Babylonian Exile

When the Kingdom of Judah, an ancient Israelite nation, was conquered by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, many of its inhabitants were forcibly relocated to Babylon. In 597 BC, King Jehoiachin of Judah surrendered to the Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II and was taken to Babylon along with several thousand nobles, clergy, and middle-class citizens. Judah remained a semi-independent state, and the throne was succeeded by Zedekiah, but he was influenced by the anti-Babylonian faction and joined the rebellion, so Nebuchadnezzar II again plundered Jerusalem, burned the buildings, removed the fortifications, and took most of the inhabitants captive (586 BC). Zedekiah tried to escape, but was captured in Jericho, where his entire family was massacred before his eyes, and he himself was blinded, put in stocks, and taken to Babylon (Old Testament, Book of Kings). Later, they were allowed to return home by the Edict of National Emancipation issued in 538 BCE by King Cyrus II of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, who had destroyed the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The Babylonian Captivity was a great national hardship for the Israelites, but the mental hardships they endured during this time actually strengthened the unity of the people and became the beginning of the purification of their faith. It is also significant as the period in which the books of law, history, prophecy, and poetry of the Old Testament, which had been written before, were compiled. After returning from Babylon, they were unable to establish a nation, but a Jewish religious organization was established centered around the temple they rebuilt in Jerusalem, and they came to be called Jews.

[Ryuichi Urushibara]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

古代イスラエル民族のユダ王国が新バビロニア王国によって征服された際、多くの住民がバビロンへ強制移住させられた事件。紀元前597年、新バビロニアの王ネブカドネザル2世の攻撃を受けたユダ王エホヤキンは降伏し、数千人の貴族、聖職者および中産階級の国民とともにバビロンに連行された。その後、ユダは半独立国の地位にとどまり、王位はゼデキアに継承されたが、彼が反バビロニア派に動かされ、反乱に加担したため、ネブカドネザル2世はふたたびエルサレムを略奪し、建物を焼き、砦(とりで)を撤去し、住民の大部分を捕囚の身とした（前586）。逃亡を図ったゼデキアはエリコで捕らえられ、目の前で家族全員が虐殺され、自らは盲人とされ、足械(あしかせ)をかけられてバビロンへ連行されたという（『旧約聖書』列王紀）。その後、新バビロニアを滅ぼしたアケメネス朝ペルシアの王キロス2世が前538年に発した「民族解放令」によって帰還を許された。バビロン捕囚はイスラエル人にとって大きな民族的苦難であったが、この間の精神的労苦はかえって民族の一致を強め、信仰を純化する端緒となった。また、それ以前に書かれてきた『旧約聖書』の律法書、歴史書、預言書、詩などが集成された時期としても重要な意義をもっている。バビロンから帰還後、国家建設はならなかったが、エルサレムに再建した神殿を中心としたユダヤ教団が成立し、彼らはユダヤ人とよばれるようになった。

［漆原隆一］

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