Difference between revisions of "Nebuchadnezzar"

<p> '''Nebuchadnez'zar.''' ''(may [[Nebo]] protect the crown).'' Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest and most powerful of the Babylonian kings. His name is explained to mean, ''"Nebo is the protector against misfortune".'' He was the son and successor of Nabopolassar, the founder of the Babylonian empire. In the lifetime of his father, Nebuchadnezzar led an army against Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt, defeated him at Carchemish, [[B.C.]] 605, in a great battle, &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:2-12, recovered Coele-Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine, took Jerusalem, &nbsp;Daniel 1:1-2, pressed forward to Egypt, and was engaged in that country, or upon its borders, when intelligence arrived, which recalled him hastily to Babylon. </p> <p> Nabopolassar, after reigning twenty-one years, had died and the throne was vacant. In alarm about the succession, Nebuchadnezzar returned to the capital, accompanied only by his light troops; and crossing the desert, probably, by way of [[Tadmor]] or Palmyra, reached Babylon, before any disturbance had arisen, and entered peaceably on his kingdom, [[B.C.]] 604. </p> <p> Within three years of Nebuchadnezzar's first expedition into Syria and Palestine, disaffection again showed itself in those countries. Jehoiakim, who, although threatened at first with captivity, &nbsp;2 Chronicles 36:6, had been finally maintained on the throne, as a Babylonian vassal, after three years of service, "turned and rebelled," against his '''suzerain''' , probably trusting, to be supported by Egypt. &nbsp;2 Kings 24:1. </p> <p> Not long afterward, Phoenicia seems to have broken into revolt, and the [[Chaldean]] monarch once more took the field in person, and marched first of all, against Tyre. Having invested that city, and left a portion of his army there to continue the siege, he proceeded against Jerusalem, which submitted without a struggle. </p> <p> According to Josephus, who is here our chief authority, Nebuchadnezzar punished Jehoiakim with death, compare &nbsp;Jeremiah 23:18-19 and &nbsp;Jeremiah 36:30, but placed his son, Jehoiachin, upon the throne. [[Jehoiachin]] reigned only three months; for, on his showing symptoms of disaffection, Nebuchadnezzar came up against Jerusalem for the third time, deposed the son's prince, whom he carried to Babylon, together with a large portion of the population of the city, and the chief of the [[Temple]] treasures, and made his uncle, Zedekiah, king in his room. </p> <p> Tyre still held out; and it was not till the thirteenth year, from the time of its first investment, that the city of merchants fell, [[B.C.]] 585. [[Ere]] this happened, Jerusalem had been totally destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar had commenced the final siege of Jerusalem, in the ninth year of Zedekiah - his own seventeenth year, [[(B.C.]] 588) - and took it two years later, [[B.C.]] 586. </p> <p> Zedekiah escaped from the city, but was captured near Jericho, &nbsp;Jeremiah 39:5, and brought to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, in the territory of Hamath, where his eyes were put out by the king's order, while his sons and his chief nobles were slain. Nebuchadnezzar then returned to Babylon with Zedekiah, whom he imprisoned for the remainder of his life. </p> <p> The military successes of Nebuchadnezzar cannot be traced minutely beyond this point. It may be gathered from the prophetical Scriptures, and from Josephus, that the conquest of Jerusalem was rapidly followed by the fall of Tyre, and the complete submission of Phoenicia, Ezekiel 26-28, after which the [[Babylonians]] carried their arms into Egypt, and inflicted severe injuries on that fertile country. &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:13-26; &nbsp;Ezekiel 23:2-20. </p> <p> We are told that the first care of Nebuchadnezzar, on obtaining quiet possession of his kingdom, after the first Syrian expedition, was to rebuild the temple of Bel, (''Bel-Merodach'' ), at Babylon, out of the spoils of the Syrian war. The next, proceeded to strengthen and beautify the city, which he renovated throughout and surrounded, with several lines of fortifications, himself adding one entirely new quarter. </p> <p> Having finished the walls and adorned the gates magnificently, he constructed a new palace. In the grounds of this palace, he formed the celebrated "hanging garden," which the [[Greeks]] placed among the seven wonders of the world. </p> <p> But he did not confine his efforts to the ornamentation and improvement of his capital. Throughout the empire at Borsippa, Sippara, Cutha, Chilmad, Duraba, Teredon, and a multitude of other places, he built or rebuilt cities, repaired temples, constructed quays, reservoirs, canals and aqueducts, on a scale of grandeur and magnificence surpassing everything of the kind recorded in history unless it be the constructions of one or two of the greatest Egyptian monarchs. </p> <p> The wealth, greatness and general prosperity of Nebuchadnezzar are strikingly placed before us in the book of Daniel. Toward the close of his reign, the glory of Nebuchadnezzar suffered a temporary