remarkable in the sense that it is one of a series of carefully recorded astronomical observations, for each of which the year, month and day are known precisely. This observation occurred at a time when the geomagnetic (dipole) latitude of Babylon was about 41°N compared with the present value of 27.5°N, suggesting a higher auroral incidence at Babylon in 567 BC than at present.
The most important text for our discussion is designated VAT 4956, which is kept in the "Vorderasiatischen Abteilung" in the Berlin Museum. This diary is dated from Nisan 1 of Nebuchadnezzar's 37th regnal year to Nisan 1 of his 38th regnal year, recording observations of the moon and the planets from his entire 37th year. A translation and careful examination of the text was published by P. V. Neugebauer and E. F. Weidner in 1915.
Among the many observations recorded on VAT 4956, there are about thirty which are so exactly described that modern astronomers can easily fix the exact dates when they were made. By doing so they have been able to show that all these observations (of the moon and the five planets) must have been made during the year 568/7 B.C. Remember in the following discussion that astronomical calculations include a zero year between 1 B.C. and 1 A.D., so that this date would be written as -567/6. The diary itself clearly states that the observations were made during Nebuchadnezzar's 37th year, opening with the words: "37th year of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. On Nisan 1 the moon became visible behind the Hyades; visibility lasted for 64m...." It ends with Nisan 1 of the "38th year of Nebuchadnezzar," according to Neugebauer and Weidner.
If Nebuchadnezzar's 37th regnal year was 568/7 B.C., then his first year must have been 604/3 B.C, and his eighteenth, during which he destroyed Jerusalem, 587/6 B.C. This is the same date indicated by Berossus, Ptolemy, royal inscriptions and the business documents. [4] Qcmbr: It was during the first year of the reign of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus from the seed of the Medes, who ruled over the kingdom of the Chaldeans, that I DanYel came to understand the number of the years from the words that [Jehovah] had given to the Prophet JeremJah, for there he prophesied that Jerusalem would lie desolate for seventy years. [5] Qcmbr: The Hebrew word for desolation is "Chorbah"(devastation, desolation, and ruin). Does this word imply total desolation? Please look at Ezekiel 33:24 where it talks of "the inhabitants of these devastated places. Also please look at Nehemiah 2; 17. During Nehemiah time, Jerusalem was inhabited, yet the city is said to be devastated. Please read again Jeremiah 25:17-18:
*** Rbi8 Jeremiah 25:17-18 ***
17 And I proceeded to take the cup out of the hand of Jehovah and to make all the nations drink to whom Jehovah had sent me: 18 namely, Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and her kings, her princes, to make them a devastated place, an object of astonishment, something to whistle at and a malediction, just as at this day;
The term "just as at this day" is important. This phrase seems to indicate that the devastation, the "Chorbah" to a certain degree had begun at this time. Dr J.A Thompson in his book "The book of Jeremiah" states "The last phrase "as at its day" suggests that at the time of writing some aspects of this judgement at least were apparent." As pointed out by Professor Arthur Jeffrey in the Interpreters Bible (Vol 6,p.485), "Chorbah" is "often employed to describe the state of a devastated land after the armies of an enemy have passed (Lev 26:31,33; Isaiah 49:19; Jer 42:22;Ezekiel 36:34: Malachi 1:4;Maccabees 1:39)". It would not be inaccurate then to talk of Judah as "Chorbah" eighteen years prior to its depopulation, if the land had been ravaged by the army of an enemy at that time." The phrase "desolate waste, without any inhabitant" is found at Jeremiah 9:11 and 34:22. Although it refers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, it is nowhere equated with the period of seventy years. The point I am trying to make here is this: The "seventy years" were not seventy years of Judah not having an inhabitant. The term "Chorbah" does not mean that and this meaning does not fit in with what the Bible says. The Bible says that Judah was going to be desolated and ravaged by an enemy army. The time period is not stated. The time period of seventy years applies to the region, not just Judah, serving the king of Babylon.
If we are to believe that the 70 years is 70 years of complete desolation without any inhabitant only for Judah, then this is in direct conflict with the prophecy. The servitude mentioned does not mean exile and desolation. It means vassalage. Please turn to Jeremiah 27:8 and 11. These scriptures are telling the nations to serve the Babylonian king. The nation that will not serve him, Jehovah will turn his anger upon him until He has finished them off. But the nation that does serve the king of Babylon and "bring its neck under the yoke of the king and actually serve him, I will let it rest upon its ground, is the utterance of Jehovah, and it will certainly cultivate it and dwell in it."
