Daily Tanach Tuesday 15th Iyar Sefer Melachim 2 Chapter 25 Part 2: The destruction of Jerusalem

* The article below is an excerpt from the above Sefer
  1. Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed:
  • Nevuzaradan arrives to Jerusalem: In the fifth month [i.e. Menachem Av], on the seventh of the month, by the nineteenth year of reign of Nevuchadnetzar the king of Babylon, Nevuzaradan, the chief executioner and servant of the king of Babylonia, arrived to Jerusalem.
  • The Temple is destroyed: Nevuzaradan burnt the Temple and the king’s palace in fire. Likewise, he burnt in fire all the houses in Jerusalem and all the Shul’s and Batei Midrash.
  • The walls of Jerusalem are destroyed: The walls of Jerusalem were destroyed by the army of the Casdians that were with Nevuzaradan.
  • The remaining people are exiled: Nevuzaradan the chief executioner exiled all the people who remained in the city, including all of the defectors who defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the populace. However, Nevuzaradan did allow some of the poorest of the land to remain as farmers and agricultural workers.
  • The Temple is ransacked by the Casdians: The Casdians broke the copper pillars and the copper sea that were in the Temple, and they carried it off to Babylon. They took the pots and the shovels, the musical instruments, the spoons, and all the copper vessels with which they served in the Temple. Nevuzaradan the chief executioner took the gold and silver vessels. They took the two pillars, that were built by Shlomo. There was so much copper taken that it could not be weighed. The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits and there was a crown of copper on it which was the height of three cubits.
  • The people who were captured and brought to Babylon: Nevuzaradan, the chief executioner captured Serayah the Kohen Gadol, and Tzefaniah, the Segan Kohen Gadol, and the three guards of the Temple vessels. From the city he captured the general who was appointed over the soldiers, and five men who were always in the presence of the king, and the census taker who was in charge of recruitment of soldiers, and sixty men of the land who were found in the city. Nevuzaradan the chief executioner brought all these people back with him to Nevuchadnetzar, the king of Babylonia, to the city of Rivlah [where he was staying during the destruction of Jerusalem]. Nevuchadnetzar, the king of Babylon, killed all these men in Rivlah in the land of Chamas, and Yehuda went into exile.

About The Author

Leave A Comment?

You must be logged in to post a comment.