Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Rolf,

> I have not read this article, but I have done extensive research 
> regarding the date of the fall of Jerusalem, and have published a 
> thorough analysis of the biblical material.  If we accept that 
> Babylon was conquered by Cyrus in 539 B.C.E. and take the biblical 
> passages dealing with the question at face value, I see no way to 
> accept 587 as the date for the fall of Jerusalem.  This date gives 
> room for only 50 years for the exile, but I cannot see how we can 
> avoid accepting a 70 year exile while Jerusalem was *a desolate 
> waste* if we  apply the normal use of lexicon, grammar and syntax to 
> the pertinent biblical passages.

HH: The first conquest of Jerusalem and exile was in 605 B.C., and 
the temple wasn't rebuilt until 516 B.C.

                                        Yours,
                                        Harold Holmyard