(Jeremiah 27:8-11) "'"'And it must occur that the nation and the kingdom that will not serve him, even Neb·u·chad·nez'zar the king of Babylon; and the one that will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, with the sword and with the famine and with the pestilence I shall turn my attention upon that nation,' is the utterance of Jehovah, 'until I shall have finished them off by his hand.' 9 "'"'And as for YOU men, do not listen to YOUR prophets and to YOUR practicers of divination and to YOUR dreamers and to YOUR practicers of magic and to YOUR sorcerers, who are saying to YOU: "YOU men will not serve the king of Babylon." 10 For falsehood is what they are prophesying to YOU, for the purpose of having YOU taken far away from off YOUR ground; and I shall have to disperse YOU, and YOU will have to perish. 11 "'"'And as for the nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and actually serve him, I will also let it rest upon its ground,' is the utterance of Jehovah, 'and it will certainly cultivate it and dwell in it.'"'"
So to "serve" meant to be a vassal kingdom to Babylon and their reward for being obedient was to stay in their land. Verse 12 is a direct command to Zedekiah, which shows that Jehovah did not want them to leave. He wanted them to "serve" the king by being a vassal kingdom and to stay in their land. If they did not "place their neck on the yoke of the king of Babylon" Jehovah was going to punish them. The same applied to any King that Jehovah had poured "the cup of rage" out to.
*** Rbi8 Jeremiah 27:12-13 ***
12 Even to Zed·e·ki'ah the king of Judah I spoke according to all these words, saying: "Bring YOUR necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people and keep on living. 13 Why should you yourself and your people die by the sword, by the famine and by the pestilence according to what Jehovah has spoken to the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon?
Also the whole of Jeremiah 42 is telling the Jews who were left after the destruction to stay in the land of Judah, cultivate it and stay in submission to the king of Babylon. Verses 18 and 19 are telling the Jews not to enter Egypt and leave the land. Verse 22 tells them that if they did, Jehovah was going to punish them.
(Jeremiah 42:18-19) "For this is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said, 'Just as my anger and my rage have been poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my rage will be poured out upon YOU because of YOUR entering into Egypt, and YOU will certainly become a curse and an object of astonishment and a malediction and a reproach, and you will no more see this place.' 19 "Jehovah has spoken against YOU, O remnant of Judah. Do not enter into Egypt. YOU should positively know that I have borne witness against YOU today,
*** Rbi8 Jeremiah 42:22 ***
22 And now YOU should positively know that by the sword, by the famine and by the pestilence YOU will die in the place into which YOU do delight to enter to reside as aliens."
The question that comes to mind here is:If Jehovah wanted the land to be totally uninhabited, we did he command the remaining Jews not to leave Judah?
Thus the nations that accepted the Babylonian yoke would serve the king of Babylon seventy years by being vassal kings. But the nation that refused to serve the king would become devastated. The seventy years of servitude foretold by Jeremiah therefore did not apply to Judah as a nation, but only to the nations who submitted to the king of Babylon. As Judah refused to submit, it had to get punished for this, which meant desolation and exile because it did not place its neck under the yoke. It could not have meant seventy years of being uninhabited as Jehovah commanded the remnant not to leave. The seventy-year could then be described as Babylon being a world power. Historians feel that this world power began its reign when it destroyed the city of Haran in 609 BCE and took over from the Assyria world power that had control at that time. [6] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_kings
which uses
Ptolmey's Canon [7] Qcmbr: Then he carried off everyone who was left to Babylon, where they served as slaves for him and his sons until the Medes came along and fulfilled the words of [Jehovah] through Jeremiah, and the land had observed its Sabbaths. For, during the seventy years that the land lay desolate, it was observing the Sabbath. [8] Qcmbr: Claudius Ptolemy was a Greek astronomer who lived in the second century C.E. His Canon, or list of kings, was connected with a work on astronomy that he produced. Most modern historians accept Ptolemy's information about the Neo-Babylonian kings and the length of their reigns (though Ptolemy does omit the reign of Labashi-Marduk). Evidently Ptolemy based his historical information on sources dating from the Seleucid period, which began more than 250 years after Cyrus captured Babylon.
