Topical Bible: Babylon: Predictions Respecting: Captivity of the Jews By

◄ Babylon: Predictions Respecting: Captivity of the Jews By ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

Babylon, a significant city and empire in ancient Mesopotamia, plays a crucial role in biblical prophecy, particularly concerning the captivity of the Jews. The Babylonian captivity, a pivotal event in Jewish history, was foretold by several prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures. These prophecies highlight the sovereignty of God in using Babylon as an instrument of judgment against His people due to their persistent disobedience and idolatry.

Prophecies of Captivity

1. Isaiah's Prophecy: The prophet Isaiah, writing in the 8th century BC, foresaw the Babylonian captivity long before it occurred. In Isaiah 39:6-7 , he warns King Hezekiah, "Behold, the days are coming when everything in your house, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

2. Jeremiah's Warnings: Jeremiah, often called the "weeping prophet," delivered numerous warnings about the impending Babylonian invasion. In Jeremiah 25:11-12 , he declares, "This whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. But when the seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it a perpetual desolation."

3. Ezekiel's Visions: Ezekiel, a contemporary of Jeremiah, also prophesied about the captivity. In Ezekiel 12:13 , he states, "I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he will not see it, and there he will die." This prophecy specifically refers to King Zedekiah, who was captured and blinded before being taken to Babylon.

4. Habakkuk's Lament: The prophet Habakkuk, witnessing the rise of Babylon, questions God's use of a wicked nation to judge His people. In Habakkuk 1:6 , God responds, "For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans—that ruthless and impetuous nation that marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own."

Fulfillment of Prophecies

The prophecies concerning the Babylonian captivity were fulfilled in stages, beginning with the first deportation in 605 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar II took Daniel and other nobles to Babylon. The second deportation occurred in 597 BC, and the final destruction of Jerusalem and the temple happened in 586 BC, marking the complete fulfillment of the prophetic warnings.

Significance in Biblical Narrative

The Babylonian captivity serves as a profound lesson in the biblical narrative, emphasizing the consequences of disobedience and the faithfulness of God to His word. Despite the severity of the judgment, the prophecies also contained promises of restoration and hope, as seen in Jeremiah 29:10 : "For this is what the LORD says: 'When seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.'" This period of exile ultimately led to a renewed commitment to the covenant and the eventual return of the Jewish people to their homeland, as orchestrated by divine providence.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Jeremiah 20:4-6
For thus said the LORD, Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself, and to all your friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Jeremiah 22:20-26
Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up your voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all your lovers are destroyed.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Jeremiah 25:9-11
Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, said the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Micah 4:10
Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shall you go forth out of the city, and you shall dwell in the field, and you shall go even to Babylon; there shall you be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem you from the hand of your enemies.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The City of God. Index of Subjects.
... Babylon, the founding of, [173]312, etc.; meaning of ... 930]356; end of the captivity
of, "their ... what Peter says of, [955]437; predictions respecting, [956]441 ...
/.../augustine/on christian doctrine in four books /the city of god index.htm

In the Last Chapter we Confined Ourself to the Old Testament, in ...
... the same period and be silent respecting such an ... more fraught with difficulty than
the predictions concerning Babylon ... Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/in the last chapter we.htm

The Oracles of the Prophets must be Looked Into; and of their ...
... and after how many years their predictions were fulfilled ... many have written and
published books respecting the times ... besieged by the king of Babylon, and carried ...
/.../lactantius/the divine institutes/chap v the oracles of the.htm

The Later Hebrew Histories.
... led by Zerubbabel, carrying with them liberal free-will offerings of those who remained
in Babylon for the ... And respecting these predictions, if such they ...
/.../gladden/who wrote the bible/chapter vi the later hebrew.htm

The Greater Prophets.
... As the superscription is silent respecting any prophecies ... and the perpetual overthrow
of Babylon and the ... to witness the fulfilment of his predictions in their ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xxii the greater prophets.htm

The Jewish Institutions and Laws of Far Higher Antiquity than the ...
... other an Arcadian, who uttered many predictions to many. ... and Jacob gave many clear
utterances respecting future and ... And from the taking of Babylon to the death ...
/.../the stromata or miscellanies/chapter xxi the jewish institutions and.htm

The Hebrew Prophecies.
... Among these predictions, those in Isaiah 29:1 ... captives by the rivers of Babylon;
of Haggai ... upon several interesting critical inquiries respecting the component ...
/.../gladden/who wrote the bible/chapter v the hebrew prophecies.htm

That the Scriptures are Divinely Inspired.
... again, makes a similar revelation respecting Jerusalem, saying ... But with respect to
those predictions which are ... to be called either Egypt, or Babylon, or Tyre ...
/.../origen/origen de principiis/chapter i that the scriptures are.htm

Preached Before the Governor, and Council, and the House of ...
... him evangelical prophet, because his predictions, however they ... all the important
particulars respecting God's peculiar ... of their return from Babylon, and from ...
/.../selected sermons of george whitefield/preached before the governor and.htm

The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
... leaves; after their return from the captivity, the place ... not here before us any special
predictions, such as ... 2.regulations are laid down respecting the order in ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/the blessing of jacob upon.htm