This week

This week we studied chapter 21 in the Story of the World. We had just studied 1 Nephi 8 about Lehi's dream of the tree of life, so it was entertaining to read about Astyges' dream. (Thank goodness for the pronunciation guide in the back of the book!)

Another parallel made was in the description of Cyrus the Great it mentioned that he stood head and shoulders above any boys his age - Brooklynn immediately related it to Nephi being tall in stature.

The Story of the World places Cyrus the Great ruling around 559 - 525 B.C. This was forty years after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem. Interestingly enough, Nephi wrote 1 Nephi thirty years AFTER they left Jerusalem.

1 Nephi 10 begins with Lehi predicting the Babylonian captivity. I am by no means an authority, but this could easily be when Cyrus took over Babylon - they were no longer a free country - captive.

"The Bible makes it clear that the 70 years were fulfilled when the Jews returned to Jerusalem in the first year of Cyrus of Persia (see 2 Chr. 36:22-23, Ezra 1:1-4). Cyrus conquered Babylon, and then, in the very first year of his reign, he decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple. This fulfilled not only Jeremiah's prophecy, but also Isaiah's: "Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid" (Isa. 44:28). On page 640 of the LDS Bible Dictionary under "Chronology," we find 537 B.C. listed for the year of the decree. This appears to be correct.[4] The problem arises when we notice that there are only 60, rather than the prophesied 70, years between 597 B.C., when Jeconiah was taken, and 537 B.C. So how is this apparent discrepancy resolved?
The solution to the problem is given to us by Daniel. He tells us that he and others were taken captive some years before Jehoiachin. He states that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in the third year of Jehoiakim (father of Jehoiachin), and that he, Daniel, was taken captive at that time (Dan. 1:1-3, 6). This account means that Nebuchadnezzar had taken captives even before he was crowned king. Further, Daniel's account is verified in the history of Nebuchadnezzar by Berossus of Babylon. This Babylonian history, no longer extant, is quoted by Josephus as stating that after Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt at Carchemish in Syria (in the spring of 605 B.C.), he immediately "settled the affairs of Egypt, and the other countries" and sent captives from the Jews, Phoenicians, Syrians, and Egyptians to Babylon before he returned there himself (in August) to be crowned king after his father's death.[5]
But the difference between 605 and 537 B.C. is only 68 years. Why, then, does the biblical account speak of 70? The answer lies in the calendar systems used and in the way ancient Israelites calculated their years." ...see the following site for more information (sorry but I am not technologically gifted - I can't seem to get the links to work without making the link colors go CRAZY!!! so you will have to copy and paste them - sorry!)

printed in the Ensign and quoted from: http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/captivity.html

Here is also the address for Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_captivity

It tells of the Exile of the Jews from Babylon during Nebuchadnezzar II and the Return during the rule of Cyrus the Great. I just LOVE seeing how it all goes together!