Some of his work is fraudulent (i.e. his claims while possibly correct could not have been his own work as claimed - they had to come from other sources.) [9] Qcmbr: Studies in Scriptures Series IV (1897) p.621
“Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present since October 1874, A.D., according to the testimony of the prophets, to those who have ears to hear it: and the formal inauguration of his kingly office dates from April 1878, A.D.”
Prophecy (1929) p.65
“The Scriptural proof is that the second presence of the Lord Jesus Christ began in 1874 A.D.”
Our Lord’s Return (1929) pp.27, 33, 37
“From 1874 onward is the time of the Lord’s second presence, as above stated… his circumstantial evidence fulfilling prophecy is what constitutes the physical facts, and is proof corroborative of the Lord’s presence since 1874…His presence beginning in 1874, he has carried on his harvest work from 1874 forward… “ [10] Qcmbr: It was during the third year of the reign of JehoYakim (the king of Judah) that NebuChadnezzar (the king of Babylon) came to Jerusalem and attacked it. [11] Qcmbr: The Cannon was in use centuries before Ptolemy and historians state that it is based on Babylonian, not selucid sources, due to certain expressions and characteristics in it. The Cannon omits Labashi-Marduks reign (which is only a few months and which fell in the last year of Neriglissar ) as it deals only with whole years. [12] Qcmbr: Golden Age 1930 p.503
“Jesus has been present since 1914”
This was not mentioned again until 1943. It has only been from 1943 onwards that 1914 has been consistently stated to be the start of the Last Days and the beginning of Jesus presence and rulership.
Watchtower 1952 November 1 p.658
“As for the time of Christ’s second presence, Daniel’s prophecy is again the one that gives the chronology for it. (Dan. 4:16) It was figured out as pointing to A.D. 1914, and The Watchtower called notice to the significance of 1914 in the year 1879.”
Watchtower 1954 June 15 p.370
“Why, then, do the nations not realize and accept the approach of this climax of judgment? It is because they have not heeded the world wide advertising of Christ’s return and his second Presence. Since long before World War I Jehovah’s witnesses pointed to 1914 as the time for this great event to occur.”
Watchtower 1965 July 15 p.428
”This was a new revelation of great importance to God’s people who had been anxiously awaiting his second presence toward the end of the nineteenth century.”
Watchtower 1966 February 15 p.103
“For over thirty years before that date and for half a century since, Jehovah’s witnesses have pointed to the year 1914 as the time for the end of “the appointed times of the nations” and the time in which Christ would begin his Kingdom rule. (Luke 21:24)”
Watchtower 1993 January 15 p.5
“The Watchtower has consistently presented evidence…that Jesus’ presence in heavenly Kingdom power began in 1914. Events since that year testify to Jesus’ presence.“
Watchtower 1998 September 15 p.15
“…a prophecy providentially caused sincere 19th-century Bible students to be in expectation. By linking the “seven times” of Daniel 4:25 with “the times of the Gentiles”, they anticipated that Christ would receive Kingdom power in 1914. “ [13] Qcmbr: These are the people whom Nebuchadrezzar took into exile: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews. [14] Qcmbr: The Uruk King List (also known as "King List 5") is an important historiographical document from ancient Babylonia. It mentions the length of the reigns of several kings, beginning with Kandalanu (647-627) and continuing to the Seleucid king Seleucus II Callinicus (246-226/225). Together the Babylonian King List of the Hellenistic Period, the Uruk King list is a useful text for those who are reconstructing the chronology of Babylonia in the late fourth to mid-second centuries. uncovered in 1959-60. It states the regnal periods of the Babylonian Kings from Kandalanu to Nabonidus. These also agree with the Royal Cannon and Borossus.
