Exile
Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon, the destruction of the temple, and life in exile under foreign empires.
Empire in this era: Babylon ruled Judah from about 605 BC and destroyed Jerusalem in 587 or 586 BC, until Persia took Babylon in 539 BC.
On the strip: Babylon (to 539 BC) → Persia (from 539 BC). The strip shows who held the stage over the land of Israel, not who was biggest in the world.
What the sources say, and how sure we are
- The text says
Babylon destroys Jerusalem and its temple in 586 BC, and many are taken into exile. Cyrus of Persia lets exiles return in 538 BC.2 Kgs 25; Ezra 1:1–4
- The text says
Nebuchadnezzar takes Jerusalem in 597 BC and destroys it in 586 BC. Jeremiah’s list counts about 4,600 exiles in three deportations, and Jeremiah tells the exiles to build homes in Babylon. King Jehoiachin is released from prison in 561 BC.2 Kgs 24:10–17; 2 Kgs 25:8–12; Jer 29:5–7; Jer 52:28–30; 2 Kgs 25:27–30
- Outside evidence
The Babylonian Chronicle records the capture of Jerusalem in 597 BC. The Lachish letters, written as Babylon attacked, describe the last days of Judah. Excavations in Jerusalem show burned buildings from 586 BC.Babylonian Chronicle (ABC 5); Lachish Letters
- Debated
Scholars debate the numbers deported, and how empty the land was afterwards. Many hold that most people stayed in Judah. Jeremiah’s “seventy years” is read as the time from 605 to 539 BC, or from 586 to 516 BC.Jer 25:11–12; Jer 29:10
- Debated
Scholars differ on the date of Daniel.Daniel
- Christian conclusion
Ezekiel’s promise of a new heart and spirit and of dry bones raised to life is read by Christians alongside Jesus’ teaching on new birth.Ezek 36:26–27; Ezek 37; John 3:5–8