Captivity
Summary
The forced exile and deportation of the Israelites to Assyria (722 BC) and the Jews of Judah to Babylon (586 BC), with subsequent returns permitted under Persian rule.
☩Assyrian Captivity of Israel
The northern kingdom of Israel was conquered and deported in stages by Assyrian kings. Tiglath-Pileser III carried away the trans-Jordanic tribes and inhabitants of Galilee around 738 BC (2 Kings 15:29). Shalmaneser IV besieged Samaria, and his successor Sargon completed its capture in 722 BC, deporting the remaining population to Halah, Habor, the river of Gozan, and the cities of the Medes (2 Kings 17:6). The Assyrians repopulated Samaria with colonists from Babylon, Cuthah, and other regions, creating the mixed population later known as Samaritans.
☩Babylonian Captivity of Judah
Judah's captivity occurred in multiple deportations. Nebuchadnezzar first carried away captives including Daniel in 606 BC. A major deportation followed in 597 BC when King Jehoiachin, his princes, and the skilled craftsmen were taken (2 Kings 24:14-16). The final destruction of Jerusalem and the temple occurred in 586 BC under Zedekiah, with a third deportation following. Jeremiah had prophesied that the captivity would last seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11-12).
☩Condition of the Exiles
The captives were treated as colonists rather than slaves. They retained internal jurisdiction over their own members, with elders governing community affairs. Some rose to positions of prominence, including Daniel in Babylon and Nehemiah in Persia. Jeremiah counseled the exiles to settle, build houses, plant gardens, and seek the welfare of their cities of exile (Jeremiah 29:5-7). During this period, synagogues for prayer and Torah reading emerged, transforming Jewish religious life permanently.
☩The Return from Exile
Cyrus the Persian, who conquered Babylon in 539 BC, issued a decree in 538 BC permitting Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple (Ezra 1:1-4). The first return under Zerubbabel brought approximately 42,360 people (Ezra 2:64). Further returns occurred under Ezra (458 BC) and Nehemiah (445 BC). The temple was completed in 515 BC, seventy years after its destruction. Many Jews, however, remained in the lands of dispersion, maintaining their faith while spreading throughout the ancient world.
Related Verses141 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Captivity," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. II (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Captivity," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Captivity," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).