On another discussion board ("Channel C") Carl Olof Jonsson - the author of "The Gentile Times Reconsidered" - just responded to a post by "Scholar JW" concerning Scholar's support of the Watchtower's unique interpretation of Jeremiah's "70 years" prophecies.
Here are COJ's comments to Scholar:
Neill:
[You wrote] : The nations or the surrounding nations to Judah mentioned by Jeremiah in ch. 25:9,11 are further described in 12-26 with their repective
judgements.
- I agree. But not all of them were neighbours of Judah. Elam and Media, for example, were much farther away, even beyond Babylonia. (verse 25)
[You wrote] : Their individual periods of servitude to Babylon are not stated by Jeremiah but he addresses them collectively along with Judah in that all would be in servitude to Babylon. There are good reasons to believe that particularly during Nebuchadnezzar's reign beginning from Jehoiakim's 4th year in 625 BCE that all the these nations including Judah came under Babylonian domination until its end in 539 BCE.
- The period from 625 BCE to 539 BCE makes 86 years of servitude, not 70. It is interesting to see, however, that you date the end of the servitude in 539 BCE, not in 537.
[You wrote] : Jeremiah's period of seventy years applies to Judah only as proven by 25:2 ...
- Thus you deliberately ignore what Jeremiah clearly says, namely, that "these nations [those mentioned at Jer. 25:12-26, as you admit] will serve the king of Babylon seventy years." (Jer. 25:11)
[You wrote] : I ignore the 'contemporary' cunieform documents on which Neo-Babylonian chronology is based and prefer the testimony of Josephus for the simple and plain reason that those secular documents have nothing to say about Jeremiah's seventy years.
- You are wrong. I presuppose that you still, like the WTS, count the 70 years from the 18th year of Nebuchadnezzar to the 2nd year of Cyrus. The contemporary Neo-Babylonian sources conclusively prove this period was 50 years, not 70. Berossus, who got his figures from the Neo-Babylonian documents, agrees with this, as shown by Josephus' quotation from Berossus at Against Apion, I, §§145-153. And Josephus, too, at §154, goes on to say he agrees with this, thus rejecting his earlier, conflicting statements about the 70-year period. At Against Apion I, §§131-132, for example, he counts the 70 years from the last (21st) year of Nabopolassar, in which year he erroneously dates the burning of Jerusalem's temple!
- As you deliberately choose to ignore both what Jeremiah and the primary cuneiform historical sources say in preference of the conflicting statements in a much later, partially distorted secondary source, I see no reason to continue discussing this subject with you. You are evidently not interested in facts that go against your cherished views.
Carl