Seder Olam: C27b- Babylon
- Albert Benhamou
- Mar 17
- 21 min read
Updated: Mar 20
BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY
Generation 27: Hebrew years 3120 to 3240 (640-520 BCE)
Year 3171 – 589 BCE – The siege of Jerusalem
Zedekiah eventually rebelled against Babylon, hoping that Pharaoh Psamtik II, son of Necoh, would be able to overcome the Babylonian rule in the entire region. But no military support could possibly come from Egypt which had already been badly defeated at the time of Necoh.
Nebuchadnezzar was now able to exert his wrath against the rebellious king of Judah. His army started the siege of Jerusalem in the 9th year of Zedekiah’s reign:
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his [Zedekiah] reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about. (II Kings 25:1)
So, the siege started on the 10th day of the 10th month, which is the 10th of Tevet: this day has become a day of fast in Judaism. The siege started in the 9th year of Zedekiah’s reign and the city fell on Av of his 11th year, so the siege lasted 30 months in total.
The reign of Zedekiah was counted on the same year when King Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon. So, the time reference is identical for Ezekiel to whom God appeared in a vision in Babylon to announce the siege of the city:
And the word of the Lord came unto me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, saying: 'Son of man, write you the name of the day, even of this selfsame day; this selfsame day the king of Babylon has invested Jerusalem.’ (Ezekiel 24:1-2)
As the Babylonians used a lunar calendar like the Israelites, the months start at the same time with a new moon, and last for a period of 29.5 days on average.
Year 3173 – 587 BCE – The fall of Jerusalem
In the 10th year of his reign, instead of repenting for his sins, Zedekiah had Jeremiah thrown into jail (Jeremiah 32:3). The reason for this decision was that Jeremiah continued to prophesy to the people the destruction of Jerusalem and for them to surrender, but he was heard by royal officials who denounced him:
And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke unto all the people, saying: 'Thus says the Lord: He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey, and he shall live.' (Jeremiah 38:1-2)
These officials convinced Zedekiah to issue orders against Jeremiah. This circumstance would have been lost to historians as a minor detail until 2008 when excavations were carried out in the "City of David" in Jerusalem, precisely where the official buildings (former king's palace) stood. The digs found bulla (clay seals) bearing the names of two of these officials mentioned in the Bible who were the captors of Prophet Jeremiah ! These names on the bulla are: Yehuchal [or Jucal] ben Shelemyahu [Shelemiah] and Gedalyahu [Gedaliah] ben Pashur. If the Bible was written around 300 BCE as some people claim, how would the author know about the name of some obscure officials who existed some 300 years earlier, and at a time where written records did not really exist or were destroyed by invasions and wars?
Where Jeremiah was thrown by these officials was in fact a pit with no water and Jeremiah would have died there. But Zedekiah ordered 30 men to take him out (Jeremiah 38:10). The Prophet was then kept in the house of the guards until the city of Jerusalem was conquered (Jeremiah 38:28).
In the 11th year of Zedediah’s reign, a breach was made in the city walls (II Kings 25:2). The people of the city could see the breach and the oncoming Babylonian army going through it. One person, named in the Biblical text as Nebo-Sar-Sechim (Jeremiah 39:3) was recently identified in one of the cuneiform tablets kept in the British Museum as Nabu-Sharrussu-Ukin:
[…] the property of Nabu-Sharrussu-Ukin, the chief eunuch, […] Month 11, day 18, year 10 [of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. (Alberge, Dalya, "Museum’s tablet lends new weight to Biblical truth", The Times, 11 July 2007)
The Times newspaper reported that this was rare evidence in a nonbiblical source of a real person, other than kings, featured in the Bible.
Seeing the city about to be lost, Zedekiah and his family tried to escape via a secret underground tunnel, but they were caught by chance in the plain of Jericho. Zedekiah and his followers probably had escaped from the underground cave under the Old City of Jerusalem (called today Zedekiah's Cave) and followed the canyon and river Nahal Prat, called Wadi Qelt in Arabic, that flows down to the plain of Jericho. Nebuchadnezzar ordered to execute Zedekiah's sons in front of him, then ordered his eyes to be cut off. Zedekiah was then sent blind and captive to Babylon.
Three weeks after the breach, the city of Jerusalem fell:
Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem. And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great man's house, burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about. And the residue of the people that were left in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away captive. But the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of the Lord, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon. And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the pans, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. And the firepans, and the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away. The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord; the brass of all these vessels was without weight. The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of the capital was three cubits; with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass; and like unto these had the second pillar with network.
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door; and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and five men of them that saw the king's face, who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the city. And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And the king of Babylon smote them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath.
