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Babylon the Greek form of Babel?; Semitic form Babilu, meaning "The Gate |
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Babylon the Greek form of Babel?; Semitic form Babilu, meaning "The Gate |
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reaches back to B.C. 2300, and includes Khammurabi, or Amraphel (q.v.), the contemporary of Abraham. It stood on the Euphrates, |
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reaches back to B.C. 2300, and includes Hammurabi? (perhaps the Amraphel of Genesis, and hence the contemporary of Abraham). It stood on the Euphrates, |
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Shinar, and Upper Mesopotamia, or Accad, now combined into one) and held it in subjection. At length Khammu-rabi delivered it from the foreign yoke, and founded the new empire of Chaldea (q.v.), making Babylon the capital of the united kingdom. This city gradually grew in extent and grandeur, but in process of time it became subject to Assyria. On the fall of Nineveh (B.C. |
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Shinar, and Upper Mesopotamia, or Akkad, now combined into one) and held it in subjection. At length Hammurabi delivered it from the foreign yoke, and founded the new empire of Chaldea, making Babylon the capital of the united kingdom. This city gradually grew in extent and grandeur, but in process of time it became subject to Assyria. On the fall of Nineveh (B.C. |
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one of the most splendid cities of the ancient world. |
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one of the most splendid cities of the ancient world. It was even the site of the [Hanging Gardens of Babylon]?, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. |
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desolation, its very site being forgotten from among men. |
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desolation. |
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On the west bank of the Euphrates, about 50 miles south of Bagdad?, there is found a series of artificial mounds of vast extent. These are the ruins of this once famous proud city. These ruins are principally (1) the great mound called Babil by the Arabs. This was probably the noted Temple of Belus, which was a pyramid about 480 feet high. (2) The Kasr (i.e., "the palace"). This was the great palace of Nebuchadnezzar. It is almost a square, each side of which is about 700 feet long. The little town of Hillah, near the site of Babylon, is built almost wholly of bricks taken from this single mound. (3) A lofty mound, on the summit of which stands a modern tomb called Amran ibn-Ali. This is probably the most ancient portion of the remains of the city, and represents the ruins of the famous hanging-gardens, or perhaps of some royal palace. The utter desolation of the city once called "The glory of kingdoms" (Isa.13:19) was foretold by the prophets (Isa.13:4-22; Jer. 25:12; 50:2, 3; Dan. 2:31-38). The Babylon mentioned in 1 Pet. 5:13 was not Rome, as some have thought, but the literal city of Babylon, which was inhabited by many Jews at the time Peter wrote. In Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; and 18:2, "Babylon" is supposed to mean Rome, not considered as pagan, but as the prolongation of the ancient power in the papal form. Rome, pagan and papal, is regarded as one power. "The literal Babylon was the beginner and supporter of tyranny and idolatry...This city and its whole empire were taken by the Persians under Cyrus; the Persians were subdued by the Macedonians, and the Macedonians by the Romans; so that Rome succeeded to the power of old Babylon. And it was her method to adopt the worship of the false deities she had conquered; so that by her own act she became the heiress and successor of all the Babylonian idolatry, and of all that was introduced into it by the immediate successors of Babylon, and consequently of all the idolatry of the earth." Rome, or "mystical Babylon," is "that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth" (17:18). |
The Archaeology of Babylon |
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Initial text from Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897 -- Please update as needed |
Babylon in the New Testament"Babylon" occurs in a New Testament context both as a literal and a figurative meaning. The Babylon mentioned in 1 Peter 5:13 was the literal city of Babylon, which was inhabited by many Jews at the time Peter wrote. In the Book of Revelation the destruction of Babylon, a city which seems to personify evil, is foretold. Babylon is usually interpreted as a symbolic replacement for Rome of the Roman Empire. Some Protestant commentaries on the Book of Revelation treat the occurrences of the city Babylon in that book as both the City of Rome and the Roman Catholic Church personified in the institution of the papacy. |
After passing through various vicissitudes the city was occupied by Cyrus, "king of Elam," B.C. 538, who issued a decree permitting the Jews to return to their own land (Ezra 1). It then ceased to be the capital of an empire. It was again and again visited by hostile armies, till its inhabitants were all driven from their homes, and the city became a complete desolation.
In the Book of Revelation the destruction of Babylon, a city which seems to personify evil, is foretold. Babylon is usually interpreted as a symbolic replacement for Rome of the Roman Empire. Some Protestant commentaries on the Book of Revelation treat the occurrences of the city Babylon in that book as both the City of Rome and the Roman Catholic Church personified in the institution of the papacy.
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