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Judah Is Exiled to Babylon

Daniel 1; 2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36; Jeremiah 39; 52

One of the most significant events in the story of the Old Testament is the exile of Judah to Babylon in 586 B.C. This event–actually the third in a series of exiles to Babylon (the others occurring in 605 B.C. and 597 B.C.)–precipitated several crises in the nation and in Judaism. The northern kingdom of Israel had already been exiled to Assyria over a century earlier in 722 B.C. (2 Kings 15:29; 17:1-6; 1 Chronicles 5:26; see also “Israelites Are Exiled to Assyria” map), and in some ways that exile was even more devastating. Nevertheless, the Temple of the Lord remained intact in Jerusalem as a place where the faithful could continue to offer their sacrifices. With the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord at the hands of the Babylonians, however, sacrifices could no longer be offered at the Tabernacle or Temple of the Lord (Leviticus 17:2-4; Deuteronomy 12:5-7), and the Lord’s promise to provide a land for his people and a descendant on the throne of David no doubt seemed abandoned. At the same time, however, the Judean exiles were allowed to maintain their religious traditions in Babylon, and many even began to thrive there, including Daniel and his friends, who served at the royal court (Daniel 1; see also “The Land of Exile” map). One of the last kings of Babylon expanded Babylonia further by capturing the desert oases of Dumah, Tema, Dedan, and Yathrib (see “Oases of the Arabian Desert” map), but eventually the Median Empire to the north merged with the Persian Empire to the southeast and conquered the Babylonian Empire. King Cyrus of Persia then decreed that the exiled Judeans, now called “Jews,” could return to their homeland if they desired (2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1-2; see also “Jews Return from Exile” map).

Josiah’s Reforms throughout Judah and Israel

2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles

If ever there was a point in biblical history when the worship of Yahweh seemed all but extinguished, it was during the years leading up to King Josiah’s birth. Yet it was against this incredibly dark backdrop that the Lord raised up Josiah of Judah to bring about one of the greatest spiritual reforms his nation had ever seen. Josiah was the grandson of Manasseh, one of the most wicked and idolatrous kings of Judah (2 Kings 21:1-9; 2 Chronicles 33:1-9), though Manasseh later repented (2 Chronicles 33:12-19), and the son of Amon, another wicked, idolatrous king (2 Kings 21:18-22; 2 Chronicles 33:20-23). After his father’s death, Josiah became king at the young age of eight, so perhaps it was this lack of influence from his wicked father during some of his most formative years as a leader that enabled him to become such a force for spiritual renewal throughout Judah. Whatever the reason for his spiritual fervor, Josiah’s passion also coincided with a period of Assyrian decline, which allowed him to expand his renewal even to the lands once ruled by the northern kingdom of Israel. Josiah began his reforms by commissioning repairs to be made to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. During these repairs, the book of the law, likely the book of Deuteronomy, was found in the Temple and brought to Josiah. When Josiah read the book, he tore his clothes in anguish over the punishment that surely awaited the nation for their disobedience to the laws of Moses. He called for all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to gather by the pillar of the Temple, and he read the law to them as well and led them to establish a new covenant to follow the laws of Moses. Josiah then began a great purge of idolatry throughout Jerusalem, Judah, and even Israel. Utensils used for pagan worship were removed from the Temple in Jerusalem and burned in the Kidron Valley, and their ashes were carried to Bethel. The image of Asherah was also removed and burned in the Kidron Valley, and the remains were ground to dust and spread over graves of the common people. The houses of the male prostitutes in the Temple area were also broken down. The horses and chariots dedicated to the sun by the kings of Judah were removed, and the chariots were burned. The altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz and the altars that Manasseh had made in Temple courtyard were pulled down and broken in pieces, and the rubble was thrown into the Kidron Valley. A place called Topheth in the Hinnom Valley was defiled so that no one would make a son or daughter pass through fire as an offering to Molech. Just east of Jerusalem the high places built by King Solomon for his pagan wives on the Mount of Corruption (also called the Mount of Olives; 1 Kings 11:7-8) were defiled. Josiah’s reforms throughout Judah included putting away the mediums, wizards, teraphim, idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land. At Bethel he tore down the altar and the high place erected by Jeroboam son of Nebat. He burned the high place, crushing it to dust, and burned the sacred pole. There he also saw tombs of people who must have been associated with the pagan rituals there, so he removed the bones and burned them on the altar, thus defiling it, as was prophesied years earlier (1 Kings 13:1-10). Josiah then extended his reforms to lands that formerly belonged to Israel but were now directly governed by Assyria. Throughout the towns of Samaria all the shrines of the high places were removed, the priests of the high places were slaughtered on the pagan altars, and their bones were burned on them. Throughout the rest of the land of Israel and Judah–in Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali–Josiah also broke down the altars, ground the sacred poles and images into powder, and demolished all the incense altars. When Josiah returned to Jerusalem, he celebrated the Passover in a way that exceeded all the Passover celebrations since the time of the Judges.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Final Campaign against Judah

2 Kings 23:19-25:30; Jeremiah 39

The final collapse of the southern kingdom of Judah as an independent nation came at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon in 586 B.C. Judah had already become a vassal of Egypt in 609 B.C. when King Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo (see “Josiah Battles Neco” map). Then in 605 B.C., after Egypt and Assyria were defeated by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish, Judah’s vassal loyalty transferred to Babylon. At that time, some of the Judean nobility were sent into exile, including Daniel and his friends (Daniel 1:1-7). Several years later in 597 B.C. a second exile occurred in retaliation for King Jehoiakim’s refusal to continue paying tribute to Babylon, and this likely included the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1-3). Finally, in 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar conquered many of the fortified towns throughout Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple after King Zedekiah refused to submit to his Babylonian overlords any longer. Nebuchadnezzar began this campaign into Judah by heading south along the Great Trunk Road and dividing his forces near Aphek, sending some of them to Jerusalem from the north and others from the southwest. At some point during his siege of Jerusalem, King Hophra of Egypt advanced toward Judah to support Judah’s rebellion against Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar lifted the siege to confront Hophra (Jeremiah 37:5-8). It is unclear exactly what transpired between Hophra’s forces and Nebuchadnezzar’s forces, but apparently Hophra’s forces returned to Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar’s forces returned to finish besieging Jerusalem. When the Babylonians finally breached the main northern wall, it became clear that all hope was lost, and King Zedekiah and his sons fled on horseback through a gate at the southeastern corner of Jerusalem (see “Jerusalem during the Early Old Testament” map). They followed the Ascent of Adummim toward Jericho, perhaps seeking to escape to Ammon, but the Babylonians captured Zedekiah and his sons on the plains of Jericho and sent them to Riblah. There they killed Zedekiah’s sons, blinded Zedekiah, and sent him to Babylon to die in exile. After completely destroying Jerusalem and the Temple, the Babylonians sent many other Judean nobles and their families to Babylon (see “Judah Is Exiled to Babylon” map) and appointed a Judean named Gedaliah as governor over the region at Mizpah, thus bringing an end to the independent kingdom of Judah. Around this time it also appears that the Edomites took advantage of Judah’s vulnerable situation and captured territory for themselves in the Negev. In response, the prophets Obadiah and Ezekiel pronounced blistering curses upon the Edomites (Obadiah 1:1-21; Ezekiel 25:12-14).