From the Exodus to the destruction of the First Temple, Israel was exiled eight times. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, four of those exiles were carried out by Sennacherib, king of Assyria, and four by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Together they stripped the land bare.
Sennacherib's first campaign seized the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He also captured the golden calf that Jeroboam had placed in Dan, which these tribes had turned into a private sanctuary. For this idolatry they were exiled to Lahlah, Habor, the river Gozan, and the cities of Media. The second exile took the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Issachar, who had refused to accept Hosea ben Elah as king. The third swept away the remaining people of Samaria, ending the northern kingdom forever.
Sennacherib then turned toward Jerusalem itself. He sent his general Rabshakeh with 180,000 soldiers. But Hezekiah prayed, and Isaiah prophesied deliverance. That night, the angel of the Lord struck down the entire Assyrian camp. Only Sennacherib survived, and he fled home in disgrace, where his own sons murdered him.
Nebuchadnezzar's four exiles finished what Sennacherib started. He deported Jehoiakim, then Jehoiachin along with 10,000 of Judah's elite, then laid siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah and burned the Temple to the ground. His final campaign swept through Egypt, killing every Jew found in Ammon, Moab, and the surrounding regions. When Jeremiah saw that scarcely any Israelites remained, he begged God to take his life. A voice answered: "Wait. Behold the downfall of Babylon. Afterward I shall preserve you until I build the everlasting building." Then God hid the prophet away.
LX. (1) From the time our ancestors were brought out
of Egypt until the destruction of the first temple they were
exiled eight times. This happened on the following occa-
sions: Four times Sennacherib banished them, and four
times Nebuchadnezzar. The first time Sennacherib, King
of Assyria, going up to Jerusalem, sent the tribes of Keuben,
Gad, and the half- tribe of Menasseh into exile, and captured
the golden calf which Jeroboam had placed in Dan; and the
children of Gad and Reuben had brought it up from Dan,
and made a holy temple (sanctuary) for it. For this they
were exiled from the land of their possession to another
land until this very day. When Sennacherib banished them
he made them dwell in Lahlah, Habor, the river Gozan,
and the cities of Media. At that time Pekah, the son of
Remalyahu, reigned over Israel. When Hosea, the son of
Elah, perceived that the armies of Pekah were considerably
diminished, he went out to war against him and killed him.
He reigned over Israel, in Samaria, five years. This was
the first exile.
(2) When Sennacherib heard of this he went up against
Hosea, the son of Elah, and fought against him, and Hosea,
the son of Elah, going to Sennacherib, gave him a present
of silver and gold and brought him the golden calf, which
Jeroboam had placed in Bethel. After this he (Sennacherib)
exiled the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Isaachar,
because they refused to allow Hosea, the son of Elah, to
reign over them. He then appointed Hosea, the son of
Elah, over Samaria, and thus fulfilled the scriptural passage,
' Thus saith the Lord, Just as the shepherd delivers two
legs, or the tip of the ear, from the clutches of the lion, so
shall the Israelites be rescued (that sit in Samaria) in
the corner of a couch, and in Damascus on a bed.'
And Hosea, the son of Elah, reigned over Israel, and Ahaz
over Judah. This was the second exile.
(3) When this king died Hezekiah reigned over the
whole of Judah, and at the beginning of the fourth year of
Hezekiah's reign Sennacherib went up against Samaria and
besieged it for three years, in the third (!) year of Hezekiah's
reign, and he exiled the tribes of Ephraim and Menasseh
from Samaria. This was the third exile.
(4) After an interval of five years he mustered together
the Babylonians, Kuthim, Avim, the B'ne Hamath, and the
Sapharvaim, and then going against Judah, besieged all
the fortified cities in Judah, among the 150 places in
which were the tribes of Judah and Simeon. He besieged
them and took them captive, and sought to bring them to
Lahlah and Habor, to the other tribes. Hearing that
Tirhakah, King of Ethiopia, whose land was near Egypt,
had rebelled against him, he took with him the tribes of
Judah and Simeon, and ascended the mountains of Ethiopia
to wage war with the Ethiopian king, and to test the strength
of the tribes of Judah and Simeon. He then took these
tribes and concealed them behind the mountains of dark-
ness on the other side of the rivers of Ethiopia. Concerning
them the prophetess 'Athrai (^nni;), the daughter of Pusai
{^''^)b), prophesied, ' They shall bring my offering.' This
was the fourth captivity brought about by Sennacherib,
King of Assyria.
(5) There remained in Jerusalem of the tribes of Judah
and Benjamin 130,000, over whom the righteous Hezekiah
reigned. Sennacherib, King of Assyria, now once more
became proud, and setting his face towards the holy city
of Jerusalem, he assembled all his host, to the number
of 40,000 and 2,590,000 warriors, and went up to besiege
Jerusalem. When Hezekiah saw the great multitude he
was greatly afraid, and, praying to the Lord, he called upon
the people of Judah and Benjamin to proclaim a fast.
