Greek word · G897

Βαβυλών

babylōn

Babylon

The Mesopotamian city on the Euphrates, Nebuchadnezzar's capital, which destroyed Jerusalem and the first temple in 587 BC. In Jewish and Christian writing after AD 70 it became a code name for Rome, the second destroyer of the temple.

Appears 12 times in 11 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

Βαβυλών, -ῶνος, ἡ (בָּבֶל, Heb. form of Assyr. Bab-ili, Gate of God),

Babylon: Matthew 1:11, 12 17, Acts 7:43" (LXX) ; symbolically, of Rome: Revelation 14:8 16:19 17:5 18:2, 10, 21, and prob. also 1 Peter 5:13.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Revelation 14:8

Range of meaning

The Mesopotamian city on the Euphrates, Nebuchadnezzar's capital, which destroyed Jerusalem and the first temple in 587 BC. In Jewish and Christian writing after AD 70 it became a code name for Rome, the second destroyer of the temple.

Against the English

English versions all keep 'Babylon'. The KJV and YLT add 'city', following their Greek text. None of them can show the reader that the name is a code.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 4:30: 'Is this not Babylon the great?' 1 Peter 5:13: greetings from 'she who is in Babylon', generally taken to mean Rome. 4 Ezra 3:1–2, 28–31 and 2 Baruch 11:1; 67:7 (Jewish apocalypses written around AD 100) use Babylon for Rome. So do the Sibylline Oracles 5.143, 159. Inside Revelation, the woman sits on seven hills (17:9) and is 'the great city that rules over the kings of the earth' (17:18).

From the study of Revelation 16:19

Range of meaning

The Mesopotamian capital that destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple in 587/586 BC. By the late first century it was used as a coded name for Rome.

Against the English

English readers can take 'Babylon' as the ancient site in Iraq. For John's hearers it named a type: the empire that destroys God's temple and holds his people captive.

How it drifted

Some modern teaching reads Babylon as the literal city in Iraq, which was partly rebuilt in the twentieth century, and so turns the code name back into a place on a map.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Peter 5:13 ('she who is in Babylon') is usually taken to mean Rome. After Rome destroyed the Second Temple in AD 70, Jewish writings called Rome 'Babylon': 4 Ezra 3:1–2, 28–31; 2 Baruch 11:1; 67:7; Sibylline Oracles 5.143, 159. Revelation 17:9 links the woman to 'seven hills', a well-known description of Rome.

From the study of Revelation 17:5

Range of meaning

Babylon was the Mesopotamian capital whose king, Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's temple in 587/586 BC and took Judah into exile. In the prophets it is the model of arrogant, idolatrous empire (Isa 13–14; 47; Jer 50–51). "Babylon the great" quotes Nebuchadnezzar's boast in Daniel 4:30.

Against the English

English readers may hear only the historical city in Iraq, or a general label for "worldliness." For John's audience it was a well-known code name.

Used elsewhere in the period

After Rome destroyed the second temple in AD 70, Jewish writers called Rome "Babylon": 4 Ezra 3:1–2, 28–31; 2 Baruch 11:1; 67:7; Sibylline Oracles 5.143, 159. 1 Peter 5:13 ("she who is in Babylon") is widely taken to mean Rome. Revelation uses the title already in 14:8 and 16:19, and 18:2 echoes Isaiah 21:9 ("Fallen, fallen is Babylon").

Where it appears

Matthew · 4

  1. Matthew 1:11 Βαβυλῶνος.¶ to Babylon.

    and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

    Here: 'Of Babylon': the Babylonian deportation, the removal to Babylon. The name stood for the empire that destroyed Jerusalem.

  2. Matthew 1:12 Βαβυλῶνος to Babylon

    After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

    Here: In Greek it is "the deportation of Babylon," meaning the deportation to Babylon. To a Jewish ear the name stood for the empire that burned the temple and ended David's throne.

  3. Matthew 1:17 Βαβυλῶνος Βαβυλῶνος to Babylon

    In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

    Here: Literally "the deportation of Babylon." The Greek possessive form here means the destination, "to Babylon." Babylon was the empire that destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 7:43 Βαβυλῶνος.¶ Babylon.’

    You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

    Here: Amos (in both Hebrew and Greek) says 'beyond Damascus,' which pointed to the Assyrian deportation of the northern kingdom. Stephen's quotation says 'beyond Babylon,' which takes in the later Babylonian exile of Judah and Jerusalem.

1 Peter · 1

  1. 1 Peter 5:13 Βαβυλῶνι Babylon

    The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does my son Mark.

Revelation · 6

  1. Revelation 14:8 Βαβυλὼν Babylon

    Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

    Here: Babylon is named here for the first time in Revelation. It is the city that destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, used as a code name for the world power of John's own day.

  2. Revelation 16:19 Βαβυλὼν Babylon

    The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.

    Here: The old empire that destroyed Jerusalem and its temple. Here it is a code name for the world power of John's day, which most readers then and now take to be Rome.

  3. Revelation 17:5 Βαβυλὼν Babylon

    And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

    Here: The city that destroyed Jerusalem and the first temple. By John's day it was used as a code name for Rome, which had just done the same thing in AD 70. The verse's 'mystery' is that this is a coded name.

  4. Revelation 18:2 Βαβυλὼν Babylon

    And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.

    Here: The ancient empire that destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 586 BC. Here it is a code name for the great city of John's day that rules the kings of the earth (17:18). Most interpreters take that city to be Rome.

  5. Revelation 18:10 Βαβυλὼν Babylon

    In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

    Here: A code name. The city that destroyed the first temple stands here for the imperial city of John's own day, which 17:9 and 17:18 identify as the city on seven hills that rules over the kings of the earth.

  6. Revelation 18:21 Βαβυλὼν Babylon

    Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.

    Here: Babylon: the empire that destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 587 BC, used as a code-name for the power ruling John's world. In Jewish and Christian writing of the time that power was most naturally Rome (1 Peter 5:13; 2 Baruch; Sibylline Oracles 5).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.