How many years did the Babylonian exile last?

• A. 70
• B. 50
• C. 40
• D. 100

Answer: (A)

The length of the Babylonian exile was seventy years. This spans from the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BCE to the decree of Cyrus allowing the Jews to return around 538–537 BCE. Biblical prophecies, especially Jeremiah’s, frame the exile as lasting seventy years, providing a timeline that aligns with these historical events. Understanding this helps connect the fall of the city, the period of exile, and the subsequent return and rebuilding under Cyrus. The other time frames don’t fit the documented dates of when the exile began and ended: forty years is tied to the wilderness generation, while fifty or a hundred years don’t align with the historical record of this period.