Finkelstein
If what you say above is correct then how is it that Carl Jonsson states that it was 587 and not 586? Confusion abounds!
Why did Jonsson postulate 609 as opposed to 605 for the beginning of the 70 years?
scholar
i am confused about the time scale regarding the year of the destruction of jerusalem.
in the 1st october 2011 watchtower an argument is presented to back up 607 bc but there are so many conflicting arguments that this happened 20 years later according to secular sources.
your thoughts please..
Finkelstein
If what you say above is correct then how is it that Carl Jonsson states that it was 587 and not 586? Confusion abounds!
Why did Jonsson postulate 609 as opposed to 605 for the beginning of the 70 years?
scholar
i am confused about the time scale regarding the year of the destruction of jerusalem.
in the 1st october 2011 watchtower an argument is presented to back up 607 bc but there are so many conflicting arguments that this happened 20 years later according to secular sources.
your thoughts please..
benny
Please be aware that Coffy is a 'Johnny come lately' to this debate. Scholar has debated this subject for many years and has been down every road and trail of this vast and complex subject. Suffice to say that there is no broad scholarly support for 607 but there is scholarly support for this date in the scholarship of Rolf Furuli and others.
Carl Jonsson has written much on this subject but it neglects critical elements such as Theology of the land, accurate Biblical history amongst other matters and much is simply his interpretation of the available evidence.
scholar
i am confused about the time scale regarding the year of the destruction of jerusalem.
in the 1st october 2011 watchtower an argument is presented to back up 607 bc but there are so many conflicting arguments that this happened 20 years later according to secular sources.
your thoughts please..
benny
I am a great believer in the KISS principle having argued the case for 607 BCE on this forum and others over many years some decades ago. The 70 years can only be interpreted as a definite historical period of Exile in Babylon-Servitude to Babylon and Desolation of Judah beginning in 607 BCE until 537 BCE right to the very seventh month of the year inclusive. Any other theory or hypothesis just does not work despite the very best efforts of WT critics who are all over the place. If you get the 70 years right then all the pieces fit into place as well explained in WT publications over many decades.
scholar
i am confused about the time scale regarding the year of the destruction of jerusalem.
in the 1st october 2011 watchtower an argument is presented to back up 607 bc but there are so many conflicting arguments that this happened 20 years later according to secular sources.
your thoughts please..
benny
No need for confusion because 607 BC for the Fall of Jerusalem is correct as the calculation for this date is based on the biblical evidence and with a 'fine tuning' of 20 years can easily be brought into harmony with secular evidence. The simple fact is that there is secular evidence that supports 607 BCE such as the Fall of Babylon in 539 BCE and the Return of the Jewish Exiles in 537 BCE amongst other facts.
The basis for the 607 BCE date is an interpretation of the '70 years of Jeremiah ' and critics of this date must be able to provide a consistent interpretation of this period and therein lies the problem because scholars cannot agree as to the timing and nature of the 70 years. Further, scholars cannot agree or know the precise date for the Fall of Jerusalem whether it is 586, 567, 588 etc. thus it is foolish to say that a date is wrong when it cannot be stated what date is correct. Scholars and WT critics need to get their act together and tell the truth about the matter for they are simply deeply confused and divided in contrast to' celebrated' WT scholars.
scholar
watchtower never learns.. i applaud dr. singh for speaking out and his open letter to watchtower.
http://jwalumni.org/2015/01/17/rama-singh-awake/.
The accusation of intellectual dishonesty by Rama Singh is simply nonsense. The Awake quotation was perfectly reasonable in keeping with Singh's position as a respected evolutionist and was not quoted out of any context. I have read both Singh's original article 'Darwin's legacy: Why biology is not physics, or why evolution has not become common sense", and his letter to the Editor of Awake and find that his accusations is utterly groundless.
