“DAYS.”
NOTE E.
THE EXODUS FROM PERSIA. [DANIEL IX. 25.]
Ezra gives a full account of this great event in his history of the Jews, in the VIIIth and VIIth chapters of his book, where he says, they “began to go from Babylon” on the 1st day of the 1st month in the 7th year of king Artaxerxes, also that they were not fairly under way until the 12th day of the 1st month, which was within two days of the Passover. After a journey of 4 months they arrived at the city of Jerusalem.
In fixing the date of the Exodus from Persia we must determine the boundaries of the 7th year of Artaxerxes. First, as to the year itself, it has been well established that his reign began in B.C. 465. Then as to the month, the statement found in Neh. I. 1. and II. 1. render a commencement impossible between the months of November and March, while the statement made in Ezra VII. 7, 8 and 9 preclude the interval from March to August following. This narrows the field for the commencement of Artaxerxes’ reign down to the months of August, September and October. Although there is no possible way of distinguishing between the relative claims of these three months, yet from the wording of Nehemiah I. 1. we shall decide in favor of the last, viz: the month of October.
It follows that:—
| 1st | year of | Artaxerxes | began Oct. | B.C. | 465, | ended Oct. | B.C. | 464 |
| 2nd | ” | ” | ” | ” | 464 | ” | ” | 463 |
| 3rd | ” | ” | ” | ” | 463 | ” | ” | 462 |
| 4th | ” | ” | ” | ” | 462 | ” | ” | 461 |
| 5th | ” | ” | ” | ” | 461 | ” | ” | 460 |
| 6th | ” | ” | ” | ” | 460 | ” | ” | 459 |
| 7th | year of | Artaxerxes | began Oct. | B.C. | 459 | ended Oct. | B.C. | 458 |
| and so on: | ||||||||
| 20th | year of | Artaxerxes | began Oct. | B.C. | 446 | ended Oct. | B.C. | 445 |
| and so on: | ||||||||
| 32nd | year of | Artaxerxes | began Oct. | B.C. | 434 | ended Oct. | B.C. | 433 |
| —Neh. V. 14. and XIII. 6. | ||||||||
Whence by reference to the calendar of Rabbi Hillel II. [IDAN OLAMIM of J. L. Sossnitz], we derive the following dates for the
| Jews | began to leave Babylon | March 25th | B.C. | 458 |
| “ | left the river of Ahava | April 5th | “ | 458 |
| “ | arrived at Jerusalem | July 21st | “ | 458 |
In conclusion we observe, that the real start of the Jews under the commandment, viz: their “going forth” took place: April 5th B.C. 458, and as Christ rose from the dead on April 5th A.D. 33, the interval between dates amounted to 490 years, or SEVENTY WEEKS, exactly as foretold by the angel Gabriel in Daniel IX. 24.