Editing History of Israel (section)

====First revolt, 597 defeat====
During the late 7th century BCE, Judah became a [[vassal state]] of the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]]. In 601 BCE, [[Jehoiakim]] of Judah allied with Babylon's principal rival, Egypt, despite the strong remonstrances of the prophet [[Jeremiah]].<ref name="Bickerman-2007">{{Cite book |last=Bickerman |first=E. J. |url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789047420729/Bej.9789004152946.i-1242_044.xml |title=Nebuchadnezzar And Jerusalem |publisher=Brill |year=2007 |isbn=978-90-474-2072-9 |language=en |archive-date=29 September 2022 |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929010536/https://brill.com/view/book/9789047420729/Bej.9789004152946.i-1242_044.xml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Malamat, A. (1975, January). The twilight of Judah: in the Egyptian-Babylonian maelstrom. In ''Congress Volume Edinburgh 1974'' (pp. 123–145). Brill.</ref> As a punishment, the Babylonians [[Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC)|besieged Jerusalem]] in 597 BCE, and the city surrendered.<ref name="Bickerman-2007" /><ref>Geoffrey Wigoder, ''The Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible'' Pub. by Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. (2006)</ref> The defeat was [[Babylonian Chronicles|recorded by the Babylonians]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Cuneiform tablet with part of the Babylonian Chronicle (605-594 BC) |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cuneiform_nebuchadnezzar_ii.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030154541/https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cuneiform_nebuchadnezzar_ii.aspx |archive-date=30 October 2014 |access-date=30 October 2014 |website=[[British Museum]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II |url=https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc5/jerusalem.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505195611/https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc5/jerusalem.html |archive-date=5 May 2019 |access-date=20 January 2019 |website=www.livius.org}}</ref> Nebuchadnezzar pillaged Jerusalem and deported king Jechoiachin ([[Jeconiah]]), along with other prominent citizens, to Babylon; [[Zedekiah]], his uncle, was installed as king.<ref name="Bickerman-2007" /><ref>''The Oxford History of the Biblical World'', ed. by Michael D Coogan. Published by Oxford University Press, 1999. p. 350</ref>

A few years later, Zedekiah launched another revolt against Babylon, and an army was sent to conquer Jerusalem.<ref name="Bickerman-2007" />