. . . other scriptures provide equally credible evidence about the actual departure date of Lehi from Jerusalem. Lehi appears to have been called as a prophet at Jerusalem "in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah" (I Nephi 1:4). According to the Babylonian Chronicles,3 biblical history (see 2 Kings 24:10-18; 2 Chronicles 36:5-1 I), and accurate dating of an eclipse in the fifth year of Nabopolassar's reign,4 597 B.C. was the year Zedekiah's reign began, Thus Lehi was probably called as a prophet in 597 B.C., but not later than 596 B.C.

When Lehi 's sons and the family of Ishmael were traveling south from the land of Jerusalem, a furious argument occurred when part of the group wanted to return to Jerusalem (see 1 Nephi 7: 1-2 1). Nephi sought to convince the backsliders that Jerusalem would be destroyed (clear evidence that the city had not yet been destroyed). As part of his argument, Nephi prophesied of the coming destruction and reminded his brothers that Zedekiah and his supporters had " rejected the prophets, and Jeremiah have they cast into prison" (I Nephi 7: 14).

The second Babylonian siege of Jerusalem began in January 588 B.C. (see 2 Kings 25: I; Jeremiah 39:1; 52:4; and Ezekiel 24: 1-2). However, the Babylonian army withdrew from the city to battle the Egyptian army near the seashore. According to Jeremiah 37, the prophet's incarceration occurred as he attempted to leave Jerusalem, during the period when the Babylonian siege was withdrawn. The time of these events can be estimated from dates given in Ezekiel 29:1-16; 30:20-26; 31:1-18. If one assumes that Ezekiel's dates refer to the actual events, then the siege of Jerusalem was lifted from January to June 587 B.C. If one assumes that Ezekiel's dates refer to the time when he heard the news in Babylonia, where he was in exile, then the siege may have been withdrawn perhaps as early as August 588 B.C. to January 587 B.C.S Thus the dissension among Lehi's and Ishmael's families occurred more than eight years after Zedekiah's appointment by Nebuchadrezzar and Lehi's calling as a prophet.

In 2 Nephi 25:9-10, Nephi explicitly clarifies his understanding and refers to his prophecy to his brothers during their argument in the desert (see) Nephi 7:13) to the effect that Jerusalem was to be destroyed "immediately after my father left Jerusalem" (2 Nephi 25: 10). The Babylonian army returned to Jerusalem sometime between January and June 587 B.C. (depending on when one assumes the siege was withdrawn). The siege was undertaken with ferocity and resolve, the walls were breached in July 586 B.C., and the wrecked city and corpses were burned in August 586 B.C. (see 2 Kings 25:2-10). Nephi's understanding was exact. Jeremiah called upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem to leave the city and go to the Babylonians when the siege was lifted (Jeremiah 38:2). Lehi, whose life was in danger, left only after being commanded by the Lord to do so (see 1 Nephi 2: 1-3). All this suggests that Lehi's escape occurred in the latter part of 588 B.C. or the beginning of 587 B.C.