Was Israel freed after Babylonian rule?

Answer 1

The Babylonian captivityis the period in Jewish history during which a number of Judahites of the ancientKingdom 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 KingJeconiah, 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.

Answer 2

Not completely. The Jews themselves were granted freedom by Cyrus, but Israel (Judea) itself continued to exist under the hegemony of Persia, then Greece (Seleucids and Ptolemies), and then Rome, other than one period of independence when the Jewish Hasmoneans were in complete power. See also:

Timeline

Answer 3

If we respect the historic difference between Israel, the northern kingdom, and Judah in the south, then Israel was certainly not freed. Israel had been destroyed by the Assyrians and replaced by the Assyrian province of Samaria. In the absence of an Israelite kingdom, the leaders of the Jews began to refer to Judah synonymously with Israel, but their neighbours continued to maintain the distinction, at least until the Common Era.

After the Babylonian rule, Judah came under Persian rule, followed by Hellenic (Greek) and then, following a brief period of independence under the Hasmoneans, Roman rule.

Answer 4

King Cyrus of Persia (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).

Answer 5

Cyrus The Great

Answer 6

Persians