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67-678: The text finds an immediate interpretation in the opening chapter of the book of Exodus as the description of the Israelites in Egypt are alluded to as, "fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and extremely strong, so that the land was filled with them." In Orthodox Judaism , the mandate to "be fruitful and multiply" is interpreted as requiring every couple to have at least a son and a daughter. Other Jewish groups (such as Reform Judaism ) and individual Jews have interpreted this mandate differently. For example, Richard Friedman in his Commentary on

134-575: A fifth column . He hardens their labor and orders the killing of all newborn boys. A Levite woman named Jochebed saves her baby by setting him adrift on the Nile in an ark of bulrushes . Pharaoh's daughter finds the child, names him Moses , and brings him up as her own. Later, a grown Moses goes out to see his kinsmen. He witnesses the abuse of a Hebrew slave by an Egyptian overseer. Angered, Moses kills him and flees into Midian to escape punishment. There, he marries Zipporah , daughter of Jethro ,

201-466: A Midianite priest. While tending Jethro's flock, Moses encounters God in a burning bush . Moses asks God for his name, to which God replies with three words, often translated as " I Am that I Am ." This is the book's explanation for the origin of the name Yahweh , as God is thereafter known. God tells Moses to return to Egypt, free the Hebrews from slavery and lead them into Canaan , the land promised to

268-468: A binding covenant with their God , who chooses Israel, and the establishment of the life of the community and the guidelines for sustaining it. The consensus of modern scholars is that the Pentateuch does not give an accurate account of the origins of the Israelites, who appear instead to have formed as an entity in the central highlands of Canaan in the late second millennium BCE (around the time of

335-458: A heavily Canaanite origin for Israel, with little suggestion that a group of foreigners from Egypt comprised early Israel. However, a majority of scholars believe that the story has an historical core, though disagreeing widely about what that historical kernel might have been. Kenton Sparks refers to it as "charter myth" and "mythologized history". Biblical scholar Graham I. Davies notes that several literary texts from Ancient Egypt document

402-640: A history of God's saving actions that give identity to Israel – the promise of offspring and land to the ancestors, the Exodus from Egypt (in which God saves Israel from slavery), the wilderness wandering, the revelation at Sinai, and the hope for the future life in the Promised Land . A theophany is a manifestation (appearance) of a god – in the Bible, an appearance of the God of Israel, accompanied by storms –

469-617: A number of serious effects on Judaism and Jewish culture. For example, the current Hebrew alphabet was adopted during this period, replacing the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet . This period saw the last high point of biblical prophecy in the person of Ezekiel , followed by the emergence of the central role of the Torah in Jewish life. According to many historical-critical scholars, the Torah

536-410: A preamble, historical prologue, stipulations, deposition and reading, list of witnesses, blessings and curses, and ratification by animal sacrifice. Biblical covenants, in contrast to Eastern covenants in general, are between a god, Yahweh, and a people, Israel, instead of between a strong ruler and a weaker vassal. God elects Israel for salvation because the "sons of Israel" are "the firstborn son" of

603-461: A small band of wandering Israelites living in the Sinai: "The conclusion – that Exodus did not happen at the time and in the manner described in the Bible – seems irrefutable [...] repeated excavations and surveys throughout the entire area have not provided even the slightest evidence". Instead, they argue how modern archaeology suggests continuity between Canaanite and Israelite settlements, indicating

670-512: A surviving member of the royal family assassinated Gedaliah and his Babylonian advisors, prompting many refugees to seek safety in Egypt. By the end of the second decade of the 6th century BCE, in addition to those who remained in Judah, there were significant Jewish communities in Babylon and in Egypt; this was the beginning of the later numerous Jewish communities living permanently outside Judah in

737-620: Is a list of some instances where the injunction has been used in modern media, music, and literature. Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from Ancient Greek : Ἔξοδος , romanized :  Éxodos ; Biblical Hebrew : שְׁמוֹת Šəmōṯ , 'Names'; Latin : Liber Exodus ) is the second book of the Bible . It is a narrative of the Exodus , the origin myth of the Israelites leaving slavery in Biblical Egypt through

