Babylon the Greek form of
Babel?; Semitic form
Babilu, meaning "The Gate
of God." In the Assyrian tablets it means "The city of the
dispersion of the tribes." The monumental list of its kings
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,
about 200 miles above its junction with the
Tigris, which flowed
through its midst and divided it into two almost equal parts.
The Elamites invaded Chaldea (i.e., Lower Mesopotamia, or
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.
606) it threw off the Assyrian yoke, and became the capital of
the growing Babylonian empire. Under Nebuchadnezzar it became
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.
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.
The Archaeology of Babylon
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.