Babylonian Exile Analysis

Introduction:

The Babylonian exile is arguable one of the most important stories of the Old Testament, as it sees prophecies from God, predicted through numerous prophets become that of a reality for the Jewish people. The exile itself saw the people of the Kingdom of Judah displaced from their land over many years and in numerous waves. They were in turn encaptivated in Babylonia, where they remained for seventy years. The following assignment will explore this integrally part of Jewish history in depth. It will respond to the following question – “Analyse critically the extent and consequences of the Babylonian exile.” – and will do so by giving a brief history on the Babylonian Empire, before looking at both the extent and consequences such

These figures being considerably larger then that stated in Jeremiah. As mentioned above some dispute the extent of the Babylonian exile completely for example CC Torrey rejects the significance of the exile, as he believes it was exaggerated stating “exile was small, insignificant event; accounts of Babylonian captivity are exaggerated”. Though if one was to highlight a counterpart argument it would be one presented by W.F. Albright as they state: “exile was large and traumatic, wreaked havoc on Judah; Judah and Jerusalem virtually bare; culture ceased to

This had dire consequences on the Jewish people that remained in Judah, as well as future generations living in Babylon, as their culture and traditions could not be passed on to its former standard. Those who were deported were deemed to be separated from their culture. It is in ‘Israel and Empire: A Postcolonial History of Israel and Early Judaism’ written by Leo G. Perdue and Warren Carte that it states: “One of the most challenging difficulties facing the exiles, then, was continuing enculturation of the emerging generations in native beliefs and customs”. This statement highlights the impact such an exile had, as the culture of Judah began to merge with that of the culture of Babylonia. This loss of tradition and culture can be linked with the loss of identity. Holding onto the Judah identity can be deemed a difficult task as they did not have a temple or the necessary items to continue their religious rituals. However, if one was to explore this matter in greater depth it is also suggested that the Jewish people were not necessarily cut off from their culture, but simply influenced by “outside sources” and this in turn impacted on the traditions and culture of the people of Judah, leading to an evolution of