The Babylonian exile took place during 597-538 BCE. It occurred because King Nebuchadnezzar sent the Babylonian army to lay siege to Jerusalem after Jehoiakim's attempt to escape from Babylonian dominance with the assistance of Egypt. The people of Jerusalem tried to avoid the wrath of the Babylonians by killing Jehoiakim and replacing him with his son Jehoiachin, but that didn't stop the Babylonians from taking Jehoiachin and several thousand Israelite's into exile. To replace Jehoiachin, the Babylonians appointed his uncle Zedekiah, a son of Josiah who ruled for ten years until he tried to break free of Babylonian rule. The people of Judah believed that the exile was proof of Yahweh's displeasure for the people betraying Yahweh and allowing the mosaic laws and Jewish practices to become corrupt.
             Many people were forced to resettle in abandoned areas of central Babylonia where they worked and tried to form a viable communal lifestyle hundreds of miles from their homeland. The main people forced to relocate were professionals, priests, craftsmen, and the wealthy. Meanwhile the "people of the land" were allowed to stay seeing that they didn't pose as much as a threat due to their lack of knowledge. Yahweh was very angry with Israelite's and stated, "As I banished Israel from my presence, so will I also banish Judah, and I will reject this city that I chose, Jerusalem, and the house where I said my name would live" (2 Kgs 23:26-7). Not even Josiah's good virtue could overcome that that Yahweh was very displeased with the Israelite's that he then decided to punish the following generations due to the previous generation's guilt. Even though the Israelite's are exiled, that does not mean they cannot return. They can only return if they follow the command of loving Yahweh with not only their hearts and minds but as well as their souls and strength. Since the Israelite's were separated fr...