Although the dates, numbers of deportations, and numbers of deportees vary in the several biblical accounts,[2][3] the following is a general outline of what occurred. After theBattle of Carchemish in 605 BCE, the Babylonian kingNebuchadnezzar II besieged Jerusalem, which resulted in tribute being paid by the Judean kingJehoiakim.[4] In 602 BCE, Jehoiakim refused to pay further tribute, which led in 598/597 BCE toanother siege of the city by Nebuchadnezzar II and culminated in the death of Jehoiakim and the exile toBabylonia of his successorJeconiah, Jeconiah's court, and many others. In 587 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar IIdestroyed Jerusalem and exiled Jeconiah's successorZedekiah and others. In 582 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II exiled another group.
Archaeological studies have revealed that, although the city of Jerusalem was utterly destroyed, other parts of Judah continued to be inhabited during the period of the exile. Historical records from Mesopotamia and Jewish sources indicate that a significant portion of the Jewish population chose to remain in Mesopotamia. This decision led to the establishment of a sizable Jewish community in Mesopotamia known as thegolah (dispersal), which persisted until modern times.[1] TheIraqi Jewish,Persian Jewish,Georgian Jewish,Bukharian Jewish, andMountain Jewish communities are believed to derive their ancestry in large part from these exiles; these communities have now largelyemigrated to Israel.[7][8]
Clay tablet. The Akkadian cuneiform inscription lists certain rations and mentions the name of Jeconiah (Jehoiachin), King of Judah, and the Babylonian captivity. From Babylon, Iraq. Reign of Nebuchadnezzar II,c. 580 BCE. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin
In the late 7th century BCE, theKingdom of Judah was aclient state of theAssyrian empire. In the last decades of the century, Assyria was overthrown by Babylon, an Assyrian province.Egypt, fearing the sudden rise of theNeo-Babylonian empire, seized control of Assyrian territory up to theEuphrates river in Syria, but Babylon counter-attacked. In the processJosiah, the king of Judah, was killed in a battle with the Egyptians at theBattle of Megiddo (609 BCE).
After the defeat ofPharaohNecho's army by the Babylonians atCarchemish in 605 BCE, Jehoiakim began paying tribute toNebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. Some of the young nobility of Judah were taken to Babylon.
In the following years, the court of Jerusalem was divided into two parties, one supporting Egypt, the other Babylon. After Nebuchadnezzar was defeated in battle in 601 BCE by Egypt, Judah revolted against Babylon, culminating in athree-month siege of Jerusalem beginning in late 598 BCE.[9] Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, died during the siege[10] and was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin (also calledJeconiah) at the age of eighteen.[11] The city fell on 2Adar (March 16) 597 BCE,[12] and Nebuchadnezzar pillaged Jerusalem and itsTemple and took Jeconiah, his court and other prominent citizens (including the prophetEzekiel) back to Babylon.[13] Jehoiakim's uncle Zedekiah was appointed king in his place, but the exiles in Babylon continued to consider Jeconiah as theirExilarch, or rightful ruler.
Despite warnings byJeremiah and others of the pro-Babylonian party, Zedekiah revolted against Babylon and entered into an alliance with PharaohHophra. Nebuchadnezzar returned, defeated the Egyptians, and againbesieged Jerusalem, resulting in the city's destruction in 587 BCE. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city wall and the Temple, together with the houses of the most important citizens. Zedekiah and his sons were captured and the sons were executed in front of Zedekiah, who was then blinded and taken to Babylon with many others (Jer 52:10–11). Judah became a Babylonian province, calledYehud, putting an end to the independent Kingdom of Judah. Because of themissing years in the Jewish calendar, rabbinic sources place the date of the destruction of the First Temple at 3338AM (423 BCE)[14] or 3358 AM (403 BCE).[15]
Illustration from theNuremberg Chronicle of the destruction of Jerusalem under the Babylonian rule
The first governor appointed by Babylon wasGedaliah, a native Judahite; he encouraged the many Jews who had fled to surrounding countries such asMoab,Ammon andEdom to return, and he took steps to return the country to prosperity. Some time later, a surviving member of the royal family assassinated Gedaliah and his Babylonian advisors, prompting many refugees to seek safety in Egypt. By the end of the second decade of the 6th century BCE, in addition to those who remained in Judah, there were significant Jewish communities in Babylon and in Egypt; this was the beginning of the later numerous Jewish communities living permanently outside Judah in theJewish Diaspora.
According to thebook of Ezra, the PersianCyrus the Great ended the exile in 538 BCE,[16] the year after he captured Babylon.[17] The exile ended with the return underZerubbabel the Prince (so-called because he was a descendant of the royal line ofDavid) and Joshua the Priest (a descendant of the line of the former High Priests of the Temple) and their construction of the Second Temple in the period from 521 to 516 BCE.[16]
Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem, his capture of its king, his appointment of another in his place, and the plundering of the city in 597 BCE are corroborated by a passage in theBabylonian Chronicles:[18]: 293
In the seventh year, in the month of Kislev, the king of Akkad mustered his troops, marched to the Hatti-land, and encamped against the City of Judah and on the ninth day of the month of Adar he seized the city and captured the king. He appointed there a king of his own choice and taking heavy tribute brought it back to Babylon.
Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets, describing ration orders for a captive King of Judah, identified with King Jeconiah, have been discovered during excavations in Babylon, in the royal archives of Nebuchadnezzar.[19][20] One of the tablets refers to food rations for "Ya’u-kīnu, king of the land of Yahudu" and five royal princes, his sons.[21]
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian forces returned in 589 BCE and rampaged through Judah, leaving clear archaeological evidence of destruction in many towns and settlements there.[18]: 294 Clayostraca from this period, referred to as theLachish letters, were discovered during excavations; one, which was probably written to the commander atLachish from an outlying base, describes how the signal fires from nearby towns were disappearing: "And may (my lord) be apprised that we are watching for the fire signals of Lachish according to all the signs which my lord has given, because we cannot see Azeqah."[22] Archaeological finds from Jerusalem testify that virtually the whole city within the walls was burnt to rubble in 587 BCE and utterly destroyed.[18]: 295
Archaeological excavations and surveys have enabled the population of Judah before the Babylonian destruction to be estimated to have been approximately 75,000. Taking the different biblical numbers of exiles at their highest, 20,000, this would mean that perhaps 25% of the population had been deported to Babylon, with the remaining majority staying in Judah.[18]: 306 Although Jerusalem was destroyed, with large parts of the city remaining in ruins for 150 years, numerous other settlements in Judah continued to be inhabited, with no signs of disruption visible in archaeological studies.[18]: 307
ArchaeologistAvraham Faust suggests that between the deportations and executions caused by the Babylonians, plus the famines and epidemics that occurred during the war, the population of Judah may have been reduced to as little as 10% of what it had been in the time before deportations.[23]
In Mesopotamia, the exiled Judeans were relocated to agricultural settlements, with one notable settlement beingTel-Abib near the city ofNippur. Biblical scholarNiels Peter Lemche suggests that the exiled Judeans experienced a lifestyle scarcely less prosperous than what they were accustomed to in their homeland.[1]
However, there is evidence for hardship. For example, exiled Jewish leaders were suspected of national disloyalty and were reduced to peasantry, where they worked in agriculture and building projects and performed simple tasks such as farming, shepherding and fishing. This ended when the Persians conquered Babylon. Exiled Jewish commoners were nostalgic about Judah and, due to circumstance, were forced to abandon temple-based worship. They mostly worshipped in private homes and kept some religious traditions such as circumcision, Sabbath observance, reading of thePsalms andLaw.[24]
TheCyrus Cylinder, an ancient tablet on which is written a declaration in the name of Cyrus referring to restoration of temples and repatriation of exiled peoples, has often been taken as corroboration of the authenticity of the biblical decrees attributed to Cyrus,[25] but other scholars point out that the cylinder's text is specific to Babylon and Mesopotamia and makes no mention of Judah or Jerusalem.[25]Professor Lester L. Grabbe asserted that the "alleged decree of Cyrus" regarding Judah, "cannot be considered authentic", but that there was a "general policy of allowing deportees to return and to re-establish cult sites". He also stated that archaeology suggests that the return was a "trickle" taking place over decades, rather than a single event.[26]
As part of thePersian Empire, the former Kingdom of Judah became the province of Judah (Yehud Medinata[27]) with different borders, covering a smaller territory.[26] The population of the province was greatly reduced from that of the kingdom; archaeological surveys suggesting a population of around 30,000 people in the 5th to 4th centuries BCE.[18]: 308
A 2017 exhibition in Jerusalem displayed over 100 cuneiform tablets detailing trade in fruits and other commodities, taxes, debts, and credits accumulated between Jews forced or persuaded to move from Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar around 600 BCE. The tablets included details on one exiled Judean family over four generations, all with Hebrew names.[28][29]
Most Jews who returned were poor Jews and either saw the exile as "spiritual regeneration" or "divine punishment for sins". One reason why wealthy Jews stayed in Mesopotamia includes economic opportunities, which were relatively uncommon in Judah.[24]
The exilic period was a rich source for Hebrew literature. Biblical depictions of the exile includeBook of Jeremiah 39–43 (which saw the exile as a lost opportunity); the final section of2 Kings (which portrays it as the temporary end of history);2 Chronicles (in which the exile is the "Sabbath of the land"); and the opening chapters of Ezra, which records its end. Other works from or about the exile include the stories inDaniel 1–6,Susanna,Bel and the Dragon, the "Story of the Three Youths" (1 Esdras 3:1–5:6), and the books ofTobit andJudith.[30] TheBook of Lamentations arose from the Babylonian captivity. The final redaction of thePentateuch took place in the Persian period following the exile,[18]: 310 and thePriestly source, one of its main sources, is primarily a product of thepost-exilic period when the former Kingdom of Judah had become the Persian province of Yehud.[31]
