Posted by Carlos [GLamotta] on March 28, 1999 at 09:28:56 {boLUiPtahcBslRlCtcGwMW2MRXA6xmpsc}:
Now that there has been a critical look
at the chronology of the Persian Period
with some direct dating in astronomical
texts that date the 1st year of Cyrus in
455BCE and the 19th year of NebuchadnezzarII
in 529BCE, one
might ask what these
adjustments do to Biblical chronology?
We won't worry about adjusting secular
chronology at this time.
The fact is, the Bible adapts to this
chronology perfectly well.
82-YEAR REDUCTION OF PERSIAN
PERIOD
Of course, the main reduction is that of
82 years of the Persian Period. That is,
if we date the 1st of Cyrus in 455BCE then
that compares with 537BCE per JW chronology.
That's a period of 82-year
discrepancy.
But this is easily accommodated by dismissing
the lie told by the WTS that the Nehemiah
mentioned as returning with Zerubabbel was
not the same Nehemiah who worked as the
chief cupbearer for Artaxerxes! Once
we
realize this is the same Nehemiah, we
can presume that he was about 30 years of
age when the Jews returned in 455BCE.
Since Nehemiah lived down to the 1st year
of Darius I, he would have had to have
outlived Xerxes
and Artaxerxes. But
since we know that Xerxes and Artaxerxes
was the same king, there is no problem.
Xerxes was born the same year that
Cyrus became king, which was in 455BCE.
This would make Nehemiah about 30
years
older than Xerxes/Artaxerxes who ruled
for 41 years and died at age 59. Thus
Nehemiah would have been around 89 years
old at the beginning of the reign of
Darius I. This works out quite well.
EXTENDING
NEO-BABYLONIAN PERIOD X 20 YEARS
The second issue regarding this chronology
is extending the Neo-Babylonian Period by
20 years. As many might know, the current
claim is that the fall of Jerusalem occurred
in 587BCE
meaning only a 50-year period until
537BCE for the "land to pay back its sabbaths."
Of course, the Bible is quite clear that this
was a 70-year period. Josephus further
confirms this 70-year desert period began
not in the
19th year of Nebuchadnezzar II
but in his 23rd year. Thus there should be
74 years from the fall of Jerusalem until
the return from exile. How does this work
out with the corrected chronology?
Well, based upon the VAT4956
which indicates
two references to 511BCE as the "37th year"
of Nebuchadnezzar (Lines 3 and 14), based upon
that text, with the 37th year in 511BCE, his
1st year would fall in 547BCE and his 19th year
in 529BCE based upon
this astronomical text.
If we date the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar in
529BCE, then 74 years later would see the
Jews returning from Babylon in the 1st year
of Cyrus in 455BCE (529-74=455). So that works
out perfectly.
Of
course, with the "70 weeks" prophecy beginning
in 455BCE, the Messiah does appear right on time
in the fall of 29BCE, 483 years later!
So the new chronology based upon the accurate
astronomical text dating of the VAT4956 and
the
SK400 is accommodated quite nicely by the Bible
with no problems. In fact, it improves many
contradictions!
Bailey