Michael Avioz, «When Was the First Temple Destroyed, According to the Bible?», Vol. 84 (2003) 562-565

This article deals with the contradiction between 2 Kgs 25 and Jer 52 regarding the date on which the First Temple was destroyed. Comparing the descriptions of the destruction in Kings and in Jeremiah shows that the two descriptions were borrowed from a common third source. In our view, this common third source is better preserved in Jeremiah 52 than in 2 Kings 25. We therefore deduce that Jeremiah 52 preserves the more exact date of the Temple’s destruction: the tenth of Ab. This claim is based on the fact that the description of the destruction in Kings is in any case truncated, and is therefore likely that it contains the textual corruptions as opposed to Jeremiah.

        Other scholars suggest solving the contradiction between Kings and Jeremiah by positing that the chronologies used in the two books differ: according to one chronological system the year began at Nisan while according to the other system — at Tishri⁵. These scholars dealt primarily with the differences between Kings and Jeremiah in regard to the regnal years of Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kgs 25,8; Jer 52,29), but did not discuss the contradictory dates of the Temple’s destruction.

3. The Relationship between 2 Kgs 25 and Jer 52 and Its Contribution to the Solution of the Problem

        In order to decide between the date of destruction given in Kings’ version and that in Jeremiah, we must address a broader question: Did the author of Kings borrow the description from Jeremiah, or vice-versa? Or, perhaps, did both of them borrow from a third source?

        Jer 52 is generally considered to be a "historical appendix" which was added to the book of Jeremiah in order to demonstrate that Jeremiah’s prophecies were realized⁶. According to this view, Jeremiah originally ended at 51,64.

        Some scholars hold the view that Jeremiah took the material relating to the Temple’s destruction from Kings⁷. In this view, the relationship between Isa 36–39 and 2 Kgs 18–20 can be explained in a similar way. This approach also relies on the fact that the description in the LXX is shorter than that in the MT⁸.

        Another view is that the author of Kings took the material from Jeremiah, since in Jeremiah the description, which also includes the story of the murder of Gedaliah (Jer 40–41), is much more detailed⁹.

        R.F. Person¹⁰ sees Jer 52 as a greatly expanded version of an older version, which is reflected in the LXX. The text in Jeremiah was adapted to fit that of Kings. The author of Jeremiah took the text from Kings but did not abbreviate it; rather, he made it fit Jeremiah, added explanations, and