Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)

Siege of Jerusalem
	Part of the Jewish–Babylonian War
	; Jerusalem is on fire (The Art Bible, 1896)
Date	589–587 BC
Location	Jerusalem, Judah
Result	Babylonian victory; Destruction of Jerusalem; Destruction of Solomon's Temple; Judeans exiled to Babylon; beginning of the Babylonian captivity;
Territorial; changes	Judah becomes a Babylonian province
Belligerents
Kingdom of Judah	Neo-Babylonian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Zedekiah	Nebuchadnezzar II
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Many slain, 4,200 others taken to captivity	Unknown

The siege of Jerusalem (c. 589–587 BC) was the final event of the Judahite revolts against Babylon, in which Nebuchadnezzar II, king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, besieged Jerusalem, the capital city of the Kingdom of Judah. Jerusalem fell after a 30-month siege, following which the Babylonians systematically destroyed the city and Solomon's Temple.^[1]^[2] The Kingdom of Judah was dissolved and many of its inhabitants exiled to Babylon.

During the late 7th century BC, Judah became a vassal kingdom of Babylon. In 601 BC, Jehoiakim, king of Judah, revolted against Babylonian rule despite the strong remonstrances of the prophet Jeremiah.^[2]^[3] Jehoiakim died for reasons unclear, and was succeeded by his son, Jeconiah.^[4]^[5] In 597 BC, the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, and the city surrendered.^[2]^[6] Nebuchadnezzar pillaged Jerusalem and deported Jeconiah and other prominent citizens to Babylon; Jeconiah's uncle, Zedekiah, was installed as king.^[2]^[7] Later, encouraged by the Egyptians, Zedekiah launched a second revolt, and a Babylonian army was sent to retake Jerusalem.^[2]

On Tisha B'Av, July 587 or 586 BC, the Babylonians took Jerusalem, destroyed the First Temple and burned down the city.^[1]^[2]^[8] The small settlements surrounding the city, and those close to the western border of the kingdom, were destroyed as well.^[8] According to the Bible, Zedekiah attempted to escape, but was captured near Jericho. He was forced to watch the execution of his sons in Riblah, and his eyes were then put out.^[9]

The destruction of Jerusalem and its temple led to a religious, spiritual and political crisis, which left its mark in prophetic literature and biblical tradition.^[9]^[8] The Kingdom of Judah was abolished and annexed as a Babylonian province with its center in Mizpah.^[2]^[9]^[8] The Judean elite, including the Davidic dynasty, were exiled to Babylon.^[8] After Babylon had fallen to Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, in 539 BC, he allowed the exiled Judeans to return to Zion and rebuild Jerusalem. The Second Temple was completed in 516 BC.

