Babylon
Location:
- Biblical: The city of Babylon, located in the land of Shinar (Mesopotamia), along the Euphrates River
- Modern Location: - Near present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, approximately 85 km south of Baghdad.
Significance:
- First mention: Genesis 10:10 – Nimrod’s kingdom included Babel (Babylon) in the land of Shinar
- Last mention: Revelation 18:21 – Babylon symbolizes a corrupt, fallen system judged by God.
- Symbolic: Represents human pride, rebellion against God (e.g., Tower of Babel), and later, spiritual and moral corruption in apocalyptic texts.
- Major Events:
- Construction of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), leading to the confusion of languages.
- Rise as a powerful empire under Hammurabi (c. 18th century BCE) and later Nebuchadnezzar II.
- Conquest of Judah and exile of the Israelites (2 Kings 24-25, Jeremiah 52, c. 587 BCE).
- Fall to the Persians under Cyrus the Great (539 BCE, Daniel 5).
- Symbolic judgment as "Mystery Babylon" in Revelation 17-18.