Introduction to the Exile and Return

Overview and timeline of the exile of Israel and her return from captivity.

Timeline

Assyrian Kings

• Shalmaneser II (860-825 BC) – began to “cut off” Israel
• Adad-Nirari (808-783 BC) – took tribute from Israel (Jonah’s visit?)
• Tiglath-Pileser III (747-727 BC) – deported most of Israel
• Sargon II (7220705) BC – carried the rest of Israel captive
• Sennacherib (706-681 BC) – invaded Judah; Assyrian Captivity of northern kingdom
• Esar-Haddon (681-668 BC) – very powerful
• Assur-banipal (668-626 BC) – most powerful and brutal
• Weak Kings (626-605 BC) – who lead to defeat of Assyria

Fall of Judah

• 612 BC – Babylonians and Medes conquer Assyria.
• 605 BC – Babylonians battle Egyptians at Carchemish.
• 605 BC – Nebuchadnezzar becomes king of Babylon; The Babylonians invade Judah; First wave of deportation of Jews to Babylon; Daniel is taken captive and begins to prophesy.
• 601 BC – Babylonians battle Egypt, both sides suffer losses; Judah decides to realign itself with Egypt.
• 597 BC – Jehoachin becomes king of Judah; Babylonians capture Jerusalem; Second wave of deportation to Babylon from Judah; Ezekiel is taken captive to Babylon; Zedekiah becomes king of Judah.
• 593 BC – Ezekiel begins to prophesy.
• 586 BC – The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and the Temple; Jerusalem’s walls and gates are burned with fire; Third wave of Jews deported to Babylon; Babylonian Exile begins.
• 539 BC – The Fall of Babylon; Beginning of the Persian Period to 332; The Decree of Cyrus II allowing Jews to return.
• 516 BC – The Jews rebuild their Temple (70 years).

Exile

Developments in Judah (2 Kings 25:22-26; Jeremiah 40-44)

• Judah as a province of Babylon: no king; governor appoint; new captial is Mizpah.
• Small population left in Jerusalem under hard conditions; “the poor of the land” (2 Kings 25:12).
• Gedaliah assassinated by Ishmael (2 Kings 25:23-26; Jeremiah 40:7-41:18); governor appoint by Babylonians.
• Jeremiah gives advice (Jeremiah 40:1-6; 42:1-43:3) to stay in land.
• People flee to Egypt (Jeremiah 43:4-44:30); Jeremiah follows them; Babylon conquers Egypt and people further dispersed.

By the Waters of Babylon (605-539 BC)

• Humiliation (Psalm 137).
• Institutions remained: synagogue evolved; elders, prophets (Ezekiel) and priest maintained (Jeremiah 29).
• Freedom of movement; Jews could buy a house and move.
• Freedom of correspondence: could write/receive letters.
• Possibility of government positions (e.g. Daniel).
• Living in a fertile prosperous land with agricultural possibilities.
• Too comfortable? (Josephus Antiquities 11.1.3).

Rise of Persia

• Restoration predicted (e.g Jeremiah 25:11).
• Cyrus, King of Persia, reigns 559-530 BC.
• Cyrus conquers the Meades, Assyrians and up to India, creating a vast Persian empire.
• Fall of Babylon (October 539 BC); Cyrus greeted as a conquering hero.
• Edict of release (Ezra 1:1-4; Ezra 6:3-5).

Content of the Edict

• Ezra 1 is more theological; Ezra 6 is the official record.
• Temple to be rebuilt and cost defrayed by Cyrus (Ezra 6:8).
• Building specifications and dimensions.
• Return of gold and silver items taken by Nebuchadnezzar.
• All Jews who wished could return to Judah.
• Jews who remain in Babylon may assist project with freewill offerings.

