Translated, that meant that the kingdom of Judea was effectively finished as an independent country. The Judean people could stay on the land, manage their affairs and keep the Temple running, but they had to pay taxes, swear allegiance to the king of Babylon and, worst of all, do whatever the Babylonians said when it came to foreign policy.
Nevertheless, the agreement did allow for the retention of the Temple and the continuation of Jewish life in Jerusalem and Judea. Zedekiah not only accepted his terms, albeit under duress, but took a vow not to rebel.
He even had him take the vow in the Temple holding a corner of the altar or, according to another opinion, holding a Torah scroll. It did take long, however, for Zedekiah to rebel. The Talmud explains that Zedekiah consulted with the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of Jewish sages, and found a legal loophole to break his vow. Later, Nebuchadnezzar would find out about it and take his revenge on the Sanhedrin. The prophet Jeremiah was vehemently against these machinations.
However, he was virtually powerless. Zedekiah had freed him from the dungeon that Jehoiakim had placed him in. This was an especially righteous act because he knew that Jeremiah was not about to stay quiet. He was going tell king and countryman alike that the end was imminent.
It took great courage to free him, but the righteous Zedekiah did so. Even if the end was inevitable they should not rebel. In truth, Jeremiah, as well as the people, knew that prophecies portending evil were never final.
The general rule with prophecies of a negative nature is that they can be retracted by the sincerest of repentance. Only prophecies for good are irreversible. Consequently, even until the very end Jeremiah held out hope that his worst prophecies could be averted. That is why he continued encouraging people to come to their senses. Unfortunately, Zedekiah listened to his advisors rather than Jeremiah.
They convinced him to break his vow and rebel against Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar came with his army and began the siege of Jerusalem. On the tenth day of the month of Tammuz in the year BCE they breached the walls and on the ninth day of the month of Av, about a month later, they burned the Temple to the ground. The destruction was complete. The Temple was destroyed. The Jewish world was at a seeming end.
Zedekiah had built an escape tunnel. Although he was ostensibly certain of victory, and confident in his advisors, he had prepared the tunnel just in case they were wrong. When it became obvious that they had been wrong, he, his sons, his personal body guards, some of his army officers escaped through the tunnel.
At the exit, near Jericho 18 miles away from the entrance, the Babylonians had perchance seen a wild deer disappear into an opening. That led to the discovery of the escape tunnel. They then stationed an army contingent waiting nearby to see who if anyone would come out of it. When Zedekiah and his entourage emerged they were all captured.
They brought him before Nebuchadnezzar. Under good circumstances, the Babylonian tyrant was less than a magnanimous winner. The kings and generals of the defeated army were summarily executed. The last thing that the last Judean king ever saw with his eyes was the terrible, horrendous image of his sons getting executed.
But your eyes will never see Babylon. The Jews of Babylon were forced to attend the triumph. As required, they attended the lavish event wearing white clothing, which were considered a sign of celebration. It was the type of clothing worn on a holiday. Nevertheless, beneath their white clothes they wore black clothing, which what were the clothes worn by mourners.
That was not merely the description of their costumes, but how they felt. On the outside, they had to rejoice and act as good Babylonians. They had to wave the Babylonian flag, so to speak. On the inside, however, their hearts were breaking. Although Zedekiah was imprisoned for many years his memory was never forgotten by his fellow exiles. One might think that the Jewish people would have resented him, because he and his policies were the means by which they were doomed.
However, it was not so. The Jews held that Zedekiah was a righteous person from the outset and did not blame him for what happened. They took it as the prophet said: it had to happen. The sins were of Judea were such that there was no hope. Therefore, Zedekiah was not to be viewed as author of the destruction, but merely an actor in the play.
King Herod, sometimes called "Herod the Great" circa 74 to 4 B. While Judea was an independent kingdom it was under heavy Roman influence and Herod came to power with Roman support. The Bible depicts Herod as a monster who tried to kill baby Jesus and, when he couldn't find him, killed every infant in Bethlehem. Historians today generally believe the story is fictional.
While Herod did execute one of his wives, and three of his children, he was also a prolific builder who renovated and expanded the Temple in Jerusalem, the most holy site in Judaism. He also helped save the ancient Olympic Games during a financial crisis. While it's uncertain precisely where Herod was born, it's known that his father, Antipater died 43 B. His mother, Cypros, was from Nabataea, a wealthy kingdom in Jordan that included the city of Petra.
A Roman force led by a general named Pompey waged a military campaign in the eastern Mediterranean in 63 B. Herod and his father supported the Romans and they were rewarded for it with greater power. By 43 B. However, the control the three men had was tenuous.
In 43 B. Then in 40 B. After his arrival in Rome, Herod sought out the support of Octavian and Mark Antony, who were allied at the time. The two agreed to make him king of Judea. Herod returned to Judea and, by 37 B. Herod's position was still weak, however.
Family members from the Hasmonean Dynasty, who had been in power before the Romans arrived, resented the fact that the Romans had made Herod king of Judea. Herod married Mariamme, the granddaughter of the former high priest, Hyrcanus II, in an attempt to bring family members from the Hasmonean Dynasty into the fold.
Herod executed Mariamme in 29 B. Herod had at least 10 wives and believed that Judaism allowed polygamy. The king also executed his sons Alexander and Aristobulus in 7 B. Herod accused the three sons of trying to kill him. Herod confiscated property belonging to those who he believed did not support his rule.
Cleopatra VII coveted Herod's territory and used her influence with Antony to persuade him to turn over some of Herod's territory to her. The alliance between Octavian and Antony came to an end in 32 B.
Herod supported Antony and ended up on the losing side as Antony was defeated at the Battle of Actium in 31 B. C, and committed suicide in 30 B. Herod sailed to Rhodes to meet Octavian, not sure what would happen to him.
When he met Octavian, Herod took off his crown and told Octavian that he had supported Antony to the end, the ancient historian Josephus A. I have come to you placing my hope of safety on my unblemished character, and believing that you will wish to know not whose friend, but what sort of friend, I have been," Josephus wrote translation by English classicist G.
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