The
Babylonian captivity or
Babylonian exile is the period in
Jewish history during which a number of Judahites of the ancient
Kingdom of Judah were captives in
Babylonia. After the
Battle of Carchemish in 605 BCE,
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, besieged
Jerusalem, resulting in tribute being paid by King
Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim refused to pay tribute in Nebuchadnezzar's fourth year, which led to another siege in Nebuchadnezzar's seventh year, culminating with the death of Jehoiakim and the exile of King
Jeconiah, his court and many others; Jeconiah's successor
Zedekiah and others were exiled in Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year; a later deportation occurred in Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year. The dates, numbers of deportations, and numbers of deportees given in the biblical accounts vary. These deportations are dated to 597 BCE for the first, with others dated at 587/586 BCE, and 582/581 BCE respectively.