So, Judah was carried away captive out of his land. And as for the people that were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor. (II Kings 25:8-22)
Year 3173 – 587 BCE – The Book of Lamentations
While Jeremiah was in house arrest, he composed the Book of Lamentations to mourn the forthcoming destruction of Jerusalem. This text was chosen to be part of the Jewish Bible and is traditionally read in Jewish assemblies during the fasting day of Tisha Be-Av (the 9th day of the month of Av), the date when the Temple was destroyed.
The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their music. The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning. The crown has fallen from our head; woe unto us! for we have sinned. For this our heart is faint, for these things our eyes are dim; For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.
You, O Lord, are enthroned forever, Your throne is from generation to generation. Wherefore do You forget us forever, and forsake us so long time? Turn You us unto You, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. You cannot have utterly rejected us and be exceeding wroth against us! (Lamentations 5:14-22, final verses)
Year 3174 – 586 BCE – The assassination of Gedaliah
Most of the important people of the kingdom of Judah were taken captive in Babylon. One of the survivors went up to Ezekiel upon his arrival to Babylon:
And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying: 'The city is smitten.' (Ezekiel 33:21)
Jeremiah was given the choice to follow the people to Babylon or remain with Gedaliah in Mizpah. The Biblical city of Mizpah was in Benjamin territory and is assumed to be present-day Tell en-Nasbeh (or Tel a-Nasbe), a southern suburb of Ramallah, over 10 km north from Jerusalem. It was there that the civil war against Benjamin was started in the Judges period (see document C22), and it was also there that the palace of the kings of Israel was located before they built their capital Samaria.
Gedaliah was chosen by Nebuchadnezzar as governor to administer what was left of the cities of Judah. Jeremiah chose to stay. Most of the people, the poorer mass, were left in the country by the Chaldeans, whereas the important people were taken in captivity.
The armed people of Judah, who were outside Jerusalem when the city was taken, gathered again to meet Gedaliah in Mizpah. The new governor succeeded in reassuring them over the future. So other Israelites started to come back from different places onto Judah. But Gedaliah was not from Davidic descent and therefore was not accepted by those who wanted to keep the tradition that only people from Davidic cast would rule over Jews. A group of mercenaries led by Ishmael, son of Netanya, came to Mizpah and murdered Gedaliah (II Kings 25:25-26). The group also took away as captives his daughters and other people who were among his suite in Mizpah, including the Prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 41:10). But they were caught up by another group of armed Israelites who rescued some of the captives, and Ishmael fled over the Jordan River to the land of Ammon.
This assassination caused two exodes: (1) to avoid punishment from Babylon, the rescuers fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them, and about half of the Jews of the country followed them by fear of a repression from Babylon, and (2) the other half decided to move to Babylon to show submission to Nebuchadnezzar.
This assassination caused that the land of Judah, for its first time since the conquest of Joshua, emptied from Jews. Their decision was a lack of faith in God because they had previously asked the Prophet for divine advice, and he had passed onto them God’s promise to His protection if they remained in Judah. This grave situation was the reason why the assassination of Gedaliah is commemorated as a day of fast in Jewish tradition since then.
Year 3174 – 586 BCE – Jeremiah in Egypt
The divine anger was soon coming. Jeremiah prophesied to the people of Judah that God will deliver the land of Egypt to the king of Assyria if they would remain there. The Pharaoh of Egypt at the time, Apries from the 26th Dynasty, called Hophra in the Bible (Jeremiah 40:30), favored those who rebelled against Babylon. He had even tried to come to the rescue of Jerusalem against the Babylonian army but was crushed by them before they started to besiege the city.
Some tradition mentions that Jeremiah met with some Greek philosopher while in Egypt. The one who comes to mind is Thales, who was a wealthy maritime trader based in Miletus (Asia Minor) so he could have indeed travelled the seas for his business. He taught new concepts about the origin of life that influenced the philosophers after him, such as that all the world originated from Water. For Aristotle notably, Thales was the father of Philosophy (see document C23)
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Year 3174 – 586 BCE – The Jews of Elephantine
One Jewish community settled as far south as the island of Elephantine on the Nile, near present-day Aswan in Egypt. This community was called Yeb and they built their own temple to perform sacrifices. Papyrus documents have been found on site in the early 20th century that bring some light about the functioning of this community. Their temple was apparently destroyed around 400 BCE during anti-Jewish riots in the island.
Year 3173 – 587 BCE – Nebuchadnezzar defies God
After having destroyed Judah and the Temple of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar felt he was above all gods. He created a large idol statue of gold for people to venerate as an act of obedience to his power over their own gods. As it was against Jewish religion to worship any idol figure, the three governors who were the friends of Daniel would not obey the king’s order in their provinces. They were denounced to Nebuchadnezzar by jealous Chaldeans. As a punishment, the three were thrown into a burning fiery furnace. But they did not die.
