place · L0250
Bavel בבל
The city on the Euphrates to which Nevuchadnetzar exiled Yehudah, and — by extension in Jewish usage — the whole Babylonian region between the rivers that became the Torah's second home. "Bavel" on this atlas's map is the anchor of the entire eastern diaspora column: the exile of 3327 AM planted there the community from which Sura, Nehardea, Pumbedita, and the Talmud Bavli itself would grow.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- בבל
- Also known as
- Babylon, Babylonia
III. Where
- Modern location
- Ruins of Babylon near Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq (also the name of the surrounding region)
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yirmiyahu's letter addresses "the whole community that I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon," instructing them to build houses, plant gardens, and seek the peace of the city — the charter of a durable diaspora rather than a brief captivity. | biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| The city of Babylon is one of the most extensively excavated sites of Mesopotamia, its ruins lying near modern Hillah; cuneiform archives (including the Al-Yahudu tablets from the region) document Judean exiles settled in Babylonia in the sixth century BCE.
Coordinates are the excavated city; "Bavel" in rabbinic usage often means the region, not the city alone.
|
external archaeology | ★★★★★ |
Referenced by: Galut Bavel