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Cover of: The Babylonian Destruction of Jerusalem as a Symbol?
Nitsan Shalom

The Babylonian Destruction of Jerusalem as a Symbol?

Section: Articles
Volume 12 (2023) / Issue 1, pp. 85-107 (23)
Published 31.03.2023
DOI 10.1628/hebai-2023-0007
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Summary
New excavation areas unearthed in Jerusalem in the last decade provide an oppor- tunity to reexamine the event of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the interpretation of the archaeological evidence it left behind. In this article I present evidence for destruction from two new sites located in Ancient Jerusalem, highlight- ing the questions raised by it regarding the nature of the destruction. I then survey the evidence for the destruction published from past excavations and show that it suggests that the city's destruction was partial and selective rather than a complete devastation, as previously reconstructed.