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804-645: Is permitted in some sects of Judaism in appropriate circumstances such as difficult family situations. In instances like these, rabbis may allow women to start contraceptive methods. The text of Genesis 1:28 states: וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם אֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם אֱלֹהִים פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וּמִלְאוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁהָ וּרְדוּ בִּדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבְכָל חַיָּה הָרֹמֶשֶׂת עַל הָאָרֶץ Wayəḇāreḵ ’ōṯām ’ĕlōhîm , wayyō’mer lāhem ’ĕlōhîm, "Pərû, ûrəḇû, ûmilə’û ’eṯ-hā’āreṣ, wəḵiḇəšuhā; ûrəḏû biḏəg̱aṯ hayyām, ûḇə‘ôp̱ haššāmayim, ûḇəḵāl-ḥayyāh hārōmeśeṯ ‘al-hā’āreṣ." The text of surat al-Baqarah 2:187, in

871-470: Is physically present, where, through the priesthood, Israel could be in direct, literal communion with him. The heart of Exodus is the Sinaitic covenant . A covenant is a legal document binding two parties to take on certain obligations towards each other. There are several covenants in the Bible, and in each case they exhibit at least some of the elements in real-life treaties of the ancient Middle East:

938-533: The Babylonian exile (6th century BCE), based on earlier written sources and oral traditions, with final revisions in the Persian post-exilic period (5th century BCE). American biblical scholar Carol Meyers , in her commentary on Exodus, suggests that it is arguably the most important book in the Bible, as it presents the defining features of Israel's identity—memories of a past marked by hardship and escape,

1005-738: The Jewish Diaspora . According to the book of Ezra , the Persian Cyrus the Great ended the exile in 538 BCE, the year after he captured Babylon. The exile ended with the return under Zerubbabel the Prince (so-called because he was a descendant of the royal line of David ) and Joshua the Priest (a descendant of the line of the former High Priests of the Temple) and their construction of

1072-554: The Jewish people , and ultimately had a far-reaching impact on the development of Judaism . Archaeological studies have revealed that, although the city of Jerusalem was utterly destroyed, other parts of Judah continued to be inhabited during the period of the exile. Historical records from Mesopotamia and Jewish sources indicate that a significant portion of the Jewish population chose to remain in Mesopotamia. This decision led to

1139-684: The Kingdom of Judah was a client state of the Assyrian empire. In the last decades of the century, Assyria was overthrown by Babylon, an Assyrian province. Egypt , fearing the sudden rise of the Neo-Babylonian empire , seized control of Assyrian territory up to the Euphrates river in Syria, but Babylon counter-attacked. In the process Josiah , the king of Judah, was killed in a battle with

1206-535: The Late Bronze Age collapse ) from the indigenous Canaanite culture. The English name Exodus comes from the Ancient Greek : ἔξοδος , romanized :  éxodos , lit.   'way out', from ἐξ- , ex- , 'out' and ὁδός , hodós , 'path', 'road'. In Hebrew the book's title is שְׁמוֹת, shemōt , "Names", from the beginning words of the text : "These are

1273-663: The Pentateuch took place in the Persian period following the exile, and the Priestly source , one of its main sources, is primarily a product of the post-exilic period when the former Kingdom of Judah had become the Persian province of Yehud. In the Hebrew Bible, the captivity in Babylon is presented as a punishment for idolatry and disobedience to Yahweh in a similar way to the presentation of Israelite slavery in Egypt followed by deliverance. The Babylonian captivity had

1340-461: The Tabernacle , the means by which he will come from heaven and dwell with them and lead them in a holy war to conquer Canaan (the " Promised Land "), which has earlier, according to the myth of Genesis , been promised to the "seed" of Abraham , the legendary patriarch of the Israelites. Traditionally ascribed to Moses himself, modern scholars see its initial composition as a product of

1407-701: The destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple in 587 BCE. In the biblical account, after the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BCE, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II besieged Jerusalem, which resulted in tribute being paid by the Judean king Jehoiakim . In the fourth year of Nebuchadnezzar II's reign, Jehoiakim refused to pay further tribute, which led to another siege of the city in Nebuchadnezzar II's seventh year (598/597 BCE) that culminated in

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1474-484: The missing years in the Jewish calendar , rabbinic sources place the date of the destruction of the First Temple at 3338 AM (423 BCE) or 3358 AM (403 BCE)). The first governor appointed by Babylon was Gedaliah , a native Judahite; he encouraged the many Jews who had fled to surrounding countries such as Moab , Ammon and Edom to return, and he took steps to return the country to prosperity. Some time later,

