What is the meaning of "Babylon"?

Answer 1

The form Babylon is the Greek variant of Akkadian Babilu (bāb-ilû, meaning "Gateway of the God(s)", translating Sumerian Ka.dingir.ra).

In the Bible, the name appears as בבל (Babel), interpreted by Genesis 11:9 to mean "confusion" (of languages), from the verb balal, "to confuse".

(Babylon was a city of ancient Mesopotamia, the ruins of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers (55 mi) south of Baghdad.)

Answer 2

It was one of the four capital cities of the Persian empire. The others were Susa, Ecbatana, and Persepolis. In Biblical times the Israelites were taken into captivity in Persia. That was called the Babylonian captivity.

Later, during the middle ages, the Papacy, meaning the bishopric of Rome, was moved to a French city, Avignon. This was called the Babylonian captivity of the Papacy.

In other meanings, "Babylon" is supposed to be the life of "this" world, meaning eating, drinking, and carrying on.

Answer 3

Babylon is also used in a larger sense to describe the modern world and the importance it places on wealth and power. The connotaion is usually negative, since the actual ancient city of Babylon was seen as a place of immorality and godlessness as opposed to Judea (Zion), which remained faithful to Jehovah and core human values such as brotherhood, equality, and unity, and were subsequently enslaved by the technologically superior Babylonians.

The concepts of Babylon and Zion are fundamentally at odds- Babylon is the great corruptor, turning man against his brother in pursuit of material gain, while Zion is the "homeland" that the human soul searches for in its desire to live harmoniously. Both are always at work and counter-balance each other.

Answer 4

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What is the meaning of "Babylon"?

Answer 5

Babylonians Definition

Answer 6

It's the name of a historic city. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, it represents a place of barbarism, sin, or evil.