TEXT: OBVERSE
Lacuna
TRANSLATION
Lacuna
DATES
1' /MU 21\[mAššur-bâni-apli]Aššurbanipal21 years
668-631
2' ša-niš/m\Šamaš-šuma-ukînŠamaš-šuma-ukînat the same time
667-648
3' MU 21mK[an-da]-la-anKandalanu21 years
647-627
4' MU 1m dSîn2-šumu-lîšir2Sin-šumlišir1 year
626
5' um dSîn2-šarra-iš-ku-unand Sin-šar-iškûn
6' MU 21m dNabû-apla-usurNabopolassar21 years
626-605
7' [M]U 43m dNabû-kuddurî-usurNebuchadnezzar [II]43 years
604-562
8' [M]U 2mAmîl-dMardukAmel-Marduk2 years
561-560
9' [MU] /3\ 8 ITIm dNergal2-šarra-usurNeriglissar3 years, 8 months
559-556
10' [(...)] 3 ITImLa-ba-ši-dMardukLabaši-Marduk[accession year] 3 months
556
11' [MU] /17?\m dNabû-nâ'idNabonidus17? years
555-539
12' [MU xmK]ur-ašCyrus [the Great][x years]
539-530
13' [MU xmKambu-z]i-iCambyses [II][x years]
530-522
14' [MU xmDaria-m]ušDarius [the Great][x years]
522-486
Lacuna
Lacuna
TEXT: REVERSE
TRANSLATION
1' [š]á MU šá-nu-úmNidin-dB[êl][...] whose second name is Nidin-Bêl[...]
336??
2' [M]U 5mDa-ra-a-mušDarius [III Codomannus]5 years
336-331
3' MU 7?mA-lik-sa-an-darAlexander [the Great]7? years
331-323
4' MU 6mPi-il-ip-suPhilip [III Arridaeus]6 years
323-317
5' MU 6mAt-tu-gu-unAntigonus [the One-eyed]6 years
317-311
6' MU 31mSi-lu-kuSeleucus [I Nicator]31 years
311-281
7' MU 22mAn-ti-'u-ku-suAntiochus [I Soter]22 years
281-261
8' MU 15mAn-ti-'u-ku-suAntiochus [II Theos]15 years
261-246
9' [MU] [...]mSi-lu-k[u]Seleucus [II Callinicus][... years]
246-225
Lacuna
Lacuna
[15] Qcmbr: Twenty-five years old was Jehoiakim when he began to reign, and for eleven years he reigned in Jerusalem. [16] Qcmbr: The word that occurred to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, that is, the first year of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon. [17] Qcmbr: This contemporary stele, or pillar with an inscription, was discovered in 1956. It mentions the reigns of the Neo-Babylonian kings Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-Merodach, Neriglissar. The figures given for these three agree with those from Ptolemy's Canon. [18] Qcmbr: In his days Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came up, and so Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. However, he turned back and rebelled against him. [19] Qcmbr: Adad-guppi was a colorful character. She was the mother of Nabonidus and lived until she was 104. The inscription is an account of her life and the kings that she had lived under. It then lists the kings and their reigns. All the reigns are in complete accordance with the above quoted king lists. [20] Qcmbr: Then JehoIachin (the king of Judah) surrendered to the king of Babylon, along with his mother, servants, governors, and eunuchs, so the king of Babylon [took him captive] during the eighth year of his reign. Then he went in and took all the treasures in the Temple of [Jehovah], and all the treasures in the king’s palace. And he had all the gold things that Solomon (the king of Israel) had placed in the Temple of [Jehovah] cut off and removed, just as [Jehovah] said would happen. Then he took all the governors and all the important people from Jerusalem and carried them into captivity (some ten-thousand people), including all the contractors and their workers, so all that was left in the land was just poor people. He carried off JehoIachin, his mother, his wives, his eunuchs, and all the great people of the land. He took them all from Jerusalem and resettled them in Babylon. He also carried off seven thousand of [Judah’s] greatest men, a thousand contractors and their craftsmen, and a thousand of the best soldiers, and took them to Babylon. [21] Qcmbr: Babylonian astronomical tablet can be dated to 651BCE due to the observances on it. This is the oldest preserved astronomical diary. The king, his regnal year and month names are broken away. The tablet talks of a battle between Assyria and Babylon, where Babylon is heavily defeated. However we can date this tablet as another tablet BM 86379 (The Akitu Chronicle) talks of the battle in Shamash-shuma-ukin's 16th year which interestingly states that the Babylonian King was defeated. Shamahshumakins's reign of 20 years may then be dated to 667/66-648/47 BCE. This is in good agreement with the above king lists .A change of Nebuchadnezzars 18th year from 587 to 607 BCE would also change Shamushshumukins 16th year from 652 to 672 BCE which BM 32312 does not allow. [22] Qcmbr: In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, in the start of the year, on the tenth [day] of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city had been struck down, on this very same day the hand of Jehovah proved to be upon me. [23] Qcmbr: Babylonian tablet talks of the battle in Shamash-shuma-ukin's 16th year which interestingly states that the Babylonian King was defeated. Shamahshumakins's reign of 20 years may then be dated to 667/66-648/47 BCE. This is in good agreement with the above king lists . [24] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Kings [25] Qcmbr: Now it came about in the twenty-seventh year, in the first [month], on the first [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah occurred to me, saying … Here I am giving to Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon the land of Egypt, and he must carry off its wealth and make a big spoil of it and do a great deal of plundering of it; and it must become wages for his military force. [26] Qcmbr: gives observances for 14 successive years of the planet Saturn corresponding to the first fourteen years of king Kandalanu, so we can date this exactly. Mr. Chris Walker who is an assistant curator in the British Museum...explains:
" A complete cycle of Saturn's phenomena in relation to the stars takes 59 years. But when that cycle has to be fitted to the lunar calendar of 29 or 30 days then identical cycles recur at intervals of rather more than 17 centuries. Thus there is no difficulty in determing the date of the present text."
