The 2011 series places the burden of proof on the secular evidence, concluding that the classical historians and Ptolemy’s canon ‘hardly provide enough proof to overturn the Bible’s chronology’.

The Watchtower, “When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part One”

1 October 2011 · p.31 · par. 38 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“Though the classical historians and the canon of Ptolemy disagree with this date, valid questions can be raised about the accuracy of their writings. Really, those two lines of evidence hardly provide enough proof to overturn the Bible’s chronology.”

The summing-up of Part One. The accompanying box “A QUICK SUMMARY” on the same page reads: “Secular historians usually say that Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 B.C.E. ▪ Bible chronology strongly indicates that the destruction occurred in 607 B.C.E. ▪ Secular historians mainly base their conclusions on the writings of classical historians and on the canon of Ptolemy. ▪ The writings of classical historians contain significant errors and are not always consistent with the records on clay tablets.”

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