The Babylonian captivity: Biblical narrative and archeology in search of historical truth
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51216/2687-072X_2025_4_133-150Keywords:
Old Testament, Babylon, Babylonian captivity, exile, Al-Yahud, prophet Jeremiah, priest Ezra, Nehemiah, mixed marriages.Abstract
This study examines the relationship between the biblical narrative of the Babylonian captivity (based on the letter of the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:4-23)) and recent archaeological data. The primary focus is on examining the extent to which cuneiform sources, which contain historical data, complement or clarify the content of the sacred text.
The relevance of this work stems from the recent discovery and publication of documents from Al-Yahudu, a settlement founded for Jewish captives during the Babylonian captivity. These materials significantly expand existing knowledge on this historical period and open up new possibilities for interpreting the corresponding sacred text. Despite the significant progress achieved in the study of Mesopotamia in the sixth century BCE thanks to these discoveries, foreign researchers focus primarily on the socioeconomic analysis of cuneiform materials. Within this approach, the biblical narrative is often viewed as a secondary source or even completely rejected as inconsistent with historical reality. At the same time, the methodological experience of Russian biblical studies, which involves textual and exegetical analysis of Holy Scripture in light of cuneiform evidence, is underrepresented in contemporary scholarly discussion.
In the context of this problem, the author of this study compared the biblical text of the prophet Jeremiah, as well as selected fragments from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, with the documents of Al-Yahud. The following conclusion was reached: Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions allow us not only to clarify the historical biblical context but also to reveal certain aspects of the religious and social life of the Jewish community in Babylon. Particular attention is paid to identifying fragments of the Book of Jeremiah that reflect the authentic realities of the exile, and are not, as some critics believe, later theological interpretations. The following methods were used in the study: narrative, historical-comparative, and also method of historical reconstruction.
For citation: Konov D. N., priest The Babylonian captivity: Biblical narrative and archeology in search of historical truth. DOI: https://doi.org/10.51216/2687-072X_2025_4_133-150. EDN: UYHEOC // Theological Collection of Tambov Theological Seminary. 2025, no. 4 (33), pp. 133-150. (In Russian).
Received 02 June 2025.
Accepted for press 09 October 2025.
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7. Cunningham Marshall A. Isaiah 40:1-2: Reading Royal Commission as a Call for Return Migration in the Early Persian Period. The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, 2019, vol. 19(6), 34 p. (In English).
8. Delorme Jean-Philippe. ТЛ in Ezekiel: Identity Construction and the Exilic Period. Journal of Biblical Literature, 2019, vol. 138(1), 20 p. (In English).
9. Granerad Gard. Canon and Archive: Yahwism in Elephantine and Al-Yahudu as a Challenge to the Canonical History of Judean Religion in the Persian Period. Journal of Biblical Literatur, 2019, vol. 138(2), 19 p. (In English).
10. Kratz Reinhard G. “Fossile Uberreste des unreformierten Judentums in fernem Lande?”: Das Judentum in den Archiven von Elephantine und Al-Yahudu. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ZAW-2020-0001 Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. 2020, vol. 132(1), pp. 23-39. (In German).
11. Levavi Yuval A peculiar taxation practice of Judean exiles in rural Babylonia and its possible connection to building activity in the late sixth century Judah. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/abstractairanica.51757 Berlejung A., Maeir A. M. Research on Israel and Aram: Autonomy, Interdependence and Related Issues, Tubingen, Mohr Siebeck Publ.. 2019, pp. 395-407. (In English).
12. Liebermann Rosanne. Exile, Incorporated: The Body in the Book of Ezekiel. New York, Oxford Academic Publ., 2024, 240 p. (In English).
13. McKane W. Commentary on Jeremiah XXVI-LII. A critical and exegetical commentary on Jeremiah, Edinburgh, T&T. Clark Publ., 1985, vol. 2, pp. 727-748. (In English).
14. Pearce L., Wunsch C., Sofer D. Documents of Judean exiles and West Semites in Babylonia in the collection of David Sofer. Cornell University Studies in Assyriology and Sumerology (CUSAS), Bethesda, Maryland, CDL Press Publ., 2014, vol. 28, 322 p. (In English).
15. Pedrosa Douglas De Souza Novos olhares para o exilio babilonico: uma intertextualidade entre Jr 29, 5-7 e os tabletes de Al-Yahudu. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54260/EB.V39I147.969 Estudos Biblicos, Sao Paulo, 2023, vol. 39 (147), pp. 7-24. (In Spanish).
16. Rede Marcelo Al-Yahudu: os arquivos do exilio babilonico. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17851/1982-3053.13.25.104-120 Arquivo Maaravi: Revista Digital De Estudos Judaicos Da UFMG, 2019, vol. 13 (25), pp. 104-120. (In Spanish).
17. Weidner E. F. Jojachin, Konig von Juda, in Babylonischen Keils-chrifttexten. Paris, Melanges syriens offerts a monsieur R. Dussaud, 1939, vol. 2, pp. 923-935. (In German).
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