The first interval in this table is determined from the following texts:—Jeremiah xxv. 12, and xxix. 10; 2 Kings xxiv. 1, and xxv. 2; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21; and Daniel ix. 2; from these, it appears that the _seventy_ years’ captivity in Babylon commenced in the _fourth_ year of Jehoiakim, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar; and, that it preceded the destruction of the Temple by _eighteen_ years. Consequently, it terminated exactly _fifty-two_ years after that epoch, namely, in the _first_ year of Cyrus, when, by his permission, the Jews “went up out of the Captivity,” in A.M. 4943. The second interval is determined in the following manner:—from Zechariah vii. 5, it appears that in the _fourth_ year of Darius, _seventy_ years had elapsed from the destruction of the Temple; consequently, _eighteen_ years must have elapsed from the first of Cyrus. This computation agrees with that of Ptolemy’s Canon, which gives _seven_ years to Cyrus, and _eight_ to Cambyses, or Ahasuerus, making, with the _three_ complete years of Darius, the same amount. Again, we find, from Ezra vii. 8, that in the _seventh_ year of Artaxerxes, A. M. 5021, Ezra received a commandment from that king, to establish the Jews in their own land, and to beautify the Second Temple. Now, Ptolemy’s Canon gives _thirty-three_ years for the rest of Darius’s reign, and _twenty-one_ for that of Xerxes, making, with the _six_ complete years of Artaxerxes, the amount of _sixty_ years; consequently, the whole interval, from the _first_ of Cyrus to the _seventh_ of Artaxerxes, is _seventy-eight_ years. That the epoch of Ezra’s commission is the _commencement of the prophetic period_ of _seventy_ weeks, or 490 years, is evident from Daniel ix. 24–27. Hitherto, the Jews had been hindered in the building of the city and temple; the latter was indeed built and dedicated; but the walls of the city were still in ruins, and the inhabitants were exposed to the insults and inroads of their enemies! Now, by the liberal decree of Artaxerxes, Ezra was furnished with money and means to forward the work at Jerusalem; and their enemies were not only silenced, but compelled to assist in carrying the king’s order into execution. This was, therefore, the epoch of “the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem,” and the beginning of the period “determined upon the people and the holy city,” until the time, when “the Messiah, the Prince,” should “be cut off, but not for himself;” when “the transgression should be finished or consummated” in his crucifixion; and, when “reconciliation” should be made “for iniquity,” by his death and resurrection.