In 624 B. C., the good king Josiah repaired the temple and put down
idolatry, but was defeated and slain by the Egyptian king Pharaoh-Necho,
in 610. In 606 B. C., Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took Jerusalem,
and made the king, Jehoiakim, tributary; on his revolt, Jerusalem was
again taken, and ten thousand captives of the higher class were carried
off to Babylon, with the treasures of the palace and temple. In 593 B.
C., the Jewish king Zedekiah revolted from Nebuchadnezzar, who now
determined to put an end to the rebellious nation. In 588 B. C.,
Jerusalem was taken and plundered; the walls were destroyed; the city
and temple burned, and nearly the whole nation was carried away as
prisoners to Babylon. For over fifty years the land lay desolate, and
the history of the Hebrew nation is transferred to the land where they
mourned in exile. Then were raised the voices of the prophets Jeremiah
and Ezekiel and Isaiah, in their definite predictions of the Messiah.
The history of the Jews during the Babylonish captivity.