Waters of Babylon (1920) byGebhard Fugel; Jews sit on the banks of theTigris, which flows through Babylon, and rememberingJerusalem.Psalm 137 tells us about this event:[32] "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we rememberedZion.137:1 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning."137:5
In the Hebrew Bible, the captivity in Babylon is presented as a punishment for idolatry and disobedience toYahweh.[33][34] The Babylonian captivity had a number of serious effects on Judaism and Jewish culture. For example, theImperial Aramaic alphabet, which eventually evolved into theHebrew alphabet, was adopted during this period. Eventually the Aramaic-based Hebrew alphabet replaced thePaleo-Hebrew alphabet.[35]
This period saw the last high point ofbiblicalprophecy in the person ofEzekiel, followed by the emergence of the central role of theTorah in Jewish life. According to manyhistorical-critical scholars, the Torah was redacted during this time, and began to beregarded as the authoritative text for Jews. This period saw their transformation into an ethno-religious group who could survive without a central Temple.[36] Israeli philosopher and Biblical scholarYehezkel Kaufmann said "The exile is the watershed. With the exile, the religion of Israel comes to an end and Judaism begins."[37]
Notably, the period also saw the theological transition of the ancient Israelite religion among the captives from amonolatrous to amonotheistic faith system.[38][39][40]
This process coincided with the emergence of scribes and sages as Jewish leaders (seeEzra). Prior to exile, the people of Israel had been organized according to tribe. Afterwards, they were organized by smaller family groups. Only theTribe of Levi continued in its temple role after the return. After this time, there were always sizable numbers of Jews living outside theLand of Israel; thus, it also marks the beginning of the "Jewish diaspora", unless this is considered to have begun with theAssyrian captivity.[citation needed]
InRabbinic literature, Babylon was one of a number of metaphors for the Jewish diaspora. Most frequently the term "Babylon" meant the diaspora prior to the destruction of the Second Temple. The post-destruction term for the Jewish Diaspora was "Rome", or "Edom".[citation needed]
The following table is based on Rainer Albertz's work onIsrael in exile, itself based mainly on biblical texts.[41] (Alternative dates are possible.)
Year
Event
609 BCE
Death ofJosiah.Jehoahaz reigns three months. Jehoahaz is deposed and taken captive to Egypt by the EgyptianPharaohNecho II. Jehoiakim is made king of Judah by Necho and reigns 11 years.
605 BCE
Babylonians defeat the Egyptians and besiege Jerusalem. Jehoiakim surrenders and begins giving tribute toNebuchadnezzar II of Babylon in 605 BCE. First deportation, purportedly includingDaniel,Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
601 BCE
Babylonians fail to invade Egypt. Jehoiakim switches his allegiance back to the Egyptians.
598/7 BCE
Nebuchadnezzar invades Judea and again lays siege to Jerusalem. End of Jehoiakim's reign.Jehoiachin reigns three months.
597 BCE
First fall of Jerusalem. Second deportation, 16 March 597 including Jehoiachin andEzekiel. Zedekiah is made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar and reigns 11 years.
594 BCE
Anti-Babylonian conspiracy. Zedekiah arranges a meeting of the kings ofAmmon,Edom,Moab,Sidon andTyre in Jerusalem to deal with the possibility of throwing off Babylonian control.
^abcdeLemche, Niels Peter (2004).Historical dictionary of ancient Israel. Historical dictionaries of ancient civilizations and historical eras. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. 73.ISBN978-0-8108-4848-1.
^Moore, Megan Bishop; Kelle, Brad E. (2011).Biblical History and Israel S Past: The Changing Study of the Bible and History. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 357–58.ISBN978-0802862600. Retrieved11 June 2015.Overall, the difficulty in calculation arises because the biblical texts provide varying numbers for the different deportations. The HB/OT's conflicting figures for the dates, number and victims of the Babylonian deportations become even more of a problem for historical reconstruction because, other than the brief reference to the first capture of Jerusalem (597) in theBabylonian Chronicle, historians have only the biblical sources with which to work.
^Dunn, James G.; Rogerston, John William (2003).Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 545.ISBN978-0-8028-3711-0.
^Coogan, Michael (2009).A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
^Jonathan Stökl, Caroline Waerzegger (2015).Exile and Return: The Babylonian Context. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. pp. 7–11, 30, 226.
^The Wellspring of Georgian Historiography: The Early Medieval Historical Chronicle The Conversion of Katli and The Life of St. Nino, Constantine B. Lerner, England: Bennett and Bloom, London, 2004, p. 60
^Soler, Jean, and Janet Lloyd (2007)."Why Monotheism".Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics.14 (3):41–60.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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