From Exile to Home

The story behind Psalm 23 probably started around 597 B.C. when King Nebuchadnezzar and his army captured Jerusalem (capital of Judah or Judea) and led away several thousands of its prominent citizens to Babylonian exile. Two more waves of deportation followed after this on 586 B.C. and 582 B.C. During the second assault in 586 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar burned down and destroyed all the houses in Jerusalem including the king’s palace and the sacred Temple (See Figure 1). A passage in Lamentations 3:47 vividly describes the people’s reaction to Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion: “Panic and pitfall have befallen us, Devastation and destruction.” During these tumultuous years, a total of four thousand and six hundred (4,600) leading and most talented Judeans were exiled to southern Mesopotamia in Nippur (See Figure 2), not far from the actual city of Babylon. None remained in Judah “except the poorest people of the land.” It is possible that one of the captives taken to Babylon throughout these waves of deportation was the brilliant author of Psalm 23, the Psalmist. During his Babylonian exile, he wrote Psalm 23. One of the reasons, which make this idea conceivable, lies in the striking similarities of the theme and language of Psalm 23 with prophecies written during exile in the books of Ezekiel, Isaiah 40-66 and Jeremiah. The Psalmist must have heard some of these prophesies in Babylon and recast them in poetic format to compose a Psalm.

In Psalm 23, the Psalmist expresses his trust in the Lord that He will provide for his physical necessities in exile (1-3a) and move to bring him back to his own land (3b-4). When he is finally home, Yahweh will continue to supply his needs (5) and let him dwell there as long as he lives (6). From the Introduction of “From Exile to Home.”