Therefore the absolute chronology of Kandalanus reign is definitely fixed by the Saturn tablet because the pattern of positions described in the text is fixed to specific dates in the Babylonian lunar calendar, that are not repeated again in more than 17 centuries. [27] Qcmbr: And I will make the land of Egypt a desolate waste in the midst of desolated lands; and its own cities will become a desolate waste in the very midst of devastated cities for forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. [28] Qcmbr: They record the lunar eclipses in the Babylonian area at the time. The texts were compiled during the Selucid era (312-64 BCE). The evidence is that the eclipse records were extracted from astronomical diaries by Babylonian astronomers who had access to a large number of diaries from earlier centuries. Prof. A.J Sachs in F.R Hodsons book "THE PLACE OF ASTRONOMY IN THE ANCIENT WORLD" states "It is all but certain that these eclipse records could have been extracted only from the astronomical diaries."
LBAT 1417 records four lunar eclipses at 18 year and nearly 11 days intervals from 686 to 632 BCE. It seems to be part of the same tablet as the previous two texts in the series, LBAT 1415 and 1416.The first entry records an eclipse from Sennacheribs third year of reign in Babylonia which may be identified with the eclipse that took place on April 22 668 BCE. Unfortunately the year number is only partly legible. However the next entry states an eclipse to the second month in Shamushshumukins accession year. This equates to April/May in 668 BCE. Babylonian astronomers had worked out that this would be an eclipse that would not be observable to Babylon. Modern eclipse catalogues show that such an eclipse took place on May 2, 668 BCE. The length and time of the eclipse are in good agreement with the text. If we have to add 20 years to Shamushshumukins reign to fit in with our chronology, this will give us an accession date for Shamashashumkin of 688 BCE. However no unobservable eclipses occurred in April or May of that year. One did occur on June 10 668 BCE, but this one was observable to Babylon. It is therefore an impossible alternative.
The next entry in the text is dated to Shamushshumukins 18th year that is 650/649 BCE. This eclipse too was a computed one, which would begin before sunset. According to modern calculations this eclipse took place on May 13 650 BCE between 16.25 P.M. and 18.19 P.M. Again if we place this eclipse 20 years earlier no eclipses took place in April or May that year. .One eclipse did take place on June 22 but this began at 7.30 am.
The next and last entry is dated to the 16th year of Kandalanu (632 BCE) and to the fifth month, which would correspond to May or June. This partial eclipse also took place the time it should have on May 23, 632 BCE . If we add 20 years to make Kandalanus 16th year 652 BCE, we do find an eclipse taking place on July 2nd that year, but it was a full eclipse and not partial as stated.
So we see that the LBAT 1417 tablet backs up the regnal years of Shamashshumukin and Kandalanu and do not allow for 20 years to be inserted.
LBAT 1419 records an uninterrupted series of Lunar eclipses at 18 year intervals from 609/08 to 447/46 BCE. The first entries that are recorded are damaged. However the two following entries are clearly dated to the 14th and 32nd year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. His 14th and 32nd years are dated to 591/90 and 573/72 BCE respectively. The two eclipses recorded, one saros apart, both took place in the sixth month in August or September. Both eclipses were calculated in advance and the Babylonians knew that none of them would be observable in Babylonia because they both occurred in the daytime. According to modern calculations both eclipses took place as predicted and fit in very well with the chronology established for Nebuchadnezzar. However if we were to look for the two eclipses twenty years earlier, no eclipses occurred in that year that fit the description of the text.
