"Babylonian exile" - definition, usage and history

babylonian exile

background image source

Print »     babylonian exile
Send »     babylonian exile
Add »   Search

« Mobile » babylonian exile

« Main

Babylonian exile

Mural near the reconstructed Ishtar gate, depicting the palace quarter of Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon. The Ishtar gate is shown in the top left corner of the image

(larger image)

Babylonian captivity, or Babylonian exile, is the name generally given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar II.

Historical account

Three separate occasions are mentioned (Jeremiah 52:28-30). The first was in the time of Jehoiachin Jehoiakim in 597 BCE, when the Temple of Jerusalem was partially despoiled, and a number of the leading citizens were removed.

²⁸ This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; ²⁹ in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons; ³⁰ in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Judeans 745 persons; all the persons were 4,600. (Jeremiah 52:28-30 ESV)

After eleven years (in the reign of Zedekiah) a fresh rising of the Judaeans occurred; the city was razed to the ground, and a further deportation ensued.

Finally, five years later, Jeremiah records a third captivity. After the overthrow of Babylonia (see Babylon) by the Persians (see Persian Empire), Cyrus the Great gave the Jews permission to return to their native land (537 BCE), and more than forty thousand are said to have availed themselves of the privilege. (See Jehoiakim; Ezra; Nehemiah and Jews.) Previously, the northern tribes had been taken captive by Assyria and never returned; survivors of the Babylonian exile were all that remained of the Children of Israel. The Persians had a different political philosophy of managing conquered territories than the Babylonians or Assyrians. Under the Persian Empire, local personages were put into power to govern the local populace.

When the Israelites returned home however, they found a mixture of peoples practicing a religion very similar to their own, but not identical to it.

Hostility grew up between the returning Jews and the Samaritans, the mixed-blood people of the region, which has continued to the present day.

a large portion of the population of Jerusalem and of other Judean cities was carried away to the banks of the Euphrates

Jews being carried away to the banks of the Euphrates

According to the Bible, the Samaritans were foreign peoples, settled into the area by the kings of Assyria, who had partially adopted the Israelite religion; in reality, most of them were probably simply Israelites who had remained behind, and thus had had no part in the sweeping changes of the Israelite religion brought about among the captives. Or perhaps, alternatively; the fierce purity of the Jewish religion and cultural identity of the Babylonian Jews returning from exile, seventy years after their deportation, completely eclipsed the partial faith of the mixed group of Israelite survivors, who had practised paganism for hundreds of years in Israel (including the worship of a golden bull), and who had inter-married with the peoples sent into the territory by the Assyrians (and which was strictly forbidden by Mosaic Torah 'law', and punished by Nehemiah). The hatred and disgust of the Hebrew Judeans (see Judea) for the Samaritans prompted Jesus of Nazareth to later propound the parable of the "good Samaritan".

Impact upon the Jewish philosophy of the time

The Babylonian Captivity and the subsequent return from captivity (back to Israel), was seen as one of the great pivotal acts in the drama between God and His people, Israel. Just as they had been predestined for, and saved from, slavery in Egypt; now the Israelites were predestined to be punished by God through the Babylonians, and then saved once more. This experience has had a number of serious effects upon Judaism and the Jewish culture. The current Hebrew script was adopted at this time, replacing the very different Israelite script. The current Jewish calendar, especially its month names, also dates from this era. It also provided an historical basis for political 'quietism', in which Jews saw oppression by other nations as a form of divine punishment, to be endured patiently. Accordingly, the short-lived independent Hasmonean kingdom of the Maccabe's, in a probable attempt to break this mentality, later consciously re-introduced some pre-exilic customs, such as the old script, which then fell out of use again, after that kingdom's fall to the Romans.

Impact upon Jewish history

This period saw the last high-point of Biblical prophecy in the person of Ezekiel, followed by the emergence of the central role of the Torah in Jewish life; according to many historical-critical scholars, it was edited and redacted during this time; and saw the beginning of the canonization of the Bible, which provided a central text for Jews. This process coincided with the emergence of scribes and sages as Jewish leaders (see Ezra and the Pharisees). Prior to exile, the people of Israel had been organized according to tribe; afterwards they were organized by clans, only the tribe of Levi continuing in its 'special role'. After this time, there were always sizable numbers of Jews living outside Eretz Yisrael; thus, it also marks the beginning of the "Jewish diaspora" (unless you consider the Assyrian Captivity of Israel to have been the beginning).

Biblical account of exiles

The book of Daniel records a deportation of Judaean nobility that occurred around 605 BCE, in the reign of Jehoiakim (Daniel 1:1-6; cf. 2 Chronicles 36:6-7).

The Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 52:28-30) notes three deportations: The first was in the time of Jehoiachin, in 597 BCE, when the Temple of Jerusalem was partially despoiled and a number of the leading citizens were removed (2 Kings 24:10-16).

