◄810-690 BC | Timeline 690-570 BC (The Exile Part 1) | 570-450 BC►

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Notes on the Nations
Books of the Bible
Notes on Israel
   Seventh Dynasty of Assyria 722-539 BC
          Sennacherib 705-681BC (24)
          Esarhaddon 681-669BC (12)
          Ashurbanipal 669-633BC (36)
          Ashuretililiani 6633-629BC (4)
          Sinsharishkun 629-612BC (17)
          Ashuruballit II 612-609BC (3)
 

   Neo-Babylonian Empire 626-539BC
             Holman Bible Dictionary
          Nabopolassar 626-605BC (21)
          Nebuchanezzar 605-562BC (43)
               ISBE
               Fausset's Bible Dictionary
               Smith's Bible Dictionary
              Nave's Topics
 

   Kingdom of Egypt (?-30 BC)
              Holman Bible Dictionary
      25th Dynasty (194) 945-751BC
          Taharka (26) 689-664
      26th Dynasty (138) 663-525BC
          Psamtit I (55) 663-609
          Neco II (15) 609-594
          Psamtit II (6) 594-588
          Apries (20) 588-568
 
    Book Name 2 Chronicles
    Dates covered 970-586 BC
    Date written c. 450-400 BC
    Author Ezra
 
    Book Name 2 Kings
    Dates covered 850-539 BC
    Date written

c. 560-539 BC

    Author

Jeremiah

 
    Book Name Nahum
    Dates covered c. 665-645 BC
    Date written

c. 665-645 BC

    Author

Nahum

 
    Book Name Zaphaniah
    Dates covered c. 640-620 BC
    Date written

c. 640-620 BC

    Author

Zephaniah

 
    Book Name Jeremiah Lamentations
    Dates covered (?) 627-?
    Date written (?) 627-?
    Author Jeremiah
 
    Book Name

Habakkuk

    Dates covered c. 615-600 BC
    Date written

c. 615-600 BC

    Author

Habakkuk

 
    Book Name

Daniel

    Dates covered c. 605-536 BC
    Date written

c. 605-536 BC

    Author

Daniel

 
    Book Name Ezekiel
    Dates covered c. 593-? BC
    Date written

c. 593-? BC

    Author

Ezekiel

 
    Book Name Obadiah
    Dates covered c. 685-565 BC
    Date written

c. 685-565 BC

    Author

Obadiah

 
    Links
         The Levite Towns Through-out Israel
          The Gods of the Canaanites
         The 12 Judges Of Israel
 

     Nahum c. 665-645 BC
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Zephaniah c. 665-645 BC
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Jeremiah c. 627-?
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Habakkuk c. 615-600 BC
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Daniel c. 605-536 BC
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Ezekiel c. 593-? BC
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Obadiah c. 685-565 BC
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
 
 

Kingdom of Judah 931-586 BC
     Manasseh 697-642BC(55)
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Amon 642-640BC(2)
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Josiah 640-609BC(31)
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Jehoahaz 609BC(1)
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Jehoakim 609-597BC(12)
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Johoiachin 597BC(1)
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics
     Zedekiah 597-586BC(11)
           ISBE
           Fausset's Bible Dictionary
           Smith's Bible Dictionary
          Nave's Topics

 
         Maps
               The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (1)
               The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (2)
               The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (3)
               Trade Routes throughout the Middle East
               Travel Routes throughout Palestine
               The Rise of Assyria
               Assyrian Districts after the Fall of Samaria
               Hezekiah's Preparation for Revolt
               Judah under King Hezekiah
               Hezekiah's Jerusalem
               Sennacherib's Campaign against Judah
               Assyria in the 7th century BCE
               The Rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
               The Reign of Josiah
               The Districts of Judah under King Josiah
               The Golden Age of King Josiah
               Nebuchadnezzar's Campaigns against Judah
               Judah during the Exile
               The Kingdom of Judah
               Exile; Palestine in the Post-Exilic Period
               Jewish Exiles in Babylon
               Jewish Refugees in Egypt
 
 
 
 

Notes on Israel's Involvement With the Nations

    

     Notes on Jeremiah’s Prophecy of the 70 weeks 

"Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' declares the LORD, 'and {I will send} to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 'Moreover, I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 'This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 'Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,' declares the LORD, 'for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.                                                                                                                                                                  Jer 25:8-12 NASB

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans-- in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was {revealed as} the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, {namely,} seventy years. So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek {Him by} prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.                                                                                     Dan 9:1-3 NASB

There are 3 different interpretations of this prophecy.

