SCHOLAR WROTE:
Daniel along with King Jehoiakim of Judah
and others were deported to Babylon in 597 BCE and not 605 BCE as shown in
Dan.1:1.as Nebuchadnezzer came up against Judah for the first time because of
Jehoiakim's rebellion.
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The bible clearly teaches that Daniel was
already in Babylon during the 2nd year of King Nebuchadnezzar.
(Daniel 2:1) In the second year of his
kingship, Neb·u·chad·nezʹzar had a number of dreams, and he was so agitated
that he could not sleep.
(Daniel 2:25) Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and
said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king
what his dream means.”
Now if you truly believe what the Witnesses
teach, then you will be touting that Nebuchadnezzar 19th year was 607 BCE
meaning his 2nd year was 624 BCE?
Even if you date that start of
Nebuchadnezzar reign, on the widely accepted starting point of 605 BCE, then his
2nd year would be 603 BCE?
Based on this understanding, how can you keep on teaching that Daniel was taken to Babylon in 597 BCE if the Bible clearly teaches he was ALREADY THERE during the 2nd year of Nebuchadnezzar to be on hand to interpret the Kings dream?
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You seem to be completely misunderstanding
the simple events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem.
1. Jerusalem and the surrounding nations
were given into the hand of the King of Babylon in 609 BCE.
This was the start of desolations.
(Jeremiah 25:11) This whole country will
become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon
seventy years.
2. Nebuchadnezzar became King in 605 BCE.
3. In 605 BCE Nebuchadnezzar came to
Jerusalem to put an end to an alliance that Jehoiakim had made with Egypt.
(2 Kings 24:1) In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years...
It was at this time, in 605 BCE that
Jehoiakim switched sides and paid tribute to Babylon, part of this tribute included some of the Royal offspring:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehoiakim
Jehoiakim was appointed king by Necho II, king of Egypt, in 609 BC, after Necho's return from the battle in Harran, three months after he had killed King Josiah at Megiddo.[5] Necho deposed Jehoiakim's younger brother Jehoahaz after a reign of only three months and took him to Egypt, where he died. Jehoiakim ruled originally as a vassal of the Egyptians, paying a heavy tribute. To raise the money he "taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments."[6]
However, after the Egyptians were defeated by the Babylonians at the battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II besieged Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim changed allegiances to avoid the destruction of Jerusalem. He paid tribute from the treasury in Jerusalem, some temple artifacts, and handed over some of the royal family and nobility as hostages.[5] In the Book of Daniel, Daniel is described as being one of these.
4. In 597 BCE - the 8th year of
Nebuchadnezzar - Jerusalem again needed correction because of rebellion and many captives
were taken:
(2 Kings 24:12) King Je·hoiʹa·chin of Judah
went out to the king of Babylon, along with his mother, his servants, his
princes, and his court officials; and the king of Babylon took him captive in
the eighth year of his reign.
(2 Kings 24:14) He took into exile all
Jerusalem, all the princes, all the mighty warriors, and every craftsman and
metalworker—he took 10,000 into exile. No one was left behind except the
poorest people of the land.
5. In 586/587 BCE during the 19th year of King Nebuchadnezzar,
Jerusalem was destroyed.
(2 Kings 25:8-10) In the fifth month, on the
seventh day of the month, that is, in the 19th year of King Neb·u·chad·nezʹzar
the king of Babylon, Neb·uʹzar·adʹan the chief of the guard, the servant of the
king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned down the house of Jehovah, the
king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; he also burned down the house of
every prominent man. And the walls surrounding Jerusalem were pulled down by
the entire Chal·deʹan army that was with the chief of the guard.
6. In 539 BCE - 70 years after God had
given Jerusalem and its surrounding Nations into the hand of Babylon - Babylon's time was up:
(Jeremiah 25:12) “But when the seventy
years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land
of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it
desolate forever.
(Daniel 5:30, 31) That
very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the
Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.
7. After 539 BCE The Jews were released from captivity in Babylon, to rebuild the temple - as the 70 years for Babylon were now complete - but Jerusalem still lay desolate for many more years to come.
(Ezra 1:1-4) In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that
the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord
stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation
throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: “Thus says Cyrus king of
Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the
earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in
Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let
him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord,
the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in
whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and
gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of
God that is in Jerusalem.”
But the actual word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, did not come until much later, during the 20th year of King Artaxerxes.
(Nehemiah 2:1-6) In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year
of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it
to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me,
“Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but
sadness of heart.” I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, “May the
king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my
ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven,
and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found
favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are
buried so that I can rebuild it.” Then the king, with the queen sitting beside
him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?”
It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
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Thus, the desolation of Jerusalem lasted for way longer than 70 years.
It was made subject to Babylon for 70 years, which lead to its destructions because of its continued rebellion.
The 70 years was for BABYLON which ran from 609 BCE to 539 BCE
Kind Regards
Kerry Huish