After eleven years, in 586 BCE, in the reign of Zedekiah, a fresh uprising of the Judaeans occurred. The city and temple of Jerusalem was razed and a further deportation ensued (2 Kings 25:1-21).

Finally, five years thereafter, in 581 BCE, Jeremiah records a third deportation (Jeremiah 52:30).

Return

During the period of captivity, Jews continued to practice and develop their religious traditions, many of which became distinct from their origins, due to the influences of the local culture.

After the overthrow of Babylonia by the Persian Empire, in 537 BCE the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great gave the Jews permission to return to their native land, and more than 40,000 are said to have availed themselves of the privilege, as noted in the Biblical accounts of Jehoiakim, Ezra, and Nehemiah. The Persians had a different political philosophy of managing conquered territories than the Babylonians or Assyrians: under the Persians, local personages were put into power to govern the local populace.

The actual return of the exiles was consummated by Ezra, who assembled at the river Ahava all those desirous of returning. These consisted of about 1,800 men, or 5,500 to 6,000 souls (Ezra 8), besides 38 Levites and 220 slaves of the Temple from Casiphia. With this body, which was invested with royal powers, Ezra and Nehemiah succeeded, after great difficulties, in establishing the post-exilic Jewish community. From the list given in Nehemiah 7:6-73 (Ezra 2), which the chronicler erroneously supposed to be an enumeration of those who had returned under Cyrus, it appears that the whole Jewish community at this time comprised 42,360 men, or 125,000 to 130,000 souls.

Prior to the return, the northern Israelite tribes had been taken captive by Assyria and never returned, leaving the survivors of the Babylonian exile as the majority of the remaining Children of Israel. When the Israelites returned home, they found a mixture of peoples, the Samaritans, practicing a religion very similar, but not identical, to their own. Over time, hostility grew between the returning Jews and the Samaritans. According to the Bible, the Samaritans were foreign people settled into the area by the kings of Assyria and who had partially adopted the Israelite religion.

Although there are many other conflicting theories about the Samaritans' origins, many of them may have simply been Israelites who remained behind and thus had no part in the sweeping changes of the Israelite religion brought about among the captives. Alternatively, perhaps the fierce purity of the Jewish religion and cultural identity of the Babylonian Jews returning from exile, seventy years after their deportation, completely eclipsed the partial fate of the mixed group of Israelite survivors, who had practised paganism for hundreds of years in Israel (including the worship of a golden bull), and who had inter-married with the peoples sent into the territory by the Assyrians (a practice strictly forbidden by Mosaic Laws, and punished by Nehemiah).

Significance in Judaism

The Babylonian Captivity and the subsequent return to Israel were seen as one of the pivotal events in the drama between God and His people: Israel. Just as they had been predestined for, and saved from, slavery in Egypt, the Israelites were predestined to be punished by God through the Babylonians, and then saved once more. The Babylonian Captivity had a number of serious effects on Judaism and the Jewish culture. For example, the current Hebrew script was adopted during this period, replacing the traditional Israelite script.

This process coincided with the emergence of scribes and sages as Jewish leaders (see Ezra and the Pharisees). Prior to exile, the people of Israel had been organized according to tribe; afterwards, they were organized by clans, only the tribe of Levi continuing in its 'special role'. After this time, there were always sizable numbers of Jews living outside Eretz Israel; thus, it also marks the beginning of the "Jewish diaspora", unless this is considered to have begun with the Assyrian Captivity of Israel.

In Rabbinic literature, Babylon is a metaphor for the current Jewish diaspora.

Other usages of the term

Babylonian Captivity is also used to refer to other historical events, including:

The Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy, or of the Church, which refers to the Papacy's sojourn in Avignon, France between 1309 and 1378, when the Popes were seen by some as "captives" of the French Kings. See Avignon Papacy.
Babylonian Slavery Egyptian Slavery was also used by the workforce working in the Stalin era and in Nazi concentration camps, deported from central Europe following the German-Soviet pact of 1939. Some groups were freed, like the Poles in 1942, thanks to Wladyslaw Sikorski's agreement with Stalin, and led by Wladyslaw Anders to Persia. Anders was later referred to as the Polish Moses. Most of the people had to wait until the 1945 repatriation agreement, or the 1956 Khrushchev amnesty.

References

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain. This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, and may be adapted from the original.

To distinguish it from the "Northern Kingdom" of Israel
2 Kings 25:8-21.
Daniel 1:1-6; cf. 2 Chronicles 36:6-7; also 2 Kings 24:10-16.
According to historical-critical scholars, it was edited and redacted during this time, and saw the beginning of the canonization of the Bible, which provided a central text for Jews.
Alternately, this may be considered to have begun with the Assyrian Captivity of Israel.
Gottheil et al., "Babylonian Captivity". Retrieved on 2007-11-08. JewishEncyclopedia.com