Page 76 - Biblical Backgrounds

The Babylonian captivity as background to the Bible
(2 Kings 24-25; Jeremiah; Ezekiel; Daniel)

Connect…

The Jews in the southern kingdom (Judah) understood what it is like for their entire nation to be
enslaved and for the cities of the land to be destroyed. They surely didn’t forget nor were uninformed of
what happened to their brother-nation of Israel over a century ago. In 722 BCE, the Assyrians invaded
the northern Kingdom, ravaging its cities and taking its inhabitants into captivity.
God warned leaders of the southern Kingdom through His prophets, among them Jeremiah (3:22–4:2),
of a similar outcome if they did not reform their spiritual and political status. Given the outcome, it is
safe to conclude that Judah did not listen.

“Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will
9
send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of
Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all
these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing,
and an everlasting desolation” (Jer. 25:8-9).

According to Scripture (2 Kings 25:8–21), Nebuchadnezzar’s army then encircled Jerusalem and settled
in for a multi-year siege, eventually breaking through Jerusalem’s wall in 586 BCE. “They removed
everything valuable and leveled the city in a burst of savage destruction. As the army retreated, it took
97
with it the remnants of Judah’s army and anyone who might lead another uprising.” Because of the
tremendous damage Nebuchadnezzar’s army left on Jerusalem, and the significant number of their
captives, 586 BCE is treated as the official year of Jewish deportation to the kingdom of Babylonia
(2Kings 25). However, there were two deportations prior, namely in 605 and 597 BCE. According to Jer.
52:30, there might have been subsequent ones following the mass relocation into captivity.

What was life like for the Jews in Babylonia? What kind of land and occupations did the Jews find for
themselves? As a people who were raised to interact based on God’s Word, how did the Jews find their
cultural and social life in a paganistic Babylonia? The Temple was central to their worship of Jehovah,
and it was now destroyed. How did the Jews carry on their spiritual life and heritage in a foreign land?
This chapter will take a closer look at these and other interesting questions.

The Lesson ...

Location and history

Babylon (Chaldea) is known to have been in existence even by the time of the Jewish patriarchs, such as
Abraham (2000 BCE). Notably, its sixth ruler, Hammurabi (1792-1750 BCE), is widely considered a

97 Vos, H. F. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible manners & customs: how the people of the Bible really lived (p.
301). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers.

74