Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 9 · Doctrines 1 · Question 6
Quest. 6. When the 70 yeares of captiuitie ended.
1. Some make two reckonings of these 70. yeares, one of the captiuitie of the Iewes, which beganne with Iechonias captiuitie, and ended in the first yeare of Cyrus, the other 70. were begunne 19. yeare after with the captiuitie of Zedekiah, and are extended 19. yeare after, to the second yeare of Darius Hystaspis: 3. yeares of Cyrus raigne, 14. of Cambyses, and 2. of Darius make 19. yeares, Pellican, Oecolampad. following Theodoret.
Contra. 1. But the Scripture in no place maketh mention of twice 70. yeares, there is but one and the same prophesie of Ieremie, concerning the 70. yeares captiuitie, which can be but once fulfilled: for otherwise we should make these propheticall predictions vncertaine. 2. beside, the yeares of the Persian kings are not certaine: some vntounto the 2. yeare of Darius Hystaspis, make not so many yeares: Iunius giueth vntounto Cyrus and Cambyses together but 9. yeares, to the Magi one yeare, and then succeeded Darius: these make but 12. yeares with the second of Darius: Some make account of more yeares, as Bullinger giueth vntounto Cyrus 16. yeares, to Cambyses 8. yeares: some allot vntounto Cyrus 30. yeares, vntounto Cambyses 9. yeares: Liuely in his Persian Monarchie. Pererius counteth 40. yeares, from the 1. of Cyrus to the second of Darius: there beeing then such vncertaintie of these yeares, it is hard to interpret a prophesie vponupon so weake and vncertaine ground.
2. An other opinion is, that these 70. yeares must ende simply in the second yeare of Darius Hystaspis. 1. because these 70. yeares are called the yeares of the desolation of the Temple: now the Temple remained desolate vntill the 2. yeare of Darius Hystaspis. 2. Zacharie beginning his prophesie in the 2. yeare of Darius, thus saith, c. 1. 12. thou hast beene displeased with vsus, now these threescore and tenne yeares. 3. Mardocheus who liued in the time of king Assuerus, who is thought to be Artaxerxes Mnemon, who succeeded an 150. yeares after the 1. yeare of Cyrus, should then be aboue an 130. yeare olde, if the 70. yeares ended in the first of Cyrus: of this opinion are, Clemens Alexand. lib. 1. stromat. Euseb. in Chroni. Isidor. lib. 5. Etymolog.
Contra. 1. These arguments conclude not. 1. though the temple was not reedified till the raigne of Darius: yet because the people had libertie to returne, and to repaire both the Temple and citie in the first of Cyrus, the captiuitie and desolation ended then: But if they wil extend the time of desolation so long till both the Temple and citie were fully repaired, then that time must hold out yet longer: for the citie was not fully repaired vntill the 20. yeare of Artaxerxes, whom Pererius taketh for Artaxerxes Longimanus, Iunius for Artaxerxes Mnemon, when Nehemias by the kings grauntreturned to repaire the citie, and build the walls.
2. The Prophet Zacharie affirmeth not the 70. yeares then first to be expired: but his meaning is, that they had endured the 70. yeares captiuitie which were prophesied of, and yet they sawe not the full restitution of their citie and countrey.
3. To the third argument Pererius answereth, that whereas the words in the text stand thus, there was in the citie of Shushan a certaine Iewe, whose name was Mordecai, the sonne of Iair, the sonne of Shemei, the sonne of Kish a man of Iemini, which had beene carried away from Ierusalem, with the captiuitie that was carried away with Iechoniah: these words, which had beene carried away, he would hauehave referred not to Mordecai, but to Kish, that he was carried away captiue: so also Iunius: But Pererius answer is taken away by that text of the Apochryphall Esther, which is canonicall Scripture with them, where c. 11. v. 3. it is said, that Mordechai, erat de numero eorum captiuorum, &c. was of the number of those captines, whom Nebuchadnezzar translated with Iechoniah: Iunius may be refelled by his own chronicle: for vntounto the raigne of Assuerus, whom he taketh to be Xerxes, he numbreth but 46. yeares, from Cyrus first: Cyrus and Cambyses raigned 9. yeares, the Magi one yeare, Darius Hystaspis 36. yeares: vntounto this adde 70. yeares, of the captiuitie: all make not full an 120. yeares: it is not like that in this tearme, there were so many descents and generations; namely these sowre, of Kish, Shemei, Iair, Mordecai: therefore the best answer here is, that so many yeares must not be giuen vntounto the Persian kings: Mordecai beeing one of those which were carried into captiuitie, Ezra. 2. 1, 2. might be then an auncient man, but nothing neere of such yeares as is supposed.
4. But this opinion may be refelled by the former argument, that from the last captiuitie vntounto the 2. of Darius when the Temple was reedified must needes be aboue 70. yeares, seeing the most doe hold at the least 40. yeares betweene the 1. of Cyrus, and the second of Darius: and betweene the last captiuitie of Zedekiah in the 18. yeare of Nebuchadnezzar, and the 1. of Cyrus were more then 30. yeares: for that captiuitie was in the 18. yeare of Nebuchadnezzar, Ierem. 52. 29. who raigned in all 45. yeares, there remayned then 27. yeares of his raigne, Balthazar had 3. yeares, then came betweene them Euilmerodach, who as Iosephus writeth, raigned 18. yeares, lib. 10. antiquit. c. 12.
3. It remayneth then, that the 70. yeares of captiuitie must hauehave their determination in the first yeare of Cyrus: as is euident, 2. Chron. 36. 22. then was the word and prophesie of Ieremie finished: And this is agreeable to the prophesie of I say: he saith of Cyrus, &c. he shall performe all my desire: saying to Ierusalem, thou shalt be built, and to the Temple, thy foundations shall be surcly layd, I say. 44. 28.