The Relationship of Jewish and Gentile Believers to the Law Between A.D. 30 and 70 in the Scripture

174 make atonement for iniquity." Rather than a mere exile of seventy years, the nation is now informed that another period of seventy "weeks" is necessary. 90 Ackroyd summarizes the revelation to Daniel: It is in effect an exile lasting 490 years, and with this we reach an understanding of exile and restoration which takes us well beyond the consideration of the sixth century . Here the exile is no longer an historic event to be dated in one period; it is much nearer to being a condition from which only the final age will bring release... . The under– standing of the exile is clearly enlarged far beyond the temporal considerations of seventy years and the precise period covered by Babylonian captivity in the stricter sense. 91 Daniel 9 sees the curse which God has poured out on Israel as lasting for a much longer time than seventy years. The exile is in reality a state of judgment from which the nation will not be released until God intervenes in history with the "inauguration of the eschatological era. " 92 This view of the continuing nature of the exile is confirmed by the postexilic writings of Ezra and Nehemiah. Their prayers reflect the feeling that in spite of the return to the land they are under the continuing judgment of God. Ezra writes "Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and on account of our iniquities we, our king and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands , to the word, to 90 This may have been anticipated in Leviticu 26:18, 21, 24 and 28 which promi a even-fold chastening if the nation is willfully disobedient. 91 Peter R . Ackroyd, Exile and Restoration: A Study of Hebrew Thought of the i th entury B. . (Philadelphia: We tminster , 1968) , 242-43. 92 cott, "Galatian 3 . 10," 201. ven before cott, Knibb had ur ey of interte tamental literature , ( p ifically T bit 14:4b-7 in thi ould hardly b a more plicit tat ment of th i w, kn th r turn rom th il in th i th c ntur h d nl p t e ih cultu w d f cti . Th om wh n 'th f th t n i d, but it rd Btbh al