The next entry records an eclipse that is quite detailed:
"Month VII, the 13th, in 17 degrees on the east side all (of the moon) was covered,28 degrees maximal phase In 20 degrees it cleared from the east to north? Its eclipse was red. Behind the rump of Aries, it was eclipsed. During onset, the north wind blew, during clearing, the west wind. At 55 degrees before sunrise.
Unfortunately the king and royal year are missing. But this eclipse took place on Oct 6/7 555 BCE in the first year of Nabonidus. Although the year and name is missing, it is of the uppermost importance to notice that the text places the eclipse one saros cycle after the eclipse in the 32nd year of Nebuchadnezzar.
LBAT 1420 contains annual eclipses. All are from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, from his first to his twenty ninth years. The first record, that records two eclipses that were not observable, is damaged and the year number is illegible. However the last part of Nebuchadnezzar name is preserved. The name of the king is not repeated which means that the king is the same during the whole period. Some of the records are damaged but the ones that are legible are in good agreement with the king lists. This record carries detail of twenty four eclipses of which 12 have the regnal year preserved. . Again these eclipses took place according to modern calculations and if we were to add twenty years to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the eclipses would not be correct.
LBAT 1421 records two eclipses observable in Babylon in the sixth and twelfth month of year 42, evidently of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Provided that these eclipses occurred in the 42nd year of Nebuchadnezzar and there was no other king that ruled as long as him, we should find the eclipses as recorded. Modern calculations state that they did happen. [29] Qcmbr: And it came about in the eleventh year, on the first [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah occurred to me, saying … Here I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up against you many nations, just as the sea brings up its waves. And they will certainly bring the walls of Tyre to ruin and tear down her towers, and I will scrape her dust away from her and make her a shining, bare surface of a crag. [30] Qcmbr: Thousands of business tablets noting the king and year. How complete coverage:
Mr. Walker -
"...quite a few texts FOR EVERY YEAR of the Babylonian kings. Some of these are exact to the day and month! He said there is no record of the 20 years that we need to prove 607 BCE." [31] Qcmbr: And it must occur in that day that Tyre must be forgotten seventy years, the same as the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of a prostitute: Take a harp, go around the city, O forgotten prostitute. Do your best at playing on the strings; make your songs many, in order that you may be remembered. And it must occur at the end of seventy years that Jehovah will turn his attention to Tyre, and she must return to her hire and commit prostitution with all the kingdoms of the earth upon the surface of the ground. [32] Qcmbr: Some 2500 business tablets were found in 1875/76 that tells us a lot about the "Egebi" Business house, which was the "Rothschild" of Babylon. This information is so detailed that we can work out who was head of the business house and what kings they reigned under. These are also in good agreement with the above king lists. [33] Qcmbr: For this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, Here I am bringing against Tyre Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon from the north, a king of kings, with horses and war chariots and cavalrymen and a congregation, even a multitudinous people. [34] Qcmbr: Describes the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and then says that "all Judea and Jerusalem, and the temple, continued to be a desert for seventy years." (Antiquities of the Jews X, ix, 7)
"our city was desolate during the interval of seventy years, until the days of Cyrus." (Against Apion I, 19) BUT In his last reference to the period of Jerusalem's desolation, states that the desolation lasted for fifty years, not seventy. He also quotes the works of Berossus and the records of the Phoenicians to prove the fifty years.
"Nebuchadnezzar, in the eighteenth year of his reign, laid our temple desolate, and so it lay in that state of obscurity for fifty years; but that in the second year of the reign of Cyrus its foundations were laid, and it was finished again in the second year of Darius" [35] Qcmbr: When the seventh month arrived the sons of Israel were in [their] cities. And the people began to gather themselves as one man to Jerusalem. And they proceeded to give money to the cutters and to the craftsmen, and eatables and drink and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians, to bring cedar timbers from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the permission granted by Cyrus the king of Persia to them. [36] Qcmbr: Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: ???d?t??, Herodotos) was an Ionian traveler and storyteller who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. 425 BC). He is almost exclusively known for writing The Histories, a collection of 'inquiries' (or '?st???a', a word which passed into Latin and took on its modern connotation of 'history') about the different places and peoples he encountered during his wide ranging travels around the Mediterranean littoral and into Mesopotamia. He took as the unifying theme for this work the conflict between the ancient Greeks and the Persians or 'Medes'. [37] Qcmbr: And her(Tyre) profit and her hire must become something holy to Jehovah. [38] Qcmbr: 1THE word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;
2Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah. [39] Qcmbr: 4¶ And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about.