1541-500: The 5th to 4th centuries BCE. A 2017 exhibition in Jerusalem displayed over 100 cuneiform tablets detailing trade in fruits and other commodities, taxes, debts, and credits accumulated between Jews forced or persuaded to move from Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar around 600 BCE. The tablets included details on one exiled Judean family over four generations, all with Hebrew names. Most Jews who returned were poor Jews and either saw

1608-583: The Book of Exodus: Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire . The deportations occurred in multiple waves: After the siege of Jerusalem in 597 BCE, around 7,000 individuals were deported to Mesopotamia . Further deportations followed

1675-469: The City of Judah and on the ninth day of the month of Adar he seized the city and captured the king. He appointed there a king of his own choice and taking heavy tribute brought it back to Babylon. Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets , describing ration orders for a captive King of Judah, identified with King Jeconiah, have been discovered during excavations in Babylon, in the royal archives of Nebuchadnezzar. One of

1742-528: The Egyptians at the Battle of Megiddo (609 BCE) . After the defeat of Pharaoh Necho's army by the Babylonians at Carchemish in 605 BCE, Jehoiakim began paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. Some of the young nobility of Judah were taken to Babylon. In the following years, the court of Jerusalem was divided into two parties, one supporting Egypt, the other Babylon. After Nebuchadnezzar

1809-538: The Egyptians with ten terrible plagues , such as a river of blood , an outbreak of frogs , and the thick darkness . Moses is commanded by God to fix the spring month of Aviv at the head of the Hebrew calendar . The Israelites are to take a lamb on the 10th day of the month, sacrifice the lamb on the 14th day, daub its blood on their mezuzot—doorposts and lintels, and to observe the Passover meal that night, during

1876-673: The God of Israel, descended through Shem and Abraham to the chosen line of Jacob whose name is changed to Israel. The goal of the divine plan in Exodus is a return to humanity's state in Eden , so that God can dwell with the Israelites as he had with Adam and Eve through the Ark and Tabernacle, which together form a model of the universe; in later Abrahamic religions Israel becomes the guardian of God's plan for humanity, to bring "God's creation blessing to mankind" begun in Adam. List of Torah portions in

1943-601: The Hebrews and repeats to them the commandments he has received from God, which are to keep the Sabbath and to construct the Tabernacle. The Israelites do as they are commanded. From that time God dwells in the Tabernacle and orders the travels of the Hebrews. Jewish and Christian tradition viewed Moses as the author of Exodus and the entire Torah , but by the end of the 19th century the increasing awareness of discrepancies, inconsistencies, repetitions and other features of

2010-440: The Israelites complain and long for Egypt, but God miraculously provides manna for them to eat and water to drink. The Israelites arrive at the mountain of God, where Moses's father-in-law Jethro visits Moses; at his suggestion, Moses appoints judges over Israel. God asks whether they will agree to be his people – They accept. The people gather at the foot of the mountain, and with thunder and lightning, fire and clouds of smoke,

2077-584: The Pentateuch had led scholars to abandon this idea. In approximate round dates, the process which produced Exodus and the Pentateuch probably began around 600 BCE when existing oral and written traditions were brought together to form books recognizable as those we know, reaching their final form as unchangeable sacred texts around 400 BCE. Although patent mythical elements are not so prominent in Exodus as in Genesis , ancient legends may have an influence on

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2144-624: The Persians conquered Babylon. Exiled Jewish commoners were nostalgic about Judah and, due to circumstance, were forced to abandon temple-based worship. They mostly worshipped in private homes and kept some religious traditions such as circumcision, Sabbath observance, reading of the Psalms and Law . The Cyrus Cylinder , an ancient tablet on which is written a declaration in the name of Cyrus referring to restoration of temples and repatriation of exiled peoples, has often been taken as corroboration of

2211-776: The Qur'an, enjoins the listeners (presumably male) to be intimate with their wives and do "that which God has decreed for them", a statement defined by commentators to refer to having children: Ohilla lakum laylata assiyamiarrafathu ila nisa-ikum hunna libasunlakum waantum libasun lahunna AAalima Allahuannakum kuntum takhtanoona anfusakum fatabaAAalaykum waAAafa AAankum fal-ana bashiroohunnawabtaghoo ma kataba Allahu lakum wakuloo washraboohatta yatabayyana lakumu alkhaytu al-abyadumina alkhayti al-aswadi mina alfajri thumma atimmoo assiyamaila allayli wala tubashiroohunna waantum AAakifoonafee almasajidi tilka hudoodu Allahi falataqrabooha kathalika yubayyinu Allahu ayatihilinnasi laAAallahum yattaqoon Below

