Jeremiah's world

Judah, too weak to stop settlers

In 597 BC, Judah was a broken kingdom, reeling from Babylon’s first major invasion. Judah's King Jehoiachin had surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar, and thousands of Judah’s leaders—including craftsmen, soldiers, and officials—were exiled to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar placed Zedekiah on the throne as a puppet king, but Judah’s independence was effectively lost.

The Babylonians had devastated Judah’s military, leaving the land vulnerable to its neighbors. To the south, Edomites seized the opportunity to expand into weakened Judah, occupying its southern lands, which later became known as Idumea. The prophet Jeremiah condemned Edom’s betrayal, since the Edomites had once been Judah’s kin through Esau.

Neighbors under Babylon’s thumb

To the west, Ashdod, a remnant of Philistia, remained under Babylonian control after suffering previous conquests. North along the Mediterranean, Dor was a coastal city that had historically been controlled by Phoenicians and Israelites at different times. Further inland, Samaria, the former capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, had long been under Assyrian and now Babylonian dominance.

To the northeast, Gilead—once a stronghold of Israelite tribes—was fragmented and under foreign influence. Also east of the Jordan River, the kingdoms of Ammon and Moab remained semi-independent but were also under Babylon’s shadow. Ammon had aligned itself with Babylon at times, while Moab’s fate was uncertain, as prophets like Jeremiah warned of its downfall.

Judah’s position in 597 BC was dire. Its enemies circled, its people suffered, and its prophets, including Jeremiah, warned that worse was yet to come.

Jerusalem fell in 586 BC, burned and leveled, just as other cities of Judah. Babylonian invaders deported the Jewish survivors, exiling them to what is now Iraq.