Then, covering themselves with sackcloth, they went into
the house of the Lord, and, repenting with all their heart,
they cried unto the Lord, and He heard the prayer of the
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righteous Hezekiah, and sent His angel who smote the
Assyrian camp, slaying 185,000 men, together with the
kings and princes. Not one of the kings and princes of
his army remained except Sennacherib and Nebuchad-
nezzar. Thus Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled, who said,
' On that day the Lord shall shave with a razor that is
hired, the parts beyond the river of Ethiopia, even the
King of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet; and it
shall also consume the beard.' The head represents the
kings, the hair of the feet represents the armies, and the
beard the wicked Sannacherib, whose two sons slew him.
From the fall of Sennacherib to the time of Nebuchadnezzar
passed 107 years.
(6) In the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim the
decree was sealed on account of the sins of the Israelites,
and the remnant of those who were delivered from the
mouth of the lion and the mouth of the bear, the remnant
of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people that
remained of the tribes were banished by Nebuchadnezzar
during his first captivity. Of the tribes of Judah and Ben-
jamin 3,023, and of the remaining tribes 7,000. All these
were warriors skilled in the art of battle, but their sin
lay heavy upon them, and he exiled them to Babylon. This
was the first captivity brought about by Nebuchadnezzar.
(7) After an interval of seven years he went up to
Jerusalem for the second time, and besieging it, he captured
it, and exiled of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin 4,600
men, and of the remaining tribes 10,000, together with
the free and the imprisoned, i.e., the kings and queens.
Others explain the words tnn and -liDO to refer to the pupils
of the sages who study the Torah, and thus open and shut
the books. In the time of David these people were called
Kerethi and Pelethi. Yet another explanation makes the
words refer to the mighty men of Judah and their children.
All these were banished through Jechoniah and his sons.
This constituted the second captivity of Nebuchadnezzar.
(8) He made Zedekiah King of Judah, over which and
Jerusalem he reigned eleven years. In the nineteenth year
LX. loj 185
of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, while he ^Yas yet seated
on the throne of his kingdom, he sent Nebuzaraddan, his
captain of the guard, against Jerusalem. Having besieged
it, he caught Zedekiah, and bringing him to Eiblah, to the
King of Babylon, he executed his judgment upon him. He
then took the pillars, the sea of brass, and all the vessels of
the house of the Lord, and the bases which Solomon had
made, and the treasures found in Jerusalem, and carried
them to Babylon. In Jerusalem he slew 940,000 (?) men,
besides those he slew in avenging the blood of Zechariah.
(9) He also besieged sixty cities of the Levites, the
sons of Moses, in which there were 600,000 men, as we
know from the verses, 'And the sons of Moses were Gershom
and Eliezer; and of the sons of Eliezer the eldest was
Piehabya,' and it is said, ' And the children of Piehabya con-
tinually increased, i.e., increased beyond the number of
600,000 men.' The total number of those exiled from
Jerusalem was 802,000, all of whom consisted of the
youths of Judah and Benjamin. Concerning them the
prophet says, 'And he exiled the flower of Judah,' so
that there only remained in Jerusalem the poverty of
the people, as it is said, ' The people of the land which
Nebuzaraddan left were vile,' etc. He made the son of
Ahikam king over them, and giving the land over to him,
the exiles were carried to Babylon, which constituted the
third exile.
(10) When Ishmael, the son of Netaniah, of the royal
seed, heard that Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, was appointed
over the remnant of the people, he came in stealth and
slew him and all his men. The Israelites were exceedingly
afraid of this and fled to Egypt, in the twenty- seventh year
of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, when he besieged Tyre, and
<3apturing it, killed all its inhabitants and sent its king into
captivity. On his return he went to Egypt, captured it,
and reduced it to desolation, thus fulfilling the prophecy of
Scripture, ' Egypt shall be a desolation.' He then slew all
the Jews found in Ammon and Moab, and in the surround-
ing parts of Egypt. There, in Egypt, he discovered the
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prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, the son of Neriya, and carried
them to Babylon. When the IsraeHtes dwelling in Egypt
heard that Nebuchadnezzar had announced his intention to
come there, in fear and trembling they fled to Anion, a
little fortified city in Egypt, near the Salt Sea. This was
the fourth captivity through Nebuchadnezzar.
(11) When Jeremiah saw that scarcely any of the
Israelites were left, he lifted up his heart in prayer to God,
saying, 'Why dost Thou cause me to see grief and iniquity?
Why hast Thou caused the flock of Thy chosen people to
fall into the hands of their enemy ? I am sorely grieved
and my soul is crushed within me, and mine eye sheddeth
tears, and ceaseth not, for the destruction of the daughter
of my people am I hurt. Mine eye weepeth with my soul,
and for this do I weep day and night. Therefore do I pour
forth my supplication before Thee that Thou wilt take my
soul from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.'
A voice was forthwith heard to say, ' By thy life wait, and
behold the downfall of Babylon. Afterwards I shall pre-
serve thee until I build the everlasting building.' Imme-
diately upon these words, God hid him.
The Children of Moses.