  1. The 70 years of Babylon

  2. The 70 years that the temple was destroyed

  3. The 70 years that Israel was out of the land

The 70 years of Babylon.

     The Empire of Babylon defeated the Empire of Assyria in 612 BC however the Assyrian king Ashur-uballit II fled the capital with much of his army & did not die until 609 BC so most historians date the Babylon empire from 609 BC. In 539 BC Babylon was destroyed by Cyrus the King of the Persians. If you subtract 539 BC from 609 BC you get 70 years that Babylon was an empire. 

The 70 years that the temple was destroyed

     The first Temple, the one built by Solomon was destroyed in 586 by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The construction on the Second temple was started in 536 BC by Sheshbazzar Governor of Judea but the construction stopped & started again for the next 20 years & was not completed until 516 BC by Zerubbabel governor of Judah. Subtracting 516 BC from 586 BC gives a span of exactly 70 years.

The 70 years that Israel was out of the land

     There were three deportations of the Jews from Israel by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The first of these took place in 605 BC & include the best families in Israel including the prophet Daniel. There were also three repatriations or returns of Jews back to Israel following the defeat of Babylon by Persia. The first of these took place in 535 BC when King Cyrus of Persia decreed that the Jews could return to their land. Once again, if you subtract 535 BC from 605 BC to arrive at a 70 year span in which part of Israel was exiled from their land. 

     So which of these 3 theories is the correct one? I believe that all three are correct & are covered by Jeremiah’s prophecy. Jeremiah said the Land would be “a desolation & horror”, the biggest “Desolation & horror” for the Jews was their temple now in ruins for 70 years. Next Jeremiah says “these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years” this meant that Israel would be in exile as slaves to Babylon & not free men for 70 years. Finally Jeremiah states “'Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation” which would mean that God would destroy the Empire of Babylon after 70 years of rule. So you see, all three theories could have been prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah. 

     Just as a side note from the passage in Daniel above, when the NASb uses the word “books” it is the Hebrew wordשפר  = cepher {say'-fer} which meansmissive, document, writing, book, scroll, written order, commission, request, written decree, legal document” & is singular in form so it should read “Book” not “Books”. Daniel was referring to his reading in “THE BOOK” or as the NIV correctly translates it THE SCRIPTURES”, or the Old Testament as it existed in his day. Notice it was considered one book even in 537 BC


     Notes on Daniel’s vision of World history from Cyrus to the Time of the End 

Dan 11:1 "In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him. NASB
Dan 11:2  "And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all {of them;} as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole {empire} against the realm of Greece. NASB

Daniel is told this vision in “first year of Darius the Mede” or 539 BC & covers the next 200 years of the future. The prophecy is so accurate that all liberal atheists believe that the Book of Daniel had to be written much later. Their so-called “Logic” runs as follows:

  1. There is no God because we say there is none.

  2. Without a God, no one can predict the future.

  3. The Book of Daniel predicts the future so perfectly that if had to be written long after Daniel was dead because of # 1 & 2 above. 

According to this prophecy, there would be three more Persian kings & then a forth on would arise that would make war on Greece with a very large army (“arouse the whole empire”). The King of Persia when Daniel receives the vision is Cyrus (550-530BC) so the prophecy begins with his successors. The 3 kings the succeed Cyrus are
  1. Cambyses 530-522BC
  2. Smerdis 522BC
  3. Darius I 522-486BC

The forth King to stand up would then be Xerxes 486-465BC. In 480, Xerxes attacked the Greek Mainland & began a 200 year rivalry between the two powers ending only when Alexander the Great defeated Persia. Notice the prophecy never says that there will only be 4 Persian kings, only that 4 will arise – it then skips the rest Persian history. 

Dan 11:3   "And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. NASB
Dan 11:4   "But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his {own} descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and {given} to others besides them. NASB

With verse 3, the prophecy jumps to 336 BC & speaks of

  1. A mighty king who does as he pleases
  2. When he is at the peek of his live, his empire is split up into 4 smaller empires none of which are given to any of his offspring. 

In 336 BC, a man takes the throne in Greece. Within 13 years, he will conquer Persia as well as the rest of the Known world. This man was Alexander the Great. & in his 33rd year of life he will die & his vast empire would be split up between his 4 generals & his only offspring will be killed thus answering this part of the prophecy perfectly. See Timeline 350-230 BC (Inter-Testamental Period Part 1)


NASB New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

 

 
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