Editing Expulsions and exoduses of Jews (section)

=== Babylonian captivity ===
{{Main|Babylonian captivity}}
;597 BCE: In 598 BCE, [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] of the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] [[Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC)|besieged Jerusalem]], then capital of the southern [[Kingdom of Judah]]. The city fell after a three-month siege, and the new king [[Jeconiah]], who was either 8 or 18, his court and other prominent citizens (including the prophet [[Ezekiel]]) and craftsmen, were [[Babylonian captivity|deported to Babylon]].<ref>''The Oxford History of the Biblical World'', ed. by Michael D Coogan. Published by Oxford University Press, 1999. pg 350</ref> Jehoiakim's uncle [[Zedekiah]] was appointed king in his place.

; 587/6 BCE: When Zedekiah revolted against Babylonian rule, Nebuchadnezzar responded by invading Judah ({{bibleverse|2|Kings|25:1|HE}}). In December 589 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar began [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|another siege of Jerusalem]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Knight |first=Doug and Amy-Jill Levine |title=The Meaning of the Bible |publisher=HarperOne |year=2011 |isbn=9780062067739 |location=New York City |pages=31}}</ref> During the siege, many Jews fled to surrounding [[Moab]], [[Ammon]], [[Edom]] and other countries to seek refuge.<ref>{{bibleverse||Jeremiah|40:11–12|HE}}</ref> The city eventually fell after a thirty-month siege, and the Babylonian general [[Nebuzaradan]] was sent to complete its destruction.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Malamat |first1=Abraham |year=1968 |title=The Last Kings of Judah and the Fall of Jerusalem: An Historical – Chronological Study |journal=Israel Exploration Journal |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=137–156 |jstor=27925138 |quote=The discrepancy between the length of the siege according to the regnal years of Zedekiah (years 9–11), on the one hand, and its length according to Jehoiachin's exile (years 9–12), on the other, can be cancelled out only by supposing the former to have been reckoned on a Tishri basis, and the latter on a Nisan basis. The difference of one year between the two is accounted for by the fact that the termination of the siege fell in the summer, between Nisan and Tishri, already in the 12th year according to the reckoning in Ezekiel, but still in Zedekiah's 11th year which was to end only in Tishri.}}</ref> The city was plundered, and [[Solomon's Temple]] was destroyed. Most of the members of the elite class were taken into captivity in Babylon. The city was razed. Only a few people were permitted to remain and tend to the land ({{bibleverse||Jeremiah|52:16|HE}}).: In 537 BCE [[Cyrus the Great]], the founding king of the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Persian Empire]], allowed the Jews to [[Return to Zion|return to Judah]] and [[Second Temple|rebuild the Temple]].<ref name="Coogan">{{cite book |last1=Coogan |first1=Michael |title=A brief introduction to the old testament |date=2009 |location=Oxford}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Jonathan Stökl, Caroline Waerzegger |title=Exile and Return: The Babylonian Context |date=2015 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co |pages=7–11, 30, 226}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia Judaica |edition=2nd |volume=3 |page=27}}</ref>[[File:The_art_Bible,_comprising_the_Old_and_new_Testaments_-_with_numerous_illustrations_(1896)_(14783032815).jpg|thumb|Fall of Jerusalem; Solomon's Temple is on fire]]