Return and Restoration

See: Chronologoy of Ezra-Nehemiah

First Stage of Return to Judah

• Ezra 1-6 – Rebuilding the temple
• Ezra 1 – edict of return
• Ezra 2 – list of returnees; leading role for Zerubbabel (2:2); approx. 50,000 return
• Ezra 3:1-6 – rebuilding and rededicating the altar; Mosaic worship restored
• Ezra 3:7-13 – laying the temple foundation about 6 months after altar dedication
• Ezra 4:1-23 – opposition to rebuilding; work stops for approximately 10 years
• Ezra 5:1-6:15 – Encouragement to rebuild from Haggai & Zechariah; work resumes in 530 BC
• Ezra 6:16-22 – Completed temple is dedicated and Passover celebrated
• Ezra 7:1-8:36 – Second return of the Jews to Jerusalem; 458-457 BC (1 year)
• Ezra 9:1-10:44 – Restoration of the people
• Biblehub: Ezra Timeline

Second Stage of Return to Judah

• Nehemiah 1:1-11 – Nehemiah learns Jerusalem has no walls; 445 BC
• Nehemiah 2:1-20 – Nehemiah commissioned to return to Jerusalem
• Nehemiah 3:1-6:19 – Building the walls amidst continued opposition
• Nehemiah 8:1-18 – reading and exposition of the Law
• Nehemiah 9:1:10:39 – Covenant renewal
• Nehemiah 12:27-47 – Dedication of Jerusalem city walls
• Nehemiah 13 – Nehemiah’s second administration; returns 432 BC to a bad situation
• Biblehub: Nehemiah Timeline

History

• Alfred Edersheim: Sketches of Jewish Social Life
• Alfred Edersheim: Old Testament History
• Alfred Edersheim: The Temple —Its Ministry and Services 
• Jacob Abbott: Cyrus the Great by Jacob Abbott (1904)
• Flavius Josephus: From The Death Of Ahab To The Captivity Of The Ten Tribes (157 Years)
• Flavius Josephus: From The Captivity Of The Ten Tribes To The First Year Of Cyrus (182 Years)
• Flavius Josephus: From The First Of Cyrus To The Death Of Alexander The Great

Maps

• The New Babylonian Empire and Ezekiel – BibleHistory.com
• The New Babylonian Empire and Egypt – BibleHistory.com
• The Babylonian Captivity – BibleHistory.com
• The Divided Kingdom – Biblehub.com
• The Kingdom of Judah – Biblehub.com
• The Captivity of Judah – Biblehub.com
• The Restoration – Biblehub.com
• Deportations and Returns under Assyria and Babylon -Idubiblia.org
• Assyrian and Babylonian and Greek Empires -Idubiblia.org

Invasions of Jerusalem

There were 4 significant invasions of Jerusalem in Old Testament history:

1. By Shishak, king of Egypt, ca. 925 BC during the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:25-26; 2 Chronicles 12).
2. By the Philistines and Arabians between 848–841 BC during the reign of Jehoram of Judah (2 Chronciles 21:8–20).
3. By Jehoash, king of Israel, ca. 790 BC (2 Kings 14; 2 Chronciles 25).
4. By Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

Exile Kings in the Bible

Kingdom	King	Reign	Bible Reference
Assyria	Tiglath-Pileser III	744-727 BC	2 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 16:7-10; 1Chronicles 5:6-26
Assyria	Sargon II	721-701 BC	2 Kings 17:3; 2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 20:1
Assyria	Sennacherib	704-681 BC	(Assyrian Captivity of northern kingdom)
Assyria	Esarhaddon	680-699 BC	Isaiah 36:37; 2 Kings 18-19; 2 Chronicles 32
Assyria	Ashurbanipal	668-627 BC	2 Kings 19:27; Ezra 4:2; Isaiah 37:38
Babylon	Nebuchadneezar II	604-562 BC	(Babylonian captivity of southern kingdom) 2 Kings 24-25; Jeremiah 21; Daniel 1:5
Babylon	Nabonidus	551-539 BC	Daniel 5
Babylon	Beshazzar	?-539BC
Medo-Persian	Cyrus & Dairus	529-530 BC	Daniel 6; Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1; 2 Chronicles 36
Medo-Persian	Ahasuerus (Cambyses)	529-522 BC	Ezra 4:6
Medo-Persian	Artaxerxes (Ahasuerus)	423-405 BC	Esther

Series: Bible Study 101

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