The Seventy Years of Jewish Servitude to Babylon

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied seventy years of servitude for the nation of Judah.

The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. … Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: ‘Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. … This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. 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 for ever. I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations.’

Some have associated this seventy-year judgement from God with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is noteworthy that the first temple was destroyed in 586 BC, and the second Temple was completed seventy years later in 516 BC (ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_in_Jerusalem ). Others have associated the seventy-year judgement with the forced exile of the majority of the Jews to Babylonia, perhaps commencing in 597 BC when King Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon (2 Chronicles 36: 9-10).

However, neither of these quite fit with the details of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Note that Jeremiah makes no direct reference to the destruction and rebuilding of the Temple; it is the land and its inhabitants that he speaks of. Note also that the punishment on the Jewish people was not specifically exile but servitude to Babylon. This servitude was not just for the nation of Judah but also for the surrounding nations. Finally, after seventy years had elapsed, not only would the servitude come to an end but so also would the Babylonian empire that had imposed the servitude.

The date of Jeremiah’s prophecy is given very precisely – the fourth year of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Most reputable historians and theologians agree that Nebuchadnezzar became king in 605 BC and that Babylon was overthrown by Darius the Mede (under Cyrus the Great) in 539 BC. Similarly our best understanding is that Jehoiakim reigned over Judah from 609 to 598 BC. If correct this would make the date of Jeremiah’s prophecy about 605 BC.

It was in the third year of Jehoiakim (606 BC) that Nebuchadnezzar’s army first advanced into the land of Judah and besieged the city of Jerusalem (ref. Daniel 1: 1-4). It seems that Jehoiakim surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar without serious resistance, and Nebuchadnezzar departed carrying with him tribute in the form of Temple treasures and young noblemen as captives (one of whom was Daniel).

Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon, and from there set out to defeat the combined armies of Egypt and Assyria at the Battle of Carchemish (ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carchemish ). Nebuchadnezzar completely subjugated the lands between Assyria and Egypt under his own authority. All this took place in 605 BC, the very year of Jeremiah’s prophecy, and as a partial-fulfilment of his words.

The logical conclusion is that the seventy years of servitude of which Jeremiah spoke actually commenced in 606 BC when Jehoiakim was forced to submit to Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke.

Undoubtedly Daniel understood the implications of Jeremiah’s prophecy when in 539 BC, in the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, he interceded with God to restore Jerusalem (Daniel 9: 1-3). Quite clearly it was not just the number of years he himself had been in exile, but the fact of Babylon’s overthrow that prompted his prayer. It is instructive that within three years of Daniel’s prayer, by 536 BC, a decree to allow the return of the Jews had been issued by Cyrus, and Zerubbabel was leading a contingent of Jews back to Jerusalem. The seventy-year Babylonian servitude was over.