Sárospataki Füzetek 18. (2014)
2014 / 1. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Jacob J. T. Doedens: The Return of YHWH and the End of the Exile
Jacob J.T. Doedens king and of the temple.25 Together with the royal family, soldiers and craftsmen were also deported to Babylonia. The Old Testament gives different accounts of the number of the deported: 2 Kgs 24:14 mentions 10,000 persons: “all Jerusalem, all the princes, all the mighty man of valour” and an uncounted number of craftsmen and smiths, only “the poorest people of the land” (fiKrvDU nhi) remained. At the same time, 2 Kgs 24:16 relates that 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 craftsmen and smiths were brought captive to Babylon. However, Jer 52:28 mentions that 3,023 persons were taken captive in this first deportation. Nebuchadnezzar appoints Zedekiah as king over Jerusalem. After some years, Zedekiah apparently sees political possibilities in an anti-Babylonian coalition with Egypt to free himself from being a vassal of Babylon.26 However, he bet on the wrong horse; after a long siege, Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem, burns down the temple, the royal palace and other significant houses, and takes most of the inhabitants in exile to Babylon. Over the remainder of the people in Judah, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as governor. For this deportation 2 Kgs 25:11-12 records no numbers, it is only told that the captain of the guard left some of the “poorest of the land” (f "ixn nhn)27 to be “vinedressers and ploughman”.28 Jeremiah 52:29 relates that in this second deportation of 587/58629 bce 832 persons were taken into exile. Apart from this, Jeremiah mentions also a deportation five years later (582/581 bce) in which 745 persons are taken into exile by ‘the captain of the guard’, Nebuzaradan (Jer 52:30).3° It appears difficult to assess the data:31 the numbers in Jeremiah seem to be more exact, but are also more moderate, unless in the numbers in Jer 52 only men are counted. Multiplied by an average family-size, this would result in a figure of 15,000-30,000 for the first deportation of 597 bce32 and a number of 4,000-8,000 deportees after the fall of Jerusalem in 587/586. But even without such an addition to the numbers given by Jer 52, taking for the first deportation (597) the higher number mentioned in 2 Kgs 24:14.16, it is obvious that, at that time, not the whole population was taken into exile. With regard to the second deportation (587/586), Jer 52:29 mentions a smaller number than for the first deportation. After both deportations, it is mentioned that the “poorest of the land” remained. Even if 25 See 2 Kgs 24:12-13. Especially the taking away of the temple-treasures appears to have made a deep impression on the people of Jerusalem, see Jer 28:1-6. 26 Cf. Ackroyd, Exile and Restoration, 18. 27 See also Jer 40:7. 28 See also Jer 39:10; 40:10. 29 The date of the second deportation is still discussed, for a brief overview, see Albertz, Israel in Exile, 78-81. 30 It has been suggested that this deportation was a retaliation for the murder of Gedaliah, who was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar as governor of Judah, cf. Richard J. Sklba,'"Until the Spirit form on High Is Poured out on Us" (Isa 32:15): Reflections on the Role of the Spirit in the Exile," CBQ 46 (1984): 7. 31 For an overview, see Albertz, Israel in Exile, 84-85. 32 Cf. Smith-Christopher, "Impact of the Babylonian Exile," 15. 32 Sárospataki Füzetek 17. évfolyam I 2014 I 1
