To avoid the destruction of Jerusalem, King
Jehoiakim of Judah, in his third year, changed his allegiance from Egypt to Babylon. He paid tribute from the treasury in Jerusalem, and Nebuchadnezzar took some temple artifacts and some of the royal family and nobility as hostages. In 601 BC, during the fourth year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar unsuccessfully attempted to invade
Egypt and was repulsed with heavy losses. The failure led to numerous rebellions among the states of the
Levant which owed allegiance to Babylon, including
Judah, where King Jehoiakim stopped paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar and took a pro-Egyptian position. Nebuchadnezzar soon dealt with these rebellions. According to the
Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle, he laid siege to
Jerusalem, which eventually fell in 597 BC. The Chronicle states: In the seventh year [of Nebuchadnezzar, 598 BC] in the month Chislev [November/December] the king of Babylon assembled his army, and after he had invaded the land of Hatti (Syria/Palestine) he laid siege to the city of Judah. On the second day of the month of Adar [16 March] he conquered the city and took the king [Jeconiah] prisoner. He installed in his place a king [Zedekiah] of his own choice, and after he had received rich tribute, he sent forth to Babylon. Jehoiakim is thought to have died during the siege, possibly on December 10, 598 BC, or during the months of
Kislev, or
Tevet. Nebuchadnezzar pillaged the city and its
Temple, and the new king
Jeconiah, who was either 8 or 18, and his court and other prominent citizens and craftsmen, were
deported to Babylon. The deportation occurred prior to Nisan of 597 BC, and dates in the
Book of Ezekiel are counted from that event. Nebuchadnezzar installed Jeconiah's uncle,
Zedekiah as puppet-king of Judah, and Jeconiah was compelled to remain in Babylon. The start of Zedekiah's reign has been variously dated within a few weeks before, or after the start of Nisan 597 BC. The
Book of Kings (written in the 7th and 6th centuries BC) records that 10,000 people were exiled during this time, also adding 7,000 craftsmen and 1,000 "smiths", bringing the total to 18,000. Comparatively, the Book of Jeremiah mentions 3,023 people taken into captivity. Some scholars have argued whether this number includes only men. If this is true, perhaps as many as 15,000 to 30,000 Judeans were exiled. ==References==