But Nebuchadnezzar distinguished a fourth person among them inside the furnace and, in his own words, the appearance of the fourth was like a son of the gods (Daniel 3:25). The king quickly realized this was an act of God and immediately felt as humbled as he had been at the time of the dream that Daniel had interpreted:
Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said: 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who has sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king's word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore, I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other god that is able to deliver after this sort.'
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, in the province of Babylon. (Daniel 3:28-30)
Following his destruction of the Temple and its spoil of religious tools, God would have decreed the death of the king. But, as the act was guided by divine desire, and as Nebuchadnezzar had acknowledged the supremacy of God during the incident of the furnace, he was granted 15 extra years to live, as King Hezekiah had also benefited for his good deeds. But, because he had risen himself as if he was above all gods in all his empire, his fate was sealed:
But when his heart was lifted and his spirit was hardened that he dealt proudly, he [Nebuchadnezzar] was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. (Daniel 5:20)
Year 3187 – 573 BCE – Ezekiel's vision of the Second Temple
In the 25th year of captivity, Ezekiel had a vision that he was taken by an angel and brought to the Temple that would be rebuilt. This vision offers many details that will be confirmed in the future. One passage says:
Then came he [the angel] unto the gate which looks toward the east and went up the steps thereof; and he measured the jamb of the gate, one reed broad, and the other jamb, one reed broad. (Ezekiel 40:6)
The gate described above is the one that gave access to the Temple Mount from the eastern side, the valley of the Cedron. Naturally, this access needed steps. This entrance was the only one facing the east and, to honor Persia, the nation who authorized the reconstruction of the Temple, it was named the Shushan Gate (Susa Gate, named after Susa the capital of Persia located in the east compared to Jerusalem). This gate was exclusively used for a religious ceremony that took place once a year. The Susa Gate was located where the Golden Gate (or the Sealed Gate) is located today.
In the later years of his life, the British scientist Isaac Newton spent a considerable amount of his time deciphering the Hebrew text related to the dimension of the Temple and wrote a detailed essay about it (written in Latin; to see a transcription, click here). For Newton, the Temple of Solomon was a representation of the cosmos.
Year 3190 – 570 BCE – Nebuchadnezzar spoils Egypt
The king of Babylon finally turned against Egypt after having conquered the Levant:
In the 37th year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the country of Babylon, he went to Egypt to wage war. Amasis, king of Egypt, collected [his army], marched and spread abroad. (J. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 1974, p. 308, translation from clay tablet at the British Museum)
This campaign was announced to Ezekiel in that year, at the beginning of the Biblical year 3190 (570 BCE), as a divine prize to Nebuchadnezzar after the conquest of Tyre:
And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: 'Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it; therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off her abundance, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt as his hire for which he served, because they wrought for Me, says the Lord God. (Ezekiel 29:17-20)
The years in Ezekiel are counted from the start of the captivity of King Jehoiachin, in 597 BCE, while the Babylonian chronicles count the years from the start of the reign of the king, so 605 BCE for Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylon the Jews who had previously fled to Egypt, including Jeremiah. The land of Egypt was left desolated.
Year 3192 – 568 BCE – Death of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel opens with the following sentence:
Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in 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. (Ezekiel 1:1)
There is no further detail about what happens. The next verse concerns the first vision he had of God in the fifth year [of the captivity]. We can thus assume that, when Ezekiel wrote the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God, he meant to say that his time was up and that he was going to die. This is the time when he completed his book, that will be included in the Jewish canon, and he would have added the closing verse 1:1 at the beginning.
His tomb is still located in Iraq, in a village called Al-Kilf near the city of Najaf and has revered by both Jews and Muslims for centuries. Although, in recent years, there has been some attempt to exclude the Jews from the shrine and to turn it into a mosque (to read about it, click here).
The text of the Book of Ezekiel was inscribed in 66 stone tiles of marble or black basalt, of about 12 inches squared shape (so-called the Ezekiel Plates), found in his shrine, and smuggled to Lebanon in the 20th century. They were later sold to an Israeli businessman in 1947 and found their way to Jerusalem in 1953 where they are exhibited today. There is barely any difference between the text of these plates and the known text of the Book of Ezekiel (to read about these plates, click here).
Year 3198 – 562 BCE – The madness of King Nebuchadnezzar
In the following years, Nebuchadnezzar suffered from mental torments, with dreams and nightmares. A new dream preoccupied him, and he called upon Daniel for help. The dream portrayed a huge tree that grew to dominate the world, until an angel