Some thoughts on Zechariah 7:1-5 as it relates to 607 vs. 587 B.C.

by sd-7 23 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  jonathan dough

  A period during which Jews fasted over the temple and the death of governor Gedaliah, referred to at Zechariah 1:12 and Zechariah 7:5. This period ran from 587 BCE (temple destroyed (fifth month) and Gedaliah killed (seventh month)) until 517 BCE (Darius' fourth year).

  We agree that the JWs are incorrect in referring to the 70 years of Zechariah as the same 70 years of Babylonian domination mentioned at Jer. 25:11 (or as they see it, 70 years of Jewish exile in Babylon) , but some argue that Zech. is referring to two 70-year periods, not just the one you mentioned. And each of those two periods are (were) ongoing and do not refer back 20 years to the end, or fullfilment, of the 70 years of Jeremiah 25:11.

  As you correctly point out, in Zech. 7:5," this period ran from 587 BCE (temple destroyed (fifth month) and Gedaliah killed (seventh month)) until 517 BCE (Darius' fourth year)". But if 1:12 and 7:5 refer to the same 70 years, isn't there a two-year discrepancy between the 2nd year of Darius of 1:12 (519/20) and the 4th year of Darius at 7:5 (517/18)? The context of 1:12 seems to indicate that the continued desolate condition of the temple, as it was still in ruins, was the object of the plea for YHWH to have mercy (i.e., please Lord, have mercy and help us restore the temple). And in 1:16 (the context of the plea) YHWH would turn to Jerusalem and show Israel mercy and build his house, the temple. How are the 2 years between Darius' second and fourth year reconciled in order to make them the same 70-year-period? Some might argue that 1:12 was just a vision looking forward, or something murky like that. The Zech. 1:12 70 years amount to only 68 years if one counts back to 587.

  Some, like the Catholics, get around the 70 years by claiming they all are mere periods of time, one vague generation, and not to be taken literaly. Not sure if I go along with that, but it's plausible.
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  jonathan dough
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  jonathan dough

  All right, I'll try and answer my own question. The problem with the 70 years at Zech. 1:12 leaves us with a 1 1/2 or two-year gap if it pertains to the 70 years between the destruction of the temple in 587 when Jerusalem was destroyed, and the second year of Darius the Great when the question was asked, Jan/Feb. 519 BC. Some claim the 70 years of 1:12 and 7:5 are the same and both refer to the destruction of the temple, but how can that be if 1:12 begins in 589 (counting back 70 years?) Not possible.
  
  But if you count back 70 years from the date of the angel's question, from "the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius" (519) it takes one to the tenth month (no overlap) of 589. And what happened in that month of 589? According to 2 Kings 25:1, Neb. laid siege to Jerusalem. "So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it."
  
  Someone double check my math, but it seems that the 70 years of Zech. 1:12 refers to the initial siege of the city of Jerusalem to 519 when the question was asked, almost to the month.
  
  The angel's initial question at Zechariah 1:12-16 makes no specific mention of the temple's destruction, but refers to the Almighty withholding mercy and being angry with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah. "12 Then the angel of the LORD said, “LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the cities of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” "
  
  
  In the Lord's response, while he states that "my house [or temple] shall be built," he goes on to say in verse 17, "My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’” Given these verses I don't believe this refers only to the rebuilding of the temple, which it can't for practical reasons because the temple wasn't destroyed in 589. YHWH's anger was directed at the cities and land of Judah, culminating in the terrible siege of Jerusalem that lasted roughly one-and-a-half years before its destruction in 587.
  
  Before Jerusalem was destroyed Nebuchadnezzar’s army conquered all of Judah’s many cities except two: "And Jeremiah the prophet proceeded to speak to Zedekiah the king of Judah all these words in Jerusalem, when the military forces of the king of Babylon were fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left remaining, against Lachish and against Azekah; for they, the fortified cities, were the ones that remained over among the cities of Judah." (Jeremiah 34:6, 7).
  
  A 70-year-period between Darius' second year and 589 fits nicely, or close enough. Any thoughts?
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  Vanderhoven7

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