The Babylonian captivity, or Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the inhabitants of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar during the 6th century BCE.

The Captivity and subsequent return to Jerusalem are pivotal events in the history of the Jews and Judaism, and have far-reaching impacts on the development of modern Jewish culture and practice.The Kingdom of Judah, often known as the "Southern Kingdom," had been one of the successor states to the "United Monarchy."

The tribe of Judah had elevated King David to rule over them, and the Davidic line has survived for almost 350 years, until the Kingdom falls in 586 BCE to the Babylonian Empire under Nebuzar-adan, captain of Nebuchadnezzar's body-guard.

This event coincides with the destruction of the First Temple of Jerusalem.

Prior to this, several deportations of Judaean nobility and leading citizens had occurred.

After the overthrow of Babylonia by the Persian Empire, in 539 BCE the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great gives the deportees permission to return to their native land, and more than 40,000 are said to have availed themselves of the privilege, as noted in the Biblical accounts of Jehoiakim, Ezra, and Nehemiah.The Babylonian Captivity and the subsequent return to Israel are seen as one of the pivotal events in the drama between God and His people: Israel.

Just as they had been predestined for, and saved from, slavery in Egypt, the Israelites had been predestined to be punished by God through the Babylonians, and then saved once more.

The Babylonian Captivity has a number of serious effects on Judaism and the Jewish culture, including changes to the Hebrew alphabet and changes in the fundamental practices and customs of the Jewish religion.This period sees the last high-point of Biblical prophecy in the person of Ezekiel, followed by the emergence of the central role of the Torah in Jewish life.

This process coincides with the emergence of scribes and sages as Jewish leaders.Prior to exile, the people of Israel had been organized according to tribe; afterwards, they are to be organized by clans, with only the tribe of Levi continuing in its special role.

After the Babylonian captivity, there are always to be sizable numbers of Jews living outside Eretz Israel, thus marking one starting point of the "Jewish diaspora."