After the House of David Over Judah

 Nadene Goldfoot                                           

                                         Babylonia

After King Zedekiah was captured and blinded by the Babylonians in 586 BCE (he was imprisoned in Babylon rather than killed), the Kingdom of Judah was completely dismantled and transformed into a Babylonian province. 

The prophet Jeremiah prophesies (625- BCE)  the downfall of Jerusalem to King Zedekiah(597-586 BCE)  (painting by Joseph Stallaert)  To the people, Baal was the principal God of the sky and of fertility, so very important in those days happening in the field and the womb. That's what they had adopted to believe in, along with the  Babylonians

Our prophet, Ezekiel  may have served in the Temple before it's destruction in (586 BCE).  He was exiled  to Tel Abib on the smaller river, Kebar in  Babylonia where he had to live for 22 years.  .  

The Burning of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar's Army by Juan de la Corte

Juan de la Corte (Spanish, 1580-1663), The Burning of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar's Army, 1630-60, oil on canvas, 66 x 112 cm (25.9 x 44.1 in), Fundación Banco Santander, Madrid, Spain (Photo by VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images) 

                  Destroying the Temple in Jerusalem 

Destruction of Jerusalem: The Babylonian army under Nebuchadnezzar II burned the city of Jerusalem, destroyed Solomon’s Temple, and tore down the city walls in 587/586 BCE or in my Jewish history records (597-586 BCE)  .

Appointment of Gedaliah ben Ahikam,: A  righteous governor  Nebuchadnezzar II appointed a Jewish man named Gedaliah as the military governor to rule over the remaining population from Mizpah.  Assassination of Gedaliah: After only two months, Gedaliah was assassinated by Ishmael, a member of the former royal house, along with his supporters.  

                Babylonians driving Judeans to Babylonia      

    Jeremiah, realizing he also is deported to Babylon  with others

Third Deportation and Flight:

Fearing Babylonian retaliation for Gedaliah’s murder, many remaining Judeans—along with the prophet Jeremiah—fled to Egypt, while a third wave of captives was deported to Babylon in 582 BCE.

                                                     

The Babylonian Exile: The sovereign Kingdom of Judah ceased to exist, beginning the decades-long Babylonian Exile until the rise of the Persian Empire.  The revolt continued, perhaps because there were rumours about political troubles in Babylon. In 589 BCE, the Babylonian armies again marched against the Kingdom of Judah and, after a long siege, took Jerusalem in 586 BCE.                                 

  Babylonia, land of Shinar or the Kasdim (Chaldees)

Nevertheless, the Kingdom of Judah disappeared from the map and the region of Judea (Yehud in Aramaic) was now a province of the Babylonian Empire. 

 Abraham had left his city of Ur on the Euphrates River  which ran North to Babylonia, that wild city full of Baal religionists who worshipped a Bull and believed in  human sacrificing.  He had wanted his descendants to have nothing to do with all this.  That's why he moved to Canaan.  

From Abraham's day, let's say in 1948 BCE he had hoped his move would have a good outcome of morally righteous people. That took place  3,974 or 4,000 years ago. 

Moses was born in 1391 BCE and started off at age 80 trying to share his awareness and connectivity to a moral life, so that was 1,311 + 2026= 3,339 years ago.  Did anyone succeed?  Look at us today.  Who is righteous and who has wronged us?  

The Persian Empire took over the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BCE.  (Like immediately).  It was lost in 586 BCE. 

• Battle of Opis: Persian forces defeated the Babylonian army in September 539 BCE.
Fall of Babylon: Persian troops entered the city of Babylon on October 12, 539 BCE, led by general Gubaru (Gobryas).
Cyrus's Entry: King Cyrus the Great entered the city later that month on October 29, 539 BCE, ending Babylonian independence and absorbing the region into the Achaemenid Empire.  



     The Persian king Cyrus the Great allowed the Jewish people to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem. This happened 47 to 50 years after losing their Babylonian homes and were  nudged to return to Jerusalem now.