2278-595: The Second Temple in the period from 521 to 516 BCE. Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem, his capture of its king, his appointment of another in his place, and the plundering of the city in 597 BCE are corroborated by a passage in the Babylonian Chronicles : In the seventh year, in the month of Kislev, the king of Akkad mustered his troops, marched to the Hatti-land, and encamped against

2345-567: The Torah (2001) claims that the mandate "be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth" has "been fulfilled." The mandate is elaborated upon in numerous parts of the Talmud , for example in Kidushin . In the interpretation of some denominations of Christianity , adherents should actively work to fulfill the mandate. Despite "be fruitful and multiply" being the most important mitzvah, contraception

2412-501: The altar and its appurtenances, procedures for the ordination of priests, and the daily sacrifice offerings. Aaron becomes the first hereditary high priest . God gives Moses the two tablets of stone containing the words of the ten commandments, written with the "finger of God" . While Moses is with God, Aaron casts a golden calf , which the people worship. God informs Moses of their apostasy and threatens to kill them all, but relents when Moses pleads for them. Moses comes down from

2479-472: The authenticity of the biblical decrees attributed to Cyrus, but other scholars point out that the cylinder's text is specific to Babylon and Mesopotamia and makes no mention of Judah or Jerusalem. Professor Lester L. Grabbe asserted that the "alleged decree of Cyrus" regarding Judah, "cannot be considered authentic", but that there was a "general policy of allowing deportees to return and to re-establish cult sites". He also stated that archaeology suggests that

2546-626: The book's form or content: for example, the story of the infant Moses's salvation from the Nile is argued to be based on an earlier legend of king Sargon of Akkad , while the story of the parting of the Red Sea may trade on Mesopotamian creation mythology . Similarly, the Covenant Code (the law code in Exodus 20:22–23:33) has some similarities in both content and structure with the Laws of Hammurabi . These potential influences serve to reinforce

2613-474: The city's destruction in 587 BCE. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city wall and the Temple, together with the houses of the most important citizens. Zedekiah and his sons were captured and the sons were executed in front of Zedekiah, who was then blinded and taken to Babylon with many others (Jer 52:10–11). Judah became a Babylonian province, called Yehud , putting an end to the independent Kingdom of Judah (Because of

2680-528: The conclusion that the Book of Exodus originated in the exiled Jewish community of 6th-century BCE Babylon , but not all the potential sources are Mesopotamian: the story of Moses's flight to Midian following the murder of the Egyptian overseer may draw on the Egyptian Story of Sinuhe . Biblical scholars describe the Bible's theologically motivated history writing as " salvation history ", meaning

2747-509: The covenant between them (chapters 20–40). The text of the Book of Exodus begins after the events at the end of the Book of Genesis where Jacob 's sons and their families joined their brother Joseph in Egypt , which Joseph had saved from famine. It is 400 years later and Egypt's new Pharaoh , who does not remember Joseph, is fearful that the enslaved and now numerous Israelites could become

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2814-455: The death of Jehoiakim and the exile to Babylonia of his successor Jeconiah , his court, and many others; Jeconiah's successor Zedekiah and others were exiled when Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed Jerusalem in his 18th year (587 BCE), and a later deportation occurred in Nebuchadnezzar II's 23rd year (582 BCE). However, the dates, numbers of deportations, and numbers of deportees vary in the several biblical accounts. The Bible recounts how after

2881-508: The earth trembles, the mountains quake, the heavens pour rain, thunder peals and lightning flashes. The theophany in Exodus begins "the third day" from their arrival at Sinai in chapter 19: Yahweh and the people meet at the mountain, God appears in the storm and converses with Moses, giving him the Ten Commandments while the people listen. The theophany is therefore a public experience of divine law. The second half of Exodus marks

2948-506: The emergence of scribes and sages as Jewish leaders (see Ezra ). Prior to exile, the people of Israel had been organized according to tribe. Afterwards, they were organized by smaller family groups. Only the Tribe of Levi continued in its temple role after the return. After this time, there were always sizable numbers of Jews living outside the Land of Israel ; thus, it also marks the beginning of

