ABSTRACT
The Hebrew Bible exhibits a strong awareness of the presence of Babylonia on theinternational scene, and more poignantly, of its direct impact on the destiny of Jerusalem and Judah during a brief, but crucial period of Ancient Near Eastern history. The Neo-Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II, destroyed Jerusalem, devastated major areas of the country, and exiled large numbers of Judeans to Babylonia in a series of military campaigns. These began at the very end of the seventh century BCE, and reached their climax in 586 BCE with the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the central Temple. This brought an end to the kingdom of Judah, and to the period of the First Temple, as it is known in biblical studies. It is only to be expected that these historically definitive events, and the circumstances leading up to them, as well as those resulting from them, should have commanded the full attention of biblical writers.
