The organisation’s central published argument, the one both 2011 articles rest on, is that the Bible states a seventy-year exile, that both the Bible and secular history place the return in 537 BCE, and that a destruction in 587 BCE would leave an exile of only about fifty years.
Claim ID claim-chronology-org-best-argumentConcerns 1 November 2011Organisation's explanation
The claim and its evidence
Organisation's explanation · 1 November 2011Verified
The organisation’s position or later explanation: ‘However, the Bible writers Jeremiah and Daniel clearly state that the Jews were in exile for 70 years, not 50 years.’
1 November 2011 · p.22 · par. 9 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“Biblical and secular history agree that this exile in Babylon ended after Cyrus conquered Babylon and freed the Jews, who returned to Jerusalem in 537 B.C.E. Since the Bible explicitly says that the exile lasted for 70 years, it must have begun in 607 B.C.E.”
The article opens by restating Part One’s four conclusions in a bulleted box, then sets out the arithmetic in a single sentence. The following paragraph notes that “most scholars date the destruction of Jerusalem at 587 B.C.E. This allows for only a 50-year exile.”
Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part Two
Confidence note. Full document fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read in full; the quotation, the paragraph and the page were confirmed against the article text and its embedded page markers (span class=“pageNum”).
1 November 2011 · p.27 · pars. 35-36 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“At present, the majority of secular historians believe that Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 B.C.E. However, the Bible writers Jeremiah and Daniel clearly state that the Jews were in exile for 70 years, not 50 years. (Jeremiah 25:1, 2, 11; 29:10; Daniel 9:2) Those statements strongly indicate that Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E. As the above evidence shows, that conclusion has some secular support.”
The closing section, headed “Why Trust the Bible?”, continues: “Secular experts have repeatedly questioned the Bible’s accuracy. Yet, when more evidence is uncovered, the Bible record has time and again been vindicated.”
Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part Two
Confidence note. Full document fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read in full; the quotation, the paragraph and the page were confirmed against the article text and its embedded page markers (span class=“pageNum”).
Notes. The organisation’s own summary of its case, and its best counter-argument, in its own words.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID.src-chr-o-w-2011-1101-why-trust-bible
1 October 2011 · p.27 · pars. 9-11 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“So according to the Bible, the 70 years was a period of bitter punishment for Judah, and God used the Babylonians as the instrument for inflicting this severe chastisement.”
The article first states the alternative reading it rejects: “Instead of saying 70 years ‘at Babylon,’ many translations read ‘for Babylon.’ (NIV) Some historians therefore claim that this 70-year period applies to the Babylonian Empire. According to secular chronology, the Babylonians dominated the land of ancient Judah and Jerusalem for some 70 years, from about 609 B.C.E. until 539 B.C.E. when the capital city of Babylon was captured.” It then argues from Jeremiah 25:4-11 and Lamentations that the 70 years were aimed at Judah and Jerusalem.
Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part One
Confidence note. Full document fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read in full; the quotation, the paragraph and the page were confirmed against the article text and its embedded page markers (span class=“pageNum”).
Notes. The article states the “for Babylon” reading of Jeremiah 29:10 before rejecting it; critics sometimes assert that the organisation never mentions it.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID.src-chr-o-w-2011-1001-70-years-judah
A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-chronology-org-best-argument/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.