3015-476: The establishment of a sizable Jewish community in Mesopotamia known as the golah (dispersal), which persisted until modern times. The Iraqi Jewish , Persian Jewish , Georgian Jewish , Bukharian Jewish , and the Mountain Jewish communities are believed to derive their ancestry in large part from these exiles; these communities have now largely emigrated to Israel . In the late 7th century BCE,

3082-420: The exile as "spiritual regeneration" or "divine punishment for sins". One reason why wealthy Jews stayed in Mesopotamia includes economic opportunities, which were relatively uncommon in Judah. The exilic period was a rich source for Hebrew literature. Biblical depictions of the exile include Book of Jeremiah 39–43 (which saw the exile as a lost opportunity); the final section of 2 Kings (which portrays it as

3149-631: The fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire to the Achaemenid Empire at the Battle of Opis in 539 BCE, exiled Judeans were permitted by the Persians to return to Judah . According to the biblical Book of Ezra , construction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem began c.  537 BCE in the new Persian province of Yehud Medinata . All of these events are considered significant to the developed history and culture of

3216-453: The full moon. The 10th plague comes that night, causing the death of all Egyptian firstborn sons, prompting Pharaoh to expel the Israelites. Regretting his decision, Pharaoh commands his chariot army after the Israelites, who appear trapped at the Red Sea . God parts the sea , allowing the Israelites to pass through, before drowning Pharaoh's pursuing forces. As desert life proves arduous,

3283-412: The mountain and writes down God's words, and the people agree to keep them. God calls Moses up the mountain again, where he remains for forty days and forty nights, after which he returns, bearing the set of stone tablets . God gives Moses instructions for the construction of the tabernacle so that God may dwell permanently among his chosen people , along with instructions for the priestly vestments ,

3350-467: The mountain, smashes the stone tablets in anger, and commands the Levites to massacre the unfaithful Israelites. God commands Moses to construct two new tablets. Moses ascends the mountain again, where God dictates the Ten Commandments for Moses to write on the tablets. Moses descends from the mountain with a transformed face ; from that time onwards he must hide his face with a veil . Moses assembles

3417-423: The names of the sons of Israel" ( Hebrew : וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמֹות בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל ). Most mainstream scholars do not accept the biblical Exodus account as historical for a number of reasons. It is generally agreed that the Exodus stories were written centuries after the apparent setting of the stories. Archaeologists Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman argue that archaeology has not found evidence for even

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3484-463: The point at which, and describes the process through which, God's theophany becomes a permanent presence for Israel via the Tabernacle . That so much of the book (chapters 25–31, 35–40) describes the plans of the Tabernacle demonstrates the importance it played in the perception of Second Temple Judaism at the time of the text's redaction by the Priestly writers: the Tabernacle is the place where God

3551-440: The presence of Semitic peoples working for building projects under the 19th Dynasty of Egypt , suggesting a possible historical basis for the account of Israelite servitude to the Egyptians. However, there is an increasing trend among scholars to see the biblical exodus traditions as the invention of the exilic and post-exilic Jewish community, with little to no historical basis. There is no unanimous agreement among scholars on

3618-450: The prophet Ezekiel ) back to Babylon. Jehoiakim's uncle Zedekiah was appointed king in his place, but the exiles in Babylon continued to consider Jeconiah as their Exilarch , or rightful ruler. Despite warnings by Jeremiah and others of the pro-Babylonian party, Zedekiah revolted against Babylon and entered into an alliance with Pharaoh Hophra . Nebuchadnezzar returned, defeated the Egyptians, and again besieged Jerusalem , resulting in

3685-465: The return was a "trickle" taking place over decades, rather than a single event. As part of the Persian Empire , the former Kingdom of Judah became the province of Judah ( Yehud Medinata ) with different borders, covering a smaller territory. The population of the province was greatly reduced from that of the kingdom; archaeological surveys suggesting a population of around 30,000 people in

3752-537: The seed of Abraham in Genesis. On the journey back to Egypt, God seeks to kill Moses. Zipporah circumcises their son and the attack stops. (See Zipporah at the inn .) Moses reunites with his brother Aaron and, returning to Egypt, convenes the Israelite elders, preparing them to go into the wilderness to worship God. Pharaoh refuses to release the Israelites from their work for the festival, and so God curses

