How long were the Israelites in exile in Babylon for?

Answer 1

They were in exile for 70 years. This is because they were supposed to let the land lie fallow every 7th year, but they had not done that for 490 years. God therefore exiled the people for 70 years for the land to receive its due rest, after which they were to return.

Answer 2

According to Exodus 12:40-1, the Egyptian Captivity was for a period of 430 years.

However, scholars long ago noted that there is a contradiction between this period and the genealogy of Moses. A Jewish midrash (non-binding theological opinion) of the Common Era attempted to rationalise by stating that Moses protested to God that he could not lead the Hebrews, because they had only been in Egypt for 210 years and had not yet faced the 400 years of oppression that God had foretold to Abraham. God responded that the time of oppression had to be dated from the birth of Isaac, and so 400 years had indeed gone by. This midrash implies that the Egyptian Captivity was only for 210 years.

Some modern Christian denominations also state a shorter duration for the Captivity.

According to Genesis 15:13, 400 yrs

According to Galatians 3:17, 430 yrs

Answer 3

A:By strict interpretation of the Old Testament, the Hebrew people arrived in Canaan

approximately 1400 BCE. The main group of exiles was deportated in 587 BCE,

although some were taken earlier. This gives a sojourn, at least in the remnant

region of Judah, of some 810 years. Not all the citizens of Judah were exiled, but

scholars differ as to how many did remain.

The biblical period is actually incorrect, because the historical and archaeological

evidence shows that the Hebrew people did not arrive in the Canaanite hinterland

until just before 1200 BCE. This gives a sojourn, at least in the remnant region of

Judah, of some 620 years.

There is also a third answer. The majority of scholars now say that the Hebrew

people, far from leaving Egypt and invading Canaan by military might, were actually

native Canaanites who left the region of the coastal cities and migrated inland, to

settle peacefully in the sparsely populated area that was later to become known

as Israel, eventually spreading south into Judah. On this view, the Hebrew people

always lived in the 'promised land', creating their legend of conquest much later,

long after they had forgotten their real origins.

Answer 4

According to tradition, the actual enslavement was one hundred and sixteen years.