5So the city (Jerusalem)was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. [40] Qcmbr: 8¶ Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,
9Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
...
11And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. [41] Qcmbr: 1AND in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. [42] Qcmbr: TODO find source of this JW date. [43] Qcmbr: 4Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
5Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
6Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
7And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
8¶ For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
9For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
10¶ 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. [44] Qcmbr: Reigns eleven years [45] Qcmbr: 1IN the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
12¶ Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
13And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.
14So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
15And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
16Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. [46] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_kings
which uses
Ptolmey's Canon [47] Qcmbr: Bible - JWs -fall of Jerusalem occurred in Nebuchadnezzer's 19th year - so if it fell 607 he must have started in 625.
Fixed by Jeremiah 25.1 [48] Qcmbr: Egypt falls to Nebuchadnezzar (Babylonians) IF Jehoiakim starts reign in 628 BC Jeremiah 46:1,2 [49] Qcmbr: 2 Kings 24:1 [50] Qcmbr: Daniel 1.1:
Daniel says he was beaten in third year of his reign so suggests it was third year of reign as vassal king.
JW argument on site:http://www.2001translation.com/587_or_607.htm
Quote: The fact is, Daniel was taken into exile at the same time as Ezekiel, Jehoiachin, and the rest of the first exiles, which was around 617-B.C.E. So, he would have been less than 100-years-old when he served under both Cyrus and Darius.
Ezekiel 40:1 suggests Jerusalem fell in 11th year after his exile. [51] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_dynasty_of_Egypt [52] Qcmbr: TO DO
Find source of this. [53] Qcmbr: Reigns eleven years -
If Battle of Carchemish is 605BC and Jeremiah 46:1,2 [54] Qcmbr: Nebuchadnezzer must have taken the rest of the captives here IF Jerusalem fell in 607BC. [55] Qcmbr: JWs - 70 years back from return of Jews in 537 (1st year of Cyrus reign according to bible) [56] Qcmbr: Ezekiel 26:1-4.
This date is selected as it gives 70 years for Tyre to be forgotten and then in 536/7 for Tyre's work to be used for the temple as per Isaiah 23:18 [57] Qcmbr: Neb's reign Fixed by VAT 4956 with referes to 567/8 BC as his 37 regnal year. Also Ptolmey's canon [58] Qcmbr:
Egypt falls to Nebuchadnezzar (Babylonians) Neo-Babylonian Chronology.
Jeremiah 46:1,2
Debate:
Josephus states that in the year of the battle of Carchemish Nebuchadnezzar conquered all of Syria-Palestine "excepting Judea," thus contradicting Berossus and conflicting with the claim that 70 years of Jewish servitude began in Nebuchadnezzar's accession year.
