Babylon
The great Mesopotamian city — the empire of the exile — the biblical type of the world-city.
Location
Babylon was the great city of the plain of Shinar (Genesis 11:2), on the Euphrates River in southern Mesopotamia — about fifty-five miles south of modern Baghdad in Iraq. It was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world under Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC), covering about 2,000 acres inside a triple wall.
Biblical importance
Babylon is named more than 260 times in the KJV. It is the tower and city of Genesis 11 (the confusion of languages). It is the empire that carried Judah into exile in 586 BC — the setting of Daniel and much of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. And it is the biblical type of the world-city, opposed to Jerusalem — a type Peter uses of Rome (1 Peter 5:13) and John develops fully in Revelation 17-18.
Historical timeline
- c. 2000 BC — The plain of Shinar (Genesis 11); the tower of Babel.
- 605-562 BC — Nebuchadnezzar II makes Babylon the greatest city of the ancient world.
- 605 BC — First deportation from Judah; Daniel and his three companions taken (Daniel 1).
- 597 BC — Second deportation; Jehoiachin and Ezekiel taken.
- 586 BC — Fall of Jerusalem; temple destroyed; third deportation; the great exile begins.
- 539 BC — Babylon falls to Cyrus of Persia (Daniel 5).
- 538 BC — Cyrus's decree permits the return; Ezra 1.
- c. AD 62 — Peter writes from 'Babylon' — traditionally understood as Rome (1 Peter 5:13).
- c. AD 95 — John's Revelation names Babylon 'the great' as the type of the world-city (Rev 17-18).
Important biblical events
- Genesis 11:9 (KJV) 'Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth…'
- 2 Kings 25 (KJV) The fall of Jerusalem and the exile.
- Psalm 137:1 (KJV) 'By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.'
- Isaiah 13; 47 (KJV) Prophecies of Babylon's fall.
- Jeremiah 29:4-14 (KJV) Jeremiah's letter to the exiles: 'seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives.'
- Daniel 1-6 (KJV) The Babylonian court narratives.
- 1 Peter 5:13 (KJV) 'The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you…'
- Revelation 17-18 (KJV) Babylon the great, mother of harlots; her fall.
Related People
Connected Places
Christian tradition
- Christian readings of Babylon layer three references: the historical city, the type of imperial oppression, and the eschatological world-city of Revelation.
- The 'Bay Psalm Book' (first book printed in colonial New England, 1640) opens with Psalm 137 — the household psalm of exile.
- 'By the Waters of Babylon' has been set by dozens of Christian composers from Palestrina to modern spirituals.
Household reflection
Babylon teaches the household how to live faithfully in a place that is not our true home. Daniel prayed at his window. The three young men refused to bow. Jeremiah told the exiles to build houses and plant gardens (Jeremiah 29:5). The household in a hostile culture has all three patterns to draw on.
The Christian in Babylon never forgets Jerusalem — but neither does he despise the city he is in.
Room connections
Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.
- Read (Library) — Read Psalm 137 aloud when the household feels far from home.
- Pray (Chapel) — Pray Jeremiah 29:5-7 for the actual city or town the household lives in.
- Family (Kitchen Table) — Discuss with older children: how does a household live in 'Babylon' without becoming Babylon?
- Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'By the Waters of Babylon' (Christian setting).
- Learn (Workshop) — Study Revelation 17-18 as the great biblical portrait of the world-city.
Further reading
Daniel 1-6 and Jeremiah 29 in the KJV.
Psalm 137.
Revelation 17-18.
1 Peter 5:13.
Elsewhere in the Atlas
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