Captivity

(1.) Of Israel. The kingdom of the ten tribes was successively invaded by several Assyrian kings. Pul (q.v.) imposed a tribute on Menahem of a thousand talents of silver (2 Kings 15:19, 20; 1 Chr. 5:26) (B.C. 762), and Tiglath-pileser, in the days of Pekah (B.C. 738), carried away the trans-Jordanic tribes and the inhabitants of Galilee into Assyria (2 Kings 15:29; Isa. 9:1). Subsequently Shalmaneser invaded Israel and laid siege to Samaria, the capital of the kingdom. During the siege he died, and was succeeded by Sargon, who took the city, and transported the great mass of the people into Assyria (B.C. 721), placing them in Halah and in Habor, and in the cities of the Medes (2 Kings 17:3, 5). Samaria was never again inhabited by the Israelites. The families thus removed were carried to distant cities, many of them not far from the Caspian Sea, and their place was supplied by colonists from Babylon and Cuthah, etc. (2 Kings 17:24). Thus terminated the kingdom of the ten tribes, after a separate duration of two hundred and fifty-five years (B.C. 975-721). Many speculations have been indulged in with reference to these ten tribes. But we believe that all, except the number that probably allied themselves with Judah and shared in their restoration under Cyrus, are finally lost. “Like the dew on the mountain, Like the foam on the river, Like the bubble on the fountain, They are gone, and for ever.” (2.) Of Judah. In the third year of Jehoiachim, the eighteenth king of Judah (B.C. 605), Nebuchadnezzar having overcome the Egyptians at Carchemish, advanced to Jerusalem with a great army. After a brief siege he took that city, and carried away the vessels of the sanctuary to Babylon, and dedicated them in the Temple of Belus (2 Kings 24:1; 2 Chr. 36:6, 7; Dan. 1:1, 2). He also carried away the treasures of the king, whom he made his vassal. At this time, from which is dated the “seventy years” of captivity (Jer. 25; Dan. 9:1, 2), Daniel and his companions were carried to Babylon, there to be brought up at the court and trained in all the learning of the Chaldeans. After this, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, a great national fast was appointed (Jer. 36:9), during which the king, to show his defiance, cut up the leaves of the book of Jeremiah’s prophecies as they were read to him in his winter palace, and threw them into the fire. In the same spirit he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:1), who again a second time (B.C. 598) marched against Jerusalem, and put Jehoiachim to death, placing his son Jehoiachin on the throne in his stead. But Jehoiachin’s counsellors displeasing Nebuchadnezzar, he again a third time turned his army against Jerusalem, and carried away to Babylon a second detachment of Jews as captives, to the number of 10,000 (2 Kings 24:13; Jer. 24:1; 2 Chr. 36:10), among whom were the king, with his mother and all his princes and officers, also Ezekiel, who with many of his companions were settled on the banks of the river Chebar (q.v.). He also carried away all the remaining treasures of the temple and the palace, and the golden vessels of the sanctuary. Mattaniah, the uncle of Jehoiachin, was now made king over what remained of the kingdom of Judah, under the name of Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17; 2 Chr. 36:10). After a troubled reign of eleven years his kingdom came to an end (2 Chr. 36:11). Nebuchadnezzar, with a powerful army, besieged Jerusalem, and Zedekiah became a prisoner in Babylon. His eyes were put out, and he was kept in close confinement till his death (2 Kings 25:7). The city was spoiled of all that was of value, and then given up to the flames. The temple and palaces were consumed, and the walls of the city were levelled with the ground (B.C. 586), and all that remained of the people, except a number of the poorest class who were left to till the ground and dress the vineyards, were carried away captives to Babylon. This was the third and last deportation of Jewish captives. The land was now utterly desolate, and was abondoned to anarchy. In the first year of his reign as king of Babylon (B.C. 536), Cyrus issued a decree liberating the Jewish captives, and permitting them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city and the temple (2 Chr. 36:22, 23; Ezra 1; 2). The number of the people forming the first caravan, under Zerubbabel, amounted in all to 42,360 (Ezra 2:64, 65), besides 7,337 men-servants and maid-servants. A considerable number, 12,000 probably, from the ten tribes who had been carried away into Assyria no doubt combined with this band of liberated captives. At a later period other bands of the Jews returned (1) under Ezra (7:7) (B.C. 458), and (2) Nehemiah (7:66) (B.C. 445). But the great mass of the people remained still in the land to which they had been carried, and became a portion of the Jews of the “dispersion” (John 7:35; 1 Pet. 1:1). The whole number of the exiles that chose to remain was probably about six times the number of those who returned.

