Seeker2000

Hi,

does anyone know how long the Jewish exile in Babylon lasted and when it began and ended?

It is often said that the Jewish captivity began in 586 BC or 597 BC and lasted 70 years, but I also found other dates like 605 or 606 BC on the internet.
This is one site that claims the 606 date is true: http://www.direct.ca/trinity/exile.html
I also read that the Babylonian army conquered Israel in the spring of 606 BC.

This site says it began in 605 BC: http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/captivity.html

They quote Daniel, Berossus of Babylon and Josephus as sources.
"The solution to the problem is given to us by Daniel. He tells us that he and others were taken captive some years before Jehoiachin. He states that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in the third year of Jehoiakim (father of Jehoiachin), and that he, Daniel, was taken captive at that time (Dan. 1:1-3, 6). This account means that Nebuchadnezzar had taken captives even before he was crowned king. Further, Daniel's account is verified in the history of Nebuchadnezzar by Berossus of Babylon. This Babylonian history, no longer extant, is quoted by Josephus as stating that after Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt at Carchemish in Syria (in the spring of 605 B.C.), he immediately 'settled the affairs of Egypt, and the other countries' and sent captives from the Jews, Phoenicians, Syrians, and Egyptians to Babylon before he returned there himself (in August) to be crowned king after his father's death."

Is it true that these sources confirm a date of 605 BC and are they correct? If it's stated by Josephus, it sounds quite reliable, doesn't it?

As for the end date, this is connected to Cyrus and the dates I found range from 539 BC to 535 BC.

Often these are also connected to some kind of bible prophecy like on the link above or these:
http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/ezekiel_4_3.htm
http://www.direct.ca/trinity/jerusalem.html

I don't really think these interpretations of the prophecies are valid, but I'd like to know if they are correct about the historical dates they use and try to proof with sources like Josephus. So does anyone on this forum have any historical expertise about this matter?