- The one under Jehoiakim. During this deportation Daniel and the three Hebrew children were taken to Babylon, with an indefinite number of others. The vessels of the temple were also taken (2 Chron. 36:6; 2 Kings 24:14; Daniel 1:1-3).
- The one under Jehoiachin (2 Chron. 36:10; 2 Kings 24:10-16). In this Mordecai and Esther were taken to Babylon (Esther 2:5-6).
- The one under Zedekiah (2 Chron. 36:20; 2 Kings 25). With this last deportation the seventy years of predicted Babylonian captivity began (2 Chron. 36:21; Jeremiah 25:9-12; Daniel 9:2).
Some consider the captivity of Manasseh a deportation (2 Chron. 33:11) and make it the first of four deportations; but since this was many years before the beginning of the actual destruction of Judah as a nation, we do not count it as such. It does not seem reasonable that Manasseh’s personal captivity would have anything to do with the fall of Judah as predicted in many prophecies.
Finis J. Dake, Dake Topical Index, WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: “Babylon, Three Deportations to”.