Zechariah 1:12

1:12 The angel of the Lord then asked, “Lord who rules over all, 1  how long before you have compassion on Jerusalem 2  and the other cities of Judah which you have been so angry with for these seventy years?” 3 

Zechariah 7:5

7:5 “Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh 4  months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me – for me, indeed?

1 sn Note that here the angel of the Lord is clearly distinct from the Lord who rules over all himself.

2 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

3 sn The seventy years refers to the predicted period of Babylonian exile, a period with flexible beginning and ending points depending on the particular circumstances in view (cf. Jer 25:1; 28:1; 29:10; Dan 9:2). Here the end of the seventy years appears to be marked by the completion of the temple in 516 b.c., exactly seventy years after its destruction in 586.

4 tn The seventh month apparently refers to the anniversary of the assassination of Gedaliah, governor of Judah (Jer 40:13-14; 41:1), in approximately 581 b.c.