JEFFRO! Be honest now! You said: "Larsinger58, your alternative chronology is not consistent with either the Bible or any other source for the period."
C'mon! You know better. Anyway, just to defend WHERE I'm getting this, I will give you a direct quote from Josephus. You like to make broad, sweeping statements without any specifics, so let's get into some specifics. My position is that you just don't know specifically what I have in reference and you're twisting and misinterpreting what you have read. So let's do this one point at a time. Here's my quote from Josephus:
ANTIQUITIES 11:1:1. IN the first year of the reign of Cyrus (1) which was the seventieth from the day that our people were removed out of their own land into Babylon, God commiserated the captivity and calamity of these poor people, according as he had foretold to them by Jeremiah the prophet, before the destruction of the city, that after they had served Nebuchadnezzar and his posterity, and after they had undergone that servitude seventy years, he would restore them again to the land of their fathers, and they should build their temple, and enjoy their ancient prosperity."
Okay. Let's just deal with this one quote for now. No need to compare it to any other reference, whether Josephus contradicts himself elsewhere or not. This is just what this reference is telling us, or more specifically, how I'm reading it, even if you are reading it differently.
1. "Seventieth from the day that our people were removed out of their own land..." This is the first of Cyrus which ends 70 years from the point the poor people were removed out of their land. Thus this is not a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, but the last deportation. The last deportation is year 23 of Nebuchadnezzar II.
2. "Poor people." The reference to the "poor people" has to do with the poor people who were left in the land after the fall of Jerusalem. These are those who had ran down to Egypt and thus this is a reference to those who were deported out of Egypt back to Babylon, again confirming this is after the fall of Jerusalem and has to do with the last deportation, which is in harmony with Jer. 52:30 which references the last deportation was in year 23 of Nebuchadnezzar II.
3. "Servitude seventy years." Okay, this is just telling us how long those last deported would serve Babylon after their deportation in year 23. The servitude of these specific "poor people" was 70 years. Thus I'm observing that at least in this reference that Josephus is telling us that those deported in year 23 served for 70 years which ended the 1st of Cyrus.
4. "Nebuchadnezzar and his posterity..." The "posterity" of Nebuchadnezzar would be a reference to his sons and grandsons. Since I'm claiming that there was a 6-year rule by Darius the Mede, this would require that Darius the Mede was also a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar II for this to be true. Thus the official Neo-Babylonian kings would not have ended with the takeover by Darius the Mede, but the takeover by Cyrus after the 6-year rule of Darius the Mede.
So that is where I'm getting this 70 years from the last deportation.
So please just give me YOUR interpretation of thisspecific reference. Then we can build from here. THANKS, JEFF!!
