Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1, “Chronology”
“Hence the count of the 70 years of desolation must have begun about October 1, 607 B.C.E., ending in 537 B.C.E.”
The same passage sets out the regnal framework: “Jerusalem came under final siege in Zedekiah’s 9th year (609 B.C.E.), and the city fell in his 11th year (607 B.C.E.), corresponding to Nebuchadnezzar’s 19th year of actual rule (counting from his accession year in 625 B.C.E.).” It also states: “The Bible prophecy does not allow for the application of the 70-year period to any time other than that between the desolation of Judah, accompanying Jerusalem’s destruction, and the return of the Jewish exiles to their homeland as a result of Cyrus’ decree.”
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Provenance and verification note for Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1, Chronology
Confidence note. Full article fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026; the quotation and the page were confirmed against the text and its embedded page markers. Insight on the Scriptures is undated on the Online Library; the 1988 publication year is the work’s own imprint date.
Corroborated by. src-chr-o-w-2011-1001-count-back
Notes. Places Nebuchadnezzar’s accession in 625 BCE; conventional chronology places it in 605 BCE. The 20-year difference runs through every regnal date in the scheme.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chr-o-it1-chronology-70-years