eclipse. As a punishment for his pride and vanity, that strange form of madness was sent upon him , which the Greeks called '''Lycanthropy''' , wherein, the sufferer imagines himself a beast, and, quitting the haunts of men, insists on leading the life of a beast. &nbsp;Daniel 4:33. </p> <p> (This strange malady is thought by some to receive illustration from an inscription; and historians place, at this period, the reign of a queen, to whom are ascribed the works, which, by others, are declared to be Nebuchadnezzar's. Probably, his favorite wife was practically at the head of affairs, during the malady of her husband. Other historians, [[Eusebius]] and Berosus also confirm the account. ''See Rawlinson's "Historical Illustrations."'' - Editor). </p> <p> After an interval of four, or perhaps seven years, &nbsp;Daniel 4:16, Nebuchadnezzar's malady left him. We are told that, "his reason returned, and for the glory of his kingdom, his honor and brightness returned;" and he "was established in his kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to him." &nbsp;Daniel 4:36. He died in the year [[B.C.]] 561, at an advanced age, (eighty-three or eighty-four), having reigned forty-three years. [[A]] son, '''Evilmerodach''' , succeeded him. </p>

<p> '''Nebuchadnezzar''' (''nĕb'u-kad-nĕz'zar'' ), ''may Nebo protect the crown'' or, more correctly, '''Nebuchadrezzar,''' the son and successor of Nabopolassar, the founder of the [[Babylonish]] monarchy, was the most illustrious of these kings. &nbsp;2 Kings 24:1; Dan. chaps. 1-4 We know of him through the book of Daniel. In the Berlin Museum there is a black cameo with his head upon it, cut by his order, with the inscription: "In honor of Merodach, his lord, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in bis lifetime had this made." Nebuchadnezzar was intrusted by his father with repelling Pharaoh-necho, and succeeded in defeating him at Carchemish, on the Euphrates, b.c. 605, &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:2, taking Jerusalem and carrying off a portion of the inhabitants as prisoners, including Daniel and his companions. &nbsp;Daniel 1:1-4. Having learned that his father had died, Nebuchadnezzar hastened back to Babylon. Thus the remark, "In his days Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years," &nbsp;2 Kings 24:1, is easily explained. The title is given by anticipation, and the "three years" are to be reckoned from 605 to 603 inclusive. The rebellion of Jehoiakim, entered upon, probably, because Nebuchadnezzar was carrying on wars in other parts of Asia, took place b.c. 602, and was punished by the irruption of Chaldæans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, incited, perhaps, by Nebuchadnezzar, who, as soon as possible, sent his troops against Jerusalem, and had him taken prisoner, but ultimately released him. &nbsp;2 Kings 24:2. After his death his son Jehoiachin reigned, and against him Nebuchadnezzar, for the third time, invaded [[Palestine]] and besieged Jerusalem, and all the principal inhabitants were carried to Babylon. &nbsp;2 Kings 24:12-16. Mattaniah, whose name was changed to Zedekiah, after a reign of nearly ten years, rebelled, and was punished by Nebuchadnezzar, who went up against Jerusalem and reduced the city to the horrors of famine before taking it. Zedekiah's two sons were killed before his eyes, and then his eyes put out, and he, as a captive, was carried to Babylon, b.c. 588. &nbsp;2 Kings 25:7. On Nebuchadnezzar's order, Jeremiah was kindly treated. &nbsp;Jeremiah 39:11-14. The words, "The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, that [[I]] have built for the house of my kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" &nbsp;Daniel 4:30, are proved to be characteristic by those on an inscription: [["I]] say it, [[I]] have built the great house which is the centre of Babylon for the seat of my rule in Babylon." of the king's madness there is, of course, no direct mention. There is an inscription which is read by Sir [[H.]] Rawlinson in a manner which finds its readiest explanation in the fact stated in &nbsp;Daniel 4:33 : "For four years the residence of my kingdom did not delight my heart: in no one of my possessions did [[I]] erect any important building by my might. [[I]] did not put up buildings in Babylon for myself and for the honor of my name. In the worship of Merodach, my god, [[I]] did not sing his praise, nor did [[I]] provide his altar with sacrifices, nor clean the canals." Nebuchadnezzar is denominated "king of kings" by &nbsp;Daniel 2:37, and ruler of a "kingdom with power and strength and glory." He built the hanging-gardens of Babylon on a large and artificial mound, terraced up to look like a hill. This great work was called by the ancients one of the seven wonders of the world. An idea of the extent of this monarch's building enterprises may be drawn from the fact that nine-tenths of the bricks found amongst the ruins of the ancient capital are inscribed with his name. He is said to have worshipped the "King of heaven," &nbsp;Daniel 4:37, but it may be questioned whether he did not conceive of the [[Jehovah]] of the Hebrews to be only one of many gods. He died about b.c. 561, after a reign of 44 years. </p>