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You asked

what was the common understanding of 'peace' (shalom) for exiles in ancient babylon?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Jeremiah 29:7

Seek the shalom 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 this letter to the Jewish exiles who were forcibly deported from Jerusalem to Babylon in the early 6th century BCE. He is responding to false prophets who were promising a quick return home, and instead tells the exiles to settle in and contribute to their new, foreign land.

What does it mean to seek the well-being of a place you didn't choose, and perhaps don't feel belongs to you?

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Read alongside it

  • Psalm 137:1-6

    This psalm expresses the deep sorrow and longing of the exiles by the rivers of Babylon, contrasting with Jeremiah's message to build and settle.

  • Daniel 2:20-23

    Daniel, also an exile in Babylon, prays and acknowledges God's sovereignty even over foreign rulers and empires, living out the call to engage with the city.

  • Matthew 5:43-44

    Jesus' teaching to love enemies and pray for persecutors echoes a similar counter-intuitive call to seek the good of those who are opposed to you.

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