Babylonian Chronicle BM 21946. This covers the period from the last (21st) year of Nabopolassar up to an including the tenth year of his successor and son, Nebuchadnezzar.It starts with a detailed account of the battle at Carchemish where the Babylonian inflicted a heavy defeat on the Egyptian army and the events afterward. Immediately after the battle, Nebuchadnezzar began to take over the whole of the western areas in vassalage to Egypt. The chronicle tells us that.... "In his accession year Nebuchadnezzar (11) returned to Hattu. Until the month Shebat he marched about victoriously in Hattu. In the month Shebat, he took the vast booty of Hattu to Babylon...."He then spent the next four years in conquering the territories. Clearly then the nations in the Hattu area (including Judah) became vassals to Babylon soon after the Battle at Carchemish. [59] Qcmbr: Secular date if Jerusalem falls in 587/86 and Battle of Carchemish is in 605BC(neo-babylonian chronology) - 4th year of Jehoiakims reign (must be regnal king not year as vassal) (according to Jeremiah 46:1,2)
Ezekiel 40:1 suggests Jerusalem fell in 11th year after his (Ezekiels) exile. Daniel 2:1 [60] Qcmbr: 2 Kings 24:1 [61] Qcmbr: If Neb starts reigning in 605 BC -
Jeremiah 52:4-5
9th year of Neb's reign seige of Jerusalem starts. [62] Qcmbr: Secular date if Jerusalem falls in 587/86 and Battle of Carchemish is in 605BC(neo-babylonian chronology) - 4th year of Jehoiakims reign (must be as a vassal king not his full reign) (according to Jeremiah 46:1,2) or 4rd year as vassal king according to Daniel 1:1,2
Ezekiel 40:1 suggests Jerusalem fell in 11th year after his (Ezekiels) exile. [63] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_dynasty_of_Egypt -seems to mix Herodotus and archaelogical artefacts for dating [64] Qcmbr:
Ezekiel 29:17-19 IF Ezekiel was exiled in 617/618 BC [65] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_dynasty_of_Egypt -seems to mix Herodotus and archaelogical artefacts for dating [66] Qcmbr: Fixed by Jeremiah 25: 1 assuming Jehoiakim started reigning in 628BC [67] Qcmbr: IF VAT 4956 and 588 Nebuchadnezzer's 37th regnal year but not Ezekiel 29:17-19 [68] Qcmbr: Fall of Jerusalem according to most scholars is either 586 / 587 BC. 19th year of Nebuchadnezzer's reign assuming it started in 605BC.
Jeremiah 29:10 argues that this is not the beginning of the 70 year period but that the period had already started (for exiles already in Babylon.) [69] Qcmbr:
Ezekiel 26:1-4 TODO - find why prophecy has to be this date in the secular world [70] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Kings [71] Qcmbr:
Ezekiel 29:17-19 IF Ezekiel was exiled in 597/598 BC and not VAT 4956
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_dynasty_of_Egypt -seems to mix Herodotus and archaelogical artefacts for dating [72] Qcmbr: VAT 4956 [73] Qcmbr:
IF VAT 4956 and 468 Nebuchadnezzers 37th Year [74] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_kings
which uses
Ptolmey's Canon [75] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_kings
which uses
Ptolmey's Canon [76] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_kings
which uses
Ptolmey's Canon [77] Qcmbr: If Plunder of Egypt started in 590BC.
Egypt had alliance with Babylon before its destruction (539BC) - TO DO find source of this statement. [78] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Kings [79] Qcmbr: If Plunder of Egypt started in 588BC.
Egypt had alliance with Babylon before its destruction (539BC) - TO DO find source of this statement. [80] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Kings [81] Qcmbr: Fall of Babylon - called an absolute date. [82] Qcmbr: Fixed by first year of Cyrus and allowed in a 70 year servitude period IF Jeremiah 25:8,9,11 are interpreted as Judah and other nations would be in servitude for a 70 year period rather than just Judah for the full 70 years. [83] Qcmbr: Royal cannon quoted by
Ptolmey's Canon [84] Qcmbr: Bible - fixed by date of Cyrus first year of reign.
Marks end of 70 years of desolation?
IF Jerusalem falls in 607BC [85] Qcmbr: Source bible - IF Jerusalem falls in 607BC and there is a 70 year desolation period. [86] Qcmbr: If Plunder of Egypt started in 570BC and Egypt was to suffer 40 years of desolation from that point [87] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Kings [88] Qcmbr: If Plunder of Egypt started in 568BC and Egypt was to suffer 40 years of desolation from that point [89] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_dynasty_of_Egypt -seems to mix Herodotus and archaelogical artefacts for dating [90] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Kings [91] Qcmbr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darius_the_Great [92] Qcmbr: Zechariah 1:1,12-16 supports this date as a point where a 70 year period of Jewish punishment from God is not yet over IF this year is the second year of Darius' reign [93] Qcmbr: If 70 years is literal and the Jews are in servitude the full 70 years (may be in disagreement with Jeremiah 25:8,9,11- which may be interpreted as a 70 year servitude period for many nations which included Judah) this is the date that would mark return of Jews if Jerusalem was laid desolate in 587. Zechariah and Jeremiah have Jerusalem populated by these dates.
BUT
Jeremiah 29:10 argues that this is not the end of the 70 year period but that the period had already started prior to the fall of Jerusalem (for exiles already in Babylon.)