The point of the Awake article was simply to show that not all scientifically minded people believe that Life is the result of Evolution and quotes Singh's article for his observation on this very topic wherein he discusses why it is that Evolution is not even now widely accepted even by 'educated people such as biologists, non biologists and the lay public', p. 870, par.10 and that the opposition to evolution also comes not just from creationists but from a "significant proportion of scientists, especially from the physical and medical sciences, also do not believe in evolution". Singh, p.869, par.6.
Singh in his article laments the simple fact that Evolution has not been explained as well as it should especially to the lay public who do not observe the process in the natural world. He then attempts to explain the so-called facts of Evolution which of course are easily refuted by anyone knowledgeable of the subjects. Nevertheless, I enjoyed his article because someone has finally addressed the issue of Evolution and common sense in that the lay public do not see the process in Nature and that many in the scientific community do not believe in it.
scholar JW
for those interested in the fall and rise of jerusalem in 587bce tel aviv university are offering a short 6 week online course through coursera in october 2014.. i have done a couple of coursera courses, they are always of the highest quality put together by scholars of whatever the subject matter is about.
universities tend to offer these as tasters and short introductions into their specialities.. you can get the information on the following link the fall and rise of jerusalem | coursera.
emory university are also offering a course through coursera on the bible's prehistory, purpose, and political future starting may 26th the bible's prehistory, purpose, and political future | coursera.
AnnOMaly
Post 4024
Indeed for there is always unfinished business with Chronology. I have not forgotten the discussion and I thank you for the reminder. I need to get a copy of Tetley's work on OT Chronology that I have referred to and the reference book for the new course in October.
scholar JW
for those interested in the fall and rise of jerusalem in 587bce tel aviv university are offering a short 6 week online course through coursera in october 2014.. i have done a couple of coursera courses, they are always of the highest quality put together by scholars of whatever the subject matter is about.
universities tend to offer these as tasters and short introductions into their specialities.. you can get the information on the following link the fall and rise of jerusalem | coursera.
emory university are also offering a course through coursera on the bible's prehistory, purpose, and political future starting may 26th the bible's prehistory, purpose, and political future | coursera.
Thanks for the information. The course looks good and interesting so I have signed up to begin the course in October. The text book by the instructor looks worth while so will purchase this also.
scholar JW
i'm intrigued by the whole "bible chronology" topic, but have never really dug into it because to put any of it together you need a historically reliable starting point.
this wasn't a problem as a practicing jw because you just assumed their dates were right.
i would like for someone to give me one event described in the bible that is universally established and accepted historically that i can use as a reliable starting point.
AnnOMaly
Post 3904
Thanks. I have not forgotten.
scholar JW
i'm intrigued by the whole "bible chronology" topic, but have never really dug into it because to put any of it together you need a historically reliable starting point.
this wasn't a problem as a practicing jw because you just assumed their dates were right.
i would like for someone to give me one event described in the bible that is universally established and accepted historically that i can use as a reliable starting point.
Jeremiah 18:5-10
The only suitable candidate in answer to your question is the Fall of Babylon in 539 BCE. This date is well cinfirmed by secular chronology and is well documented in the Bible. For these reasons it was chosen by the celebrated WT scholars to be a Absolute or Pivotal Date for dating events for the OT.
Other scholars have and do propose other secular dates as absolute dates but none of these are as solidly based as the Fall of Babylon in 539 BCE for it alone ticks all the boxes for the purpose of constructing a Bible Chronology.
scholar JW
the 2013 edition of the new world translation renders 2 kings 17:1 as:.
in the 12th year of king ahaz of judah, hoshea the son of elah became king over israel in samaria; he ruled for nine years.. this is in fact a better rendering than the previous nwt, which stated:.
in the twelfth year of ahaz the king of judah, hoshea the son of elah became king in samaria over israel for nine years.. despite their improved rendering, the watch tower society still claims that hoshea's reign 'really' began in 758 bce, but that it was 'established' in the 12th year of ahaz.
Jeffro
Post 4285
Bully for you for you need to update not but that but also the seventy years, I have my daughter and grandkids over Xmas but will respond to those posts that I have missed when they leave mid this week.
scholar JW