Scholar- 2023 "No for the desolation of Judeah only commenced with the fall of Jerusalem in 607BCE but it was certainly during the period of Babylonian rule as Stern writes."
Thanks for clarrifying that niether you or WT agree with Stern and that Stern does not agree with you or the WT. I can not therefore understand how you or the WT scholars can accept the archaeological evidence that that only relates to the time period following the fall of Jerusalem, and reject the same evidence that shows that Judeah was also desolate from the 1st year of Nebuchadnezzer to Jerusalem's fall. If you reject the evidence that disagrees with your position but claim the the validity of the evidence that agrees with your position, this is not scholarship or rational, and in the academic world would be considered decieptive and completely dishonest.
Therefore the use of Stern's quotation should not be quoted in any form to justify a position it does not agree with, unless you have additional archealogical evidence which can be used to counter Stern's conclusions ?
Stern does clearly state that the period of Babylonian to which he refers is 604 BCE to 539 BCE, and this period does match the one you propose of 607BCE to 537BCE. Are you saying that there is additional archealogical evidence which Stern was unaware of, that there was desolation between 539 BCE and 537 BCE, if you are please enlighten me?
BB