The number of people taken into exile from Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign
The number 832 appears in Jeremiah 52:29, where it is given as the count of people taken into exile from Jerusalem during the second deportation to Babylon in Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year of reign. This deportation occurred between the first major exile in 597 BC and the final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The relatively low number compared with other deportations may suggest that this was a more limited action, although the source does not state any specific reason for this particular exile. The context of Jeremiah 52 provides a detailed overview of the various stages of the exile and serves as a historical testimony to Judah's fall. Jeremiah 52:28–30 gives three separate deportation figures: 3,023 in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, 832 in his eighteenth year, and 745 in his twenty-third year, totaling 4,600 people. These numbers are lower than those given in 2 Kings, a discrepancy that has been the subject of considerable academic discussion. In rabbinic tradition, the exiles to Babylon were seen as God's judgment on Israel for idolatry and disobedience, but also as the beginning of a purification process that would ultimately lead to restoration. The deportation account in Jeremiah 52 is considered a historical appendix to the Book of Jeremiah and has close parallels to 2 Kings 25. The differing numbers between the two texts have given rise to extensive textual-critical research into which source best reflects the original deportation figures.*