**Why did Daniel interpret the 70 years of Babylonian servitude to be the same length of desolation?**

From my studies, it would appear that history is at fault with it's **587/6 BC** dating for the destruction of Jerusalem's 1st temple (Solomon's temple). And, if one was to go with the 'rabbinic tradition' then one is talking later still, i.e. around **423 BC**. But, this is based on the erroneous belief that Daniel's **'70 Weeks Prophecy' Dan, 9:24-27** of 490 years, refers to the time between the destruction of the 1st & 2nd temples, which has no basis in fact.

- "Attempts have been made to reinterpret the historical evidence, to agree with the 'rabbinic tradition'. The reinterpretation of the Greek, Babylonian and Persian sources, that is required to support the traditional dating, has been achieved only in parts and has not yet been achieved in it's entirety. Similar problems face other attempts to revise dating ( such as those of **Peter James and David Rohl**) and mainstream scholarship rejects such approaches. Where and how the Gregorian, or Julian calendric differential gets factored in, remains another argument entirely.

   The 'Babylonian Chronicles' are known to be lacking in certain regnal years ascribed to some kings, besides disagreeing in other places with the ancient Egyptian records, outlining the regnal the regnal years of eight successive Persian kings, preserved in the **'Third book of Manetho'**"

   See **'Critics of academic dating:- Wikipedia-Missing years (Jewish Calendar).**

To get to the true historical dating for the 1st destruction of Jerusalem and it's temple one only needs to count backwards from the **ABSOLUTE** date of **539 BC**, when Babylon was subsequently desolated by the **Medes & Persians**, led by **Cyrus the Great**. It was in the following year, of **538 BC**, the 1st year of **Darius the Mede** (the Median half of the **Medes & Persians**), when Daniel made his observation, from the books..."*the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely seventy years."* **Dan, 9:1,2 [NASB]**

To obtain a more complete answer to your question, please see the following link and my answer therein...https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/60100/when-was-isaiah-4513-fulfilled/60128#60128