Destruction of Solomon's Temple and the Jewish Exile
The destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE and the burning of Solomon's Temple mark one of the most traumatic events in Jewish history. The fall of the city was catastrophic: Solomon's Temple was burned along with the palace and most of the city's buildings. The Ark of the Covenant disappears from historical record at this point. King Zedekiah attempted to flee but was captured near Jericho. The population deported in 586 BCE was larger and more comprehensive than that of 597 BCE. The Judean state ceased to exist as a political entity. Yet the exile was paradoxically one of the most creatively productive periods in Jewish religious history. Deprived of the Temple, Jewish thinkers radically rethought the relationship between God and people. The concept of a universal God became central to Jewish theology. When Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BCE and permitted the Jews to return, some chose to return to Judah. But a large Jewish community remained in Babylon for centuries, eventually producing the Babylonian Talmud.
- Year: 586 BCE
- Category: Religious
