Editing History of Israel (section)

====Second revolt, 587/86 defeat====
[[File:מסע גולי בבל.jpg|thumb|The route of the exiles to [[Babylon]]]]

In 587 or 586 BCE, King [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] of Babylon [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|conquered Jerusalem]], destroyed the First Temple and razed the city.<ref name="Bickerman-2007" /><ref name="Lipschits-1999">{{Cite journal |last=Lipschits |first=Oded |date=1999 |title=The History of the Benjamin Region under Babylonian Rule |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/tav.1999.1999.2.155 |journal=Tel Aviv |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=155–190 |doi=10.1179/tav.1999.1999.2.155 |issn=0334-4355 |quote=The destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (586 B.C.E.) is the most traumatic event described in biblical historiography, and in its shadow the history of the people of Israel was reshaped. The harsh impression of the destruction left its mark on the prophetic literature also, and particular force is retained in the laments over the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in its midst. [...] most of Judah's inhabitants remained there after the destruction of Jerusalem. They concentrated chiefly in the Benjamin region and the northern Judean hill country. This area was hardly affected by the destruction, and became the centre of the Babylonian province with its capital at Mizpah. [...] The archaeological data reinforce the biblical account, and they indicate that Jerusalem and its close environs suffered a severe blow. Most of the small settlements near the city were destroyed, the city wall was demolished, and the buildings within were put to the torch. Excavation and survey data show that the western border of the kingdom also sustained a grave onslaught, seemingly at the time when the Babylonians went to besiege Jerusalem. |archive-date=29 January 2023 |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129114640/https://dx.doi.org/10.1179%2Ftav.1999.1999.2.155 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Finkelstein-2002">{{Cite book |last1=Finkelstein |first1=Israel |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44509358 |title=The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts |last2=Silberman |first2=Neil Asher |publisher=Free Press |year=2002 |isbn=0-684-86912-8 |location=New York |pages=307 |oclc=44509358 |quote=Intensive excavations throughout Jerusalem have shown that the city was indeed systematically destroyed by the Babylonians. The conflagration seems to have been general. When activity on the ridge of the City of David resumed in the Persian period, the-new suburbs on the western hill that had flourished since at least the time of Hezekiah were not reoccupied. |archive-date=26 March 2023 |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326034659/https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44509358 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Kingdom of Judah was abolished, and many of its citizens were [[Babylonian captivity|exiled to Babylon]]. The former territory of Judah became a Babylonian province called [[Yehud (Babylonian province)|Yehud]] with its center in [[Mizpah in Benjamin|Mizpah]], north of the destroyed Jerusalem.<ref name="Lipschits-1999" />