by Yosef Eisen

Benefits of Babylonian Exile

This exile, although very traumatic, nevertheless had a great benefit to the Jewish people. There were no more corrupt kings or nobility–in Babylon the Torah scholars had complete authority. Moreover, the Babylonians were not anti-Semites per se; while they only wanted to destroy Judah as an independent political power, they harbored no ill feelings toward the Jewish religion. As such, Jews were given their own cities, where earlier exiled Jews welcomed them warmly. The Talmud tells us that G_d chose Babylon as the place of exile for several reasons: Aramaic, the language of Babylon, was very similar to Hebrew. Abraham was born in Babylon, so the Jews were not regarded as foreigners. And it was easy to make a living from the abundant date trees. All told, then, life was pleasant for the Jews once they reached Babylon.

The Jews in Babylon

Despite the relative ease of their exile, the Jews reacted in vastly different ways. Some of them, traumatized by the shock of heathens conquering Jerusalem, an occurrence they had previously deemed impossible, despaired of a future redemption, saying that G_d had severed His relationship with the Jewish people. Others settled down comfortably and planned to assimilate. Accordingly, the prophet Ezekiel addressed both of these concerns. To the first group, he shared his prophetic visions of the Heavenly Chariot and the Third Eternal Temple, telling them that G_d did not forsake them. He also revived the dry bones in the Valley of Dura, symbolizing the rejuvenation of the Jewish people. To the second group, he burst out with fiery denunciations, saying that G_d will never allow the Jewish people to assimilate. Nevertheless, many Jews did assimilate. Some Jews even rose to prominence at Nebuchadnezzar’s court. Daniel was appointed governor over the realm, while Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah also attained high positions in the government.

The Fiery Furnace

King Nebuchadnezzar set up a giant statue and ordered each captive nation to send representatives. When his band struck up a tune, everyone was supposed to bow to the statue; those that refused would be tossed into a fiery furnace. Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, the Jewish delegates, consulted the prophet Ezekiel as to the proper course of action. Since the statue was not erected for idolatrous purposes, but only to honor the king, it would seem that Jewish law permitted bowing to it. The three Jews decided, however, that they would demonstrate that only G_d possesses unlimited power. Their plan was to refuse to prostrate themselves before the statue, thereby defying Nebuchadnezzar publicly. Ezekiel, however, knowing that the punishment for such actions was death, instructed the three not to be present at the ceremony. If they went, he said, they should not expect G_d to save them miraculously. Nevertheless, the three appeared, and when they proudly stood tall as everyone else bowed down, they were cast into the furnace. A spectacular miracle occurred, witnessed by the multitudes: the three walked out of the furnace without even being singed! After witnessing this great Kiddush HaShem, the nations of the world gained a new respect for G_d and the Jewish people.

Evil Merodach

After a reign of 45 years Nebuchadnezzar died and was succeeded by his son Evil Merodach. This king treated the Jews favorably and released the former Judaic king Jehoiachin from prison. Subsequently Jeconiah bore children in Babylon, thereby preserving the Davidic line and uplifting the spirits of the exiled Jewish people, who realized that this venerable house had not been destroyed by the exile. Hundreds of years later, there were still individuals who could trace their ancestry to this royal family.

Jeremiah’s 70-Year Prophecy

Jeremiah foretold that the Jewish people would be redeemed from their Babylonian exile after 70 years. “For thus said G_d: ‘When 70 years are completed for Babylon, I shall remember you… to return you to this place’” (Jeremiah 29:10). Jeremiah did not clarify, however, how these 70 years were to be calculated. The gentile kings who dominated the Jews awaited the fulfillment of this prophecy with great trepidation. Although these kings were all idolaters, they realized that Jeremiah was a prophet of the supreme G_d and that his words would indubitably come true. At the time, there were three possibilities as to when the 70 years began, but only one interpretation was correct. Two monarchs calculated the starting point erroneously and brought disaster upon themselves.

The Handwriting on the Wall

Evil Merodach ruled 23 years, then his son Belshazzar assumed the throne in the year 3386. In 3389, the third year of his reign, he realized that 70 years had elapsed since Nebuchadnezzar’s domination of the Jewish people in 3319. …

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