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how does this advice to live productively in exile compare with other biblical accounts of exile?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Jeremiah 29:4-7

““Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: ‘Build houses and dwell in them; and plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives, and have sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and don’t be diminished. Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its shalom you will have shalom.’”

The prophet Jeremiah writes a letter from Jerusalem to the Jewish exiles who have already been deported to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. He's correcting false prophets who promised a quick return, instead advising the exiles to settle down for a long stay and contribute to the well-being of their captors.

What does it mean to seek the 'peace' or 'shalom' of a place, especially when you feel like an outsider or even an opponent?

Then — the setting

Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Babylon (likely sent around 594-593 BCE) was a radical message. The exiles, deported after Nebuchadnezzar's first siege of Jerusalem in 597 BCE, were being fed false hopes by other prophets promising a swift return. Jeremiah, writing from Jerusalem, challenged this by stating the exile would last 70 years. He instructed them not to resist or mourn passively, but to actively build lives and contribute to the prosperity of Babylon, even praying for it, because their well-being was intrinsically linked to the city's. This ran counter to nationalist sentiment and the natural desire to resist an oppressor.

Across the Testaments

This passage is in the Old Testament, offering a distinct perspective on living faithfully under foreign rule. While many Old Testament narratives emphasize separation and purity from foreign influences (e.g., Ezra and Nehemiah's post-exilic reforms), Jeremiah presents a call to active engagement and even investment in a pagan empire. In the New Testament, this theme resonates with Jesus' call to 'love your enemies' (Matthew 5:44) and Paul's instruction to pray for all in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2), suggesting a Kingdom perspective that transcends immediate political loyalties and focuses on promoting peace and good within any governing structure, even those that are not ideal.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Lamentations 1:1-3
This passage expresses the deep sorrow and devastation felt by Jerusalem after its fall, contrasting with Jeremiah's call for resilience in exile.
Psalm 137:1-6
The psalm captures the grief and longing for Zion experienced by the exiles, and their refusal to sing songs of the Lord in a foreign land.
Daniel 1:8-20
Daniel and his friends demonstrate a way of living faithfully in Babylon while still maintaining their distinct identity and convictions.

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