CAPTIV'ITY. Num 21:29. A term usually employed to denote an important era in the history of the Jewish people. To punish their rebellions and idolatries, God suffered them to come into frequent bondage to surrounding nations. Six of their partial and transient captivities took place at an early period of their history, of which a particular account is given in Judges. Soon after the close of Solomon's reign the kingdom was divided. Ten of the tribes took the name of "the kingdom of Israel," leaving the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to constitute the kingdom of Judah. Each of these two kingdoms suffered a distinct captivity. The Jews reckon four national captivities נthe Babylonian, the Median, the Grecian, and the Roman. Pul, b.c. 762, and then Tiglath-pileser, b.c. 740, kings of Assyria, made war upon the kingdom of Israel and carried a large number of the people (chiefly those of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh) into captivity, 2 Kgs 15:29; 1 Chr 5:26, and the residue remained under their own king, but paid tribute to the Prisoners before Sargon. (Nineveh Marbles.) Assyrian government. After the lapse of 20 years this tribute was refused, and therefore Shalmaneser besieged and (after three years) Sargon captured Samaria, the capital of the kingdom, and the great mass of the people were transported to provinces beyond the Euphrates, b.c. 721. Their fate is a frequent subject of speculation, but nothing definite can be determined. Nor was the kingdom of Judah long left unmolested. Jewish Captives before Darius. (From Ancient Bas-relief at Fersepolis. ) In Hezekiah's reign Sennacherib, king of Assyria, took the fenced cities of Judah, b.c. 713, and would have taken Jerusalem had Hezekiah not sent him a heavy tribute. 2 Kgs 18:13. His next attempt on the city, which occurred some little time after, was defeated by a miracle. 2 Kgs 19:35. Nebuchadnezzar repeatedly overran the kingdom of Judah, the first time in the third year of Jehoiakim. He carried a few captives to Babylon, among whom were Daniel and his companions, b.c. 606. 2 Kgs 24:1; Dan 1:1-4. In the tenth or eleventh year of Jehoiakim he came again, b.c. 698, 2 Chr 36:6, and a third time in the eighth year of the reign of Jehoiachin. This invasion resulted in the carrying away of 10,000 Jews. 2 Kgs 24:10-16. The 70 years' captivity began when Nebuchadnezzar, for the fourth time, invaded Judea, b.c. 588. 2 Kgs 25:1. The king, Zedekiah, was taken, his sons slain, the temple burnt and the city despoiled, and the greater part of the population carried into Babylonia. Jer 52:8-13. During this long captivity the rite of circumcision was observed, the genealogical tables filled, distinctions of rank maintained, and thus the Jews retained their nationality intact. In b.c. 536 the Jews were allowed to return from Babylon by Cyrus, as a portion of them did under Zerubbabel, Ezr 2:2, and some time afterward under Ezra, Ezr 7:7, b.c. 468, and Nehemiah, Neh 7:66, b.c. 445. Those who remained in Assyria or scattered over the Roman empire, but kept up their national distinctions, were known as "The Dispersion," John 7:36; 1 Pet 1:1; Jas 1:1, and afterward were starting-points for Christianity. Children of the Captivity, Ezr 4:1, a common figure of speech, denoting those who were in captivity, or perhaps sometimes literally their posterity. Turn again, Ps 126:1, turn away, Jer 29:14, turn back, Zeph 3:20, or bring again, Eze 16:63, the captivity, are figurative phrases, all referring to the Jewish nation in bondage and their return to Canaan. A similar expression is used in relation to individuals, as in Job 42:10. The Lord turned the captivity of Job -that is, he released him from the unusual sufferings and perplexities to which he had been in bondage, and caused him to rejoice again in the favor of God. He led captivity captive, Eph 4:8, or "he led those as his captives who had made captives of others," is a figurative allusion to the victory which our blessed Redeemer achieved over sin and death, by whom our ruined race are brought into bondage. Rom 8:21; Gal 4:24; Heb 2:15; 2 Pet 2:19.

