Behind | Babylonian Invasion

As mentioned in Lesson 2, there are two major events that consumed Syria-Palestine during the period of the two kingdoms. We have looked at the Assyrian invasion, which brought the North into captivity. Now it’s time to look at the Babylonian invasion. 

While the Assyrian invasion came in waves, the Babylonian presence essentially came all at once. When Babylon overran the Assyrian Empire, they effectively inherited its territory. The promised land became Babylonian territory overnight, with the exception of Judah, one of the few holdouts of the “mice” in the region. 

Babylonian emperors Nabonidus and Nebuchadnezzar exerted serious effort to consolidate power and ensure that revolts would not arise. Getting Jerusalem under control was, therefore, a priority. The two sieges of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (597 and 586 BC) are to be understood in this context.  

The following map visualizes the important events by focusing on five locations: Samaria, Lachish, Jerusalem, Ashkelon and Megiddo. 

Just as the Assyrian invasion had tremendous implications for the prophetic books, so too did the Babylonian invasion. In both cases, YHWH directly supervises the outsider’s aggression as a form of discipline. He even refers to Nebuchadnezzar as “my servant” (Jeremiah 27:6; 43:10).