When Were Jeremiah’s 70 Years?

"And this whole land shall be a desolation and a horror, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years."
                                                                                                      Jeremiah the Prophet


There are several interpretations of the seventy years.  That raises the question: what exactly did Jeremiah mean by the word desolation?  Was it abandonment by God or a land devoid of inhabitants?  If abandonment by God, then it's reasonable to assume that rebuilding the temple or even its foundation marked the end of the seventy years; if a land devoid of inhabitants, then it's reasonable to assume that releasing the Jews from their captivity in Babylon marked the end of the seventy years.

Timeline of relevant events pertaining to the seventy years:

609 BC: at Carchemish, west of Haran, Babylon defeats Assyria despite Egypt's support; 

2 Chronicles 35:20-21

606/605 BC: 3rd regnal year of Jehoiakim; Daniel's deportation; Daniel 1:1-6

586 BC: final deportation; Babylon destroys Jerusalem & Solomon's temple; 2 Kings 25:9-12; 

2 Chronicles 36:19-20

539 BC: Cyrus the Great & Darius the Mede conquer Babylon; Daniel 5:28,31

538 BC: Cyrus the Great releases the Jews from their captivity in Babylon; Ezra 1; Daniel 9:1,23

537 BC: returnees settled in Judah; Ezra 3:1

536 BC: 2nd year of the returnees in Judah; temple foundation; Ezra 3:8-13

516/515 BC: 6th regnal year of Darius the Great; temple completion; Ezra 6:15-22    

Interpretations of the seventy years:

609 BC - 539 BC

Some historians believe that Jeremiah’s 70 years refer to Babylon’s reign as the most powerful nation on earth.  In 612 BC, Babylon joined forces with the Medes to defeat the Assyrians at their capital city of Nineveh.  Then the Assyrians retreated westward to the city of Haran.  In 609 BC, at Carchemish on the Euphrates River, the allied forces of Babylonia and Media dealt their last, fatal blow to the Assyrian army, marking Babylon’s zenith as the world’s most dominate superpower.  Seventy years later, in 539 BC, Babylon was conquered by the Persians.

606 BC - 538 BC

Many historians believe that the 70 years began in 606 BC when Daniel the prophet was deported by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.  On October 12, 539 BC, the tandem of Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon.  In 538 BC, Daniel understood from his examination of the books that the duration of Babylon's desolations of Jerusalem was 70 years as specified by God through the prophet Jeremiah.  Daniel anticipated the completion of those seventy years and petitioned God through prayer to release the Jews from their captivity in Babylon and bring an end to the desolations of Jerusalem.

During Daniel's prayer, the command was issued by Cyrus the Great to let the exiles go free.  There were only 68 years between 606 and 538 BC.  However, ancient civilizations measured time in lunar years, not solar years; 68 solar years equals 70 lunar years.  In fact, if Daniel was deported on November 1, 606 BC at 7 PM and Judeans were released from their captivity on October 2, 538 BC at 8:12 AM, there would be exactly 70 lunar years between the two events. 

(Nebuchadnezzar was Prince Regent in 606 BC.  His coronation wasn't until 605 BC.  Because he was specified as king during the first deportation, some historians believe that Daniel was deported in 605 BC.  According to Judah’s civil calendar, the exiles were settled in Judah in April, 537 BC. Notably, if Daniel was deported on May 1, 605 BC at 7 PM and Zerubbabel arrived in Jerusalem on April 1, 537 BC at 8:12 AM, there would be exactly 70 lunar years between the two events.)

606 BC - 536 BC

In 606 BC, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem and deported the best looking, most intelligent youngsters including the prophet Daniel and the three famous Hebrew children.  Seventy years later, Zerubbabel laid the foundation for the second temple.  Notably, in 536 BC, there was no visible manifestation of God’s presence like there was when Moses erected the tabernacle or when King Solomon built the first temple.

586BC - 516 BC

In 586 BC, after besieging Jerusalem for 18 months, Nebuchadnezzar captured the city.  He destroyed Jerusalem by breaking down its walls and burning all of its houses including Solomon’s palace.  Before he demolished Solomon’s temple, he plundered all of its priceless treasures.  Mysteriously, the Ark of the Covenant disappeared.  The Ark was revered as the physical embodiment of God’s presence on earth.  And all Judeans, with the exception of the abject poor, were exiled in Babylon.

Seventy years later, in 516 BC, Zerubbabel and his countrymen completed the construction of the second temple.  Notably, the Ark of the Covenant was never returned to the second temple and, more importantly, there was no evidence of the magnificent Shekinah Glory witnessed by Moses and Solomon.  Furthermore, some scholars believe that Zerubbabel’s temple was completed in 515 BC, just over seventy years after the destruction of Jerusalem.