CAPTIV'ITY. Num 21:29. A term usually employed to denote an important era in the history of the Jewish people. To punish their rebellions and idolatries, God suffered them to come into frequent bondage to surrounding nations. Six of their partial and transient captivities took place at an early period of their history, of which a particular account is given in Judges.
Soon after the close of Solomon's reign the kingdom was divided. Ten of the tribes took the name of "the kingdom of Israel," leaving the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to constitute the kingdom of Judah. Each of these two kingdoms suffered a distinct captivity. The Jews reckon four national captivities נthe Babylonian, the Median, the Grecian, and the Roman. Pul, b.c. 762, and then Tiglath-pileser, b.c. 740, kings of Assyria, made war upon

the kingdom of Israel and carried a large number of the people (chiefly those of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh) into captivity, 2 Kgs 15:29; 1 Chr 5:26, and the residue remained under their own king, but paid tribute to the Prisoners before Sargon. (Nineveh Marbles.) Assyrian government. After the lapse of 20 years this tribute was refused, and therefore Shalmaneser besieged and (after three years) Sargon captured Samaria, the capital of the kingdom, and the great mass of the people were transported to provinces beyond the Euphrates, b.c. 721. Their fate is a frequent subject of speculation, but nothing definite can be determined. Nor was the kingdom of Judah long left unmolested. Jewish Captives before Darius. (From Ancient Bas-relief at Fersepolis. ) In Hezekiah's reign Sennacherib, king of Assyria, took the fenced cities of Judah, b.c. 713, and would have taken Jerusalem had Hezekiah not sent him a heavy tribute. 2 Kgs 18:13. His next attempt on the city, which occurred some little time after, was defeated by a miracle. 2 Kgs 19:35. Nebuchadnezzar repeatedly overran the kingdom of Judah, the first time in the third year of Jehoiakim. He carried a few captives to Babylon, among whom were Daniel and his companions, b.c. 606. 2 Kgs 24:1; Dan 1:1-4. In the tenth or eleventh year of Jehoiakim he came again, b.c. 698, 2 Chr 36:6, and a third time in the eighth year of the reign of Jehoiachin. This invasion resulted in the carrying away of 10,000 Jews. 2 Kgs 24:10-16. The 70 years' captivity began when Nebuchadnezzar, for the fourth time, invaded Judea, b.c. 588. 2 Kgs 25:1. The king, Zedekiah, was taken, his sons slain, the temple burnt and the city despoiled, and the greater part of the population carried into Babylonia. Jer 52:8-13. During this long captivity the rite of circumcision was observed, the genealogical tables filled, distinctions of rank maintained, and thus the Jews retained their nationality intact. In b.c. 536 the Jews were allowed to return from Babylon by Cyrus, as a portion of them did under Zerubbabel, Ezr 2:2, and some time afterward under Ezra, Ezr 7:7, b.c. 468, and Nehemiah, Neh 7:66, b.c. 445. Those who remained in Assyria or scattered over the Roman empire, but kept up their national distinctions, were known as "The Dispersion," John 7:36; 1 Pet 1:1; Jas 1:1, and afterward were starting-points for Christianity. Children of the Captivity, Ezr 4:1, a common figure of speech, denoting those who were in captivity, or perhaps sometimes literally their posterity. Turn again, Ps 126:1, turn away, Jer 29:14, turn back, Zeph 3:20, or bring again, Eze 16:63, the captivity, are figurative phrases, all referring to the Jewish nation in bondage and their return to Canaan. A similar expression is used in relation to individuals, as in Job 42:10. The Lord turned the captivity of Job -that is, he released him from the unusual sufferings and perplexities to which he had been in bondage, and caused him to rejoice again in the favor

of God. He led captivity captive, Eph 4:8, or "he led those as his captives who had made captives of others," is a figurative allusion to the victory which our blessed Redeemer achieved over sin and death, by whom our ruined race are brought into bondage. Rom 8:21;
Gal 4:24; Heb 2:15; 2 Pet 2:19.

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. The state of being a captive or a prisoner. More celebrated in his captivity that in his greatest triumphs. Dryden.

2. A state of being under control; subjection of the will or affections; bondage. Sink in the soft captivity together. Addison.

Synonyms: Imprisonment; confinement; bondage; subjection; servitude; slavery; thralldom; serfdom.