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Babylon
Babylon Ancient city and kingdom in southern Mesopotamia. In the NT (1 Pet. 5: 13 and Rev. 18: 2 where ‘Babylon’ is an uncomplimentary reference to Rome) and in Christian spirituality (‘And Sion in her anguish with Babylon must cope’, from St Bernard's hymn ‘Brief life is here our portion’) Babylon is synonymous with a state or place of exile, of longing for release, even therefore of a kind of hope. The Exile of the Jews to Babylon after the capture of Jerusalem in 586 BCE dominates the Bible (cf. Ps. 137: 1; Isa. 14: 4), as Babylon itself dominated the Near East during her brief period of imperial expansion.
But there was a long history before, and after, that: King Hammurabi, who died in 1750 BCE, formulated his famous Law Code and there were other cultural achievements, including an interest in astronomy. In the 8th cent. BCE the kings of Assyria also ruled Babylonia (situated on the River Euphrates, and corresponding to modern southern Iraq) and when Hoshea the king of Israel joined Egypt against King Shalmaneser V of Assyria in 724 BCE, Samaria was besieged and captured in 722 BCE and some of the inhabitants (27,000 according to Assyrian claims) deported to Assyria after Shalmaneser's death by Sargon II (2 Kgs. 17: 6). In 626 the Babylonians (known also as Chaldeans) threw off the Assyrian yoke and, with the Medes, captured the Assyrian city Nineveh in 612. Babylonian triumphs continued up to the borders of Egypt, and during the conflict between Babylon and Egypt Jehoiakim, king of Judah, ignoring the advice of Jeremiah (Jer. 27: 9–11), supported Egypt and suffered the consequences when Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in 597 BCE. The young King Jehoiachin (Coniah in Jer. 22: 24), who had succeeded his father Jehoiakim, reigned only three months before the city was captured and the king and many leading citizens were taken into exile. Zedekiah was installed as governor of Jerusalem; but when he rebelled, Nebuchadnezzar returned to the city, destroyed the Temple, and deported most of the remaining population to exile in Babylon (586 BCE, 2 Kgs. 24: 10–25: 21). In Babylon, where there were magnificent buildings and roads, the famous Hanging Gardens, and a ziggurat to Marduk, the Jews eventually settled down with prayer and circumcision and engaged in trade and agriculture (Jer. 29: 7). Some of their number returned to Jerusalem by permission of Cyrus, the Persian conqueror of Babylon, in 538 BCE. Those who remained became increasingly independent of Palestinian Judaism. The Babylonian Talmud is testimony to the strength of Jewish religious and social life in the country of the Exile, and it is no surprise that when Jews in Palestine revolted in 66–70 CE and again under Bar-Kochba in 132–5 CE, they got no support from Babylon. |
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "Babylon." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "Babylon." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Babylon.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "Babylon." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Babylon.html |
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Babylon
Babylon , ancient city of Mesopotamia. One of the most important cities of the ancient Middle East, it was on the Euphrates River and was north of the cities that flourished in S Mesopotamia in the 3d millennium BC It became important when Hammurabi made it the capital of his kingdom of Babylonia . The patron god of Babylon, Marduk (identical with Bel), became a leading deity in the Neo-Babylonian pantheon. The city was destroyed (c.689 BC) by the Assyrians under Sennacherib , and its real spendor belongs to the later period of Babylonia after the city was rebuilt. The brilliant color and luxury of Babylon became legendary from the days of Nebuchadnezzar (d. 562 BC). The Hanging Gardens were one of the Seven Wonders of the World . The walls of Babylon, its palace, and the processional way with the famous Ishtar Gate were decorated with colorfully glazed brick. Among the Hebrews (who suffered the Babylonian captivity under Nebuchadnezzar) and the later Greeks the city was famed for its sensual living. Under the rule of Nabonidus the city was captured (538 BC) by Cyrus the Great and was used as one of the administrative capitals of the Persian Empire. In 275 BC its inhabitants were removed to Seleucia , which replaced Babylon as a commercial center. |
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"Babylon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Babylon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Babylon.html "Babylon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Babylon.html |
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Babylon
Babylon an ancient city in Mesopotamia, the capital of Babylonia in the 2nd millennium bc under Hammurabi. The city (of which only ruins now remain) lay on the Euphrates and was noted by Classical writers for its luxury, its fortifications, and its legendary Hanging Gardens. The name is also given in Revelation to the mystical city of the Apocalypse, and it is taken as the type of a great and decadent city. Babylon is also used (chiefly among Rastafarians) as a contemptuous or dismissive term for aspects of white culture seen as degenerate or oppressive, especially the police.
Babylonian Captivity the captivity of the Israelites in Babylon, lasting from their deportation by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 bc until their release by Cyrus the Great in 539 bc. It is taken as a type of grieving exile. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Babylon." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Babylon." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Babylon.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Babylon." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Babylon.html |
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Babylon
Babylon, Iraq, USA 1. Iraq: ruins called Bāb‐Ilān, ‘Gate of the Gods’, from the Akkadian bābu ‘gate’, and ilu, God'; called Aṭlāl Bābil in Arabic, and Babel or Bavel in Hebrew. It first became important as the capital of the Kingdom of Babylonia (southern Mesopotamia) in 1792 bc. It was the site of the Tower of Babel, mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 11: 1–9), the name of which is used to describe a confusing medley of voices or a hubbub. Babylon was also the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the fabled Hanging Gardens.2. USA (New York): founded in 1872 and named after the ancient Babylon.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Babylon." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Babylon." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Babylon.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Babylon." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Babylon.html |
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Babylon
Babylon Ancient city on the River Euphrates in Mesopotamia, capital of the empire Babylonia. It was rebuilt after being destroyed by Assyria c.689 bc, and its new buildings included the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This was the period, under Nebuchadnezzar, of the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews. Babylon declined after 275 bc, as Seleucia ascended.
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"Babylon." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Babylon." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Babylon.html "Babylon." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Babylon.html |
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Babylon
Babylon An ancient city in Mesopotamia, first prominent under Hammurabi who made it capital of the kingdom of BABYLONIA. The city (now in ruins) lay on the Euphrates 88 km (55 miles) south of present-day Baghdad and was noted for its luxury, its fortifications, and particularly for the ‘Hanging Gardens’, which were one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
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"Babylon." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Babylon." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-Babylon.html "Babylon." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-Babylon.html |
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Babylon
Babylon residential village (1990 pop. 12,249), Suffolk co., SE N.Y., on Long Island, on Great South Bay; settled 1689, inc. 1893. The first U.S. wireless station was built there by Marconi. |
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Cite this article
"Babylon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Babylon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-BabylnNY.html "Babylon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-BabylnNY.html |
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Babylon
Babylon
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Cite this article
"Babylon." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Babylon." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Babylon.html "Babylon." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Babylon.html |
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