Tel Abib
The City of Tel Aviv in Babylon
According to the Scriptures the captives of Judah were deported to a place called Tel-abib in the land of Babylon. The name means "mound of the deluge" because it was flooded by the Euphrates River. It is not exactly clear exactly where the Biblical Tel-abib was located but many scholars believe it was near Nippur, about 50 miles southeast of Babylon.
The prophet Ezekiel was among the first to be taken captive to Babylon. According to the Bible he lived at a place called Tel-abib which was by the River Chebar or (grand canal)
Ezek 1:1-3
1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity,
3 the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.
Ezek 3:15
15 Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
Ezek 8:1
1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there.
The "river" has been identified as the "Naru Kabari" because of two cuneiform inscriptions from Nippur. According to these tablets there was an irrigation canal that brought the water of the Euphrates River from Nippur to Babylon and looped around to the River near Erech. The canal’s modern name is Shatt en-Nil.
The Jewish colonists were treated rather well and the prophet Jeremiah sent them a message from Jerusalem to take wives, build houses, plant gardens and take advantage of their situation because they were going to be there for seventy years.