3819-541: The sound of trumpets, and the trembling of the mountain, God appears on the peak, and the people see the cloud and hear the voice (or possibly sound) of God. God tells Moses to ascend the mountain. God pronounces the Ten Commandments (the Ethical Decalogue ) in the hearing of all Israel. Moses goes up the mountain into the presence of God , who pronounces the Covenant Code of ritual and civil law and promises Canaan to them if they obey. Moses comes down from

3886-428: The strength of their deity named Yahweh , who according to the story chose them as his people. The Israelites then journey with the legendary prophet Moses to Mount Sinai , where Yahweh gives the Ten Commandments and they enter into a covenant with Yahweh, who promises to make them a " holy nation , and a kingdom of priests" on condition of their faithfulness. He gives them their laws and instructions to build

3953-411: The structure of Exodus. One strong possibility is that it is a diptych (i.e., divided into two parts), with the division between parts 1 and 2 at the crossing of the Red Sea or at the beginning of the theophany (appearance of God) in chapter 19. On this plan, the first part tells of God's rescue of his people from Egypt and their journey under his care to Sinai (chapters 1–19) and the second tells of

4020-468: The tablets refers to food rations for "Ya’u-kīnu, king of the land of Yahudu" and five royal princes, his sons. Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian forces returned in 589 BCE and rampaged through Judah, leaving clear archaeological evidence of destruction in many towns and settlements there. Clay ostraca from this period, referred to as the Lachish letters , were discovered during excavations; one, which

4087-606: The temporary end of history); 2 Chronicles (in which the exile is the "Sabbath of the land"); and the opening chapters of Ezra, which records its end. Other works from or about the exile include the stories in Daniel 1–6, Susanna , Bel and the Dragon , the "Story of the Three Youths" ( 1 Esdras 3:1–5:6), and the books of Tobit and Judith . The Book of Lamentations arose from the Babylonian captivity. The final redaction of

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4154-644: The time before deportations. In Mesopotamia, the exiled Judeans were relocated to agricultural settlements, with one notable settlement being Tel-Abib near the city of Nippur . Biblical scholar Niels Peter Lemche suggests that the exiled Judeans experienced a lifestyle scarcely less prosperous than what they were accustomed to in their homeland. However, there is evidence for hardship. For example, exiled Jewish leaders were suspected of national disloyalty and were reduced to peasantry, where they worked in agriculture and building projects and performed simple tasks such as farming, shepherding and fishing. This ended when

4221-440: Was burnt to rubble in 587 BCE and utterly destroyed. Archaeological excavations and surveys have enabled the population of Judah before the Babylonian destruction to be estimated to have been approximately 75,000. Taking the different biblical numbers of exiles at their highest, 20,000, this would mean that perhaps 25% of the population had been deported to Babylon, with the remaining majority staying in Judah. Although Jerusalem

4288-467: Was defeated in battle in 601 BCE by Egypt, Judah revolted against Babylon, culminating in a three-month siege of Jerusalem beginning in late 598 BCE. Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, died during the siege and was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin (also called Jeconiah ) at the age of eighteen. The city fell on 2 Adar (March 16) 597 BCE, and Nebuchadnezzar pillaged Jerusalem and its Temple and took Jeconiah, his court and other prominent citizens (including

4355-468: Was destroyed, with large parts of the city remaining in ruins for 150 years, numerous other settlements in Judah continued to be inhabited, with no signs of disruption visible in archaeological studies. Archaeologist Avraham Faust suggests that between the deportations and executions caused by the Babylonians, plus the famines and epidemics that occurred during the war, the population of Judah may have been reduced to as little as 10% of what it had been in

4422-400: Was probably written to the commander at Lachish from an outlying base, describes how the signal fires from nearby towns were disappearing: "And may (my lord) be apprised that we are watching for the fire signals of Lachish according to all the signs which my lord has given, because we cannot see Azeqah." Archaeological finds from Jerusalem testify that virtually the whole city within the walls

4489-407: Was redacted during this time, and began to be regarded as the authoritative text for Jews. This period saw their transformation into an ethno-religious group who could survive without a central Temple. Israeli philosopher and Biblical scholar Yehezkel Kaufmann said "The exile is the watershed. With the exile, the religion of Israel comes to an end and Judaism begins." This process coincided with

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