^ ^a ^b Finkelstein, Israel; Silberman, Neil Asher (2002). The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts. New York: Free Press. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-684-86912-4. OCLC 44509358. Intensive excavations throughout Jerusalem have shown that the city was indeed systematically destroyed by the Babylonians. The conflagration seems to have been general. When activity on the ridge of the City of David resumed in the Persian period, the-new suburbs on the western hill that had flourished since at least the time of Hezekiah were not reoccupied.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Bickerman, E. J. (2007). Nebuchadnezzar And Jerusalem. Brill. ISBN 978-90-474-2072-9.
^ Malamat, A. (1975, January). The twilight of Judah: in the Egyptian-Babylonian maelstrom. In Congress Volume Edinburgh 1974 (pp. 123–145). Brill.
^ Smit, E. J. (1994). "So how did Jehoiakim die?". Journal for Semitics. 6 (1): 46–56. hdl:10520/AJA10318471_285.
^ Begg, C. (1996). "The end of King Jehoiakim: the afterlife of a problem". Journal for Semitics. 8 (1): 12–20. hdl:10520/AJA10318471_366.
^ Geoffrey Wigoder, The Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible Pub. by Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. (2006)
^ The Oxford History of the Biblical World, ed. by Michael D Coogan. Published by Oxford University Press, 1999. p. 350
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Lipschits, Oded (1999). "The History of the Benjamin Region under Babylonian Rule". Tel Aviv. 26 (2): 155–190. doi:10.1179/tav.1999.1999.2.155. The destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (586 B.C.) is the most traumatic event described in biblical historiography, and in its shadow the history of the people of Israel was reshaped. The harsh impression of the destruction left its mark on the prophetic literature also, and particular force is retained in the laments over the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in its midst. [...] most of Judah's inhabitants remained there after the destruction of Jerusalem. They concentrated chiefly in the Benjamin region and the northern Judean hill country. This area was hardly affected by the destruction, and became the centre of the Babylonian province with its capital at Mizpah. [...] The archaeological data reinforce the biblical account, and they indicate that Jerusalem and its close environs suffered a severe blow. Most of the small settlements near the city were destroyed, the city wall was demolished, and the buildings within were put to the torch. Excavation and survey data show that the western border of the kingdom also sustained a grave onslaught, seemingly at the time when the Babylonians went to besiege Jerusalem.
^ ^a ^b ^c Smith-Christopher, D. L. (1997-01-01), "Reassessing the Historical and Sociological Impact of the Babylonian Exile", Exile: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions, Brill, pp. 7–21, doi:10.1163/9789004497719_008, S2CID 244932444, retrieved 2022-05-24

[:4-1] Finkelstein, Israel; Silberman, Neil Asher (2002). The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts. New York: Free Press. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-684-86912-4. OCLC 44509358. Intensive excavations throughout Jerusalem have shown that the city was indeed systematically destroyed by the Babylonians. The conflagration seems to have been general. When activity on the ridge of the City of David resumed in the Persian period, the-new suburbs on the western hill that had flourished since at least the time of Hezekiah were not reoccupied.

[:1-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Bickerman, E. J. (2007). Nebuchadnezzar And Jerusalem. Brill. ISBN 978-90-474-2072-9.

[3] Malamat, A. (1975, January). The twilight of Judah: in the Egyptian-Babylonian maelstrom. In Congress Volume Edinburgh 1974 (pp. 123–145). Brill.

[4] Smit, E. J. (1994). "So how did Jehoiakim die?". Journal for Semitics. 6 (1): 46–56. hdl:10520/AJA10318471_285.

[5] Begg, C. (1996). "The end of King Jehoiakim: the afterlife of a problem". Journal for Semitics. 8 (1): 12–20. hdl:10520/AJA10318471_366.

[6] Geoffrey Wigoder, The Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible Pub. by Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. (2006)

[7] The Oxford History of the Biblical World, ed. by Michael D Coogan. Published by Oxford University Press, 1999. p. 350

[:42-8] Lipschits, Oded (1999). "The History of the Benjamin Region under Babylonian Rule". Tel Aviv. 26 (2): 155–190. doi:10.1179/tav.1999.1999.2.155. The destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (586 B.C.) is the most traumatic event described in biblical historiography, and in its shadow the history of the people of Israel was reshaped. The harsh impression of the destruction left its mark on the prophetic literature also, and particular force is retained in the laments over the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in its midst. [...] most of Judah's inhabitants remained there after the destruction of Jerusalem. They concentrated chiefly in the Benjamin region and the northern Judean hill country. This area was hardly affected by the destruction, and became the centre of the Babylonian province with its capital at Mizpah. [...] The archaeological data reinforce the biblical account, and they indicate that Jerusalem and its close environs suffered a severe blow. Most of the small settlements near the city were destroyed, the city wall was demolished, and the buildings within were put to the torch. Excavation and survey data show that the western border of the kingdom also sustained a grave onslaught, seemingly at the time when the Babylonians went to besiege Jerusalem.

[:2-9] Smith-Christopher, D. L. (1997-01-01), "Reassessing the Historical and Sociological Impact of the Babylonian Exile", Exile: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions, Brill, pp. 7–21, doi:10.1163/9789004497719_008, S2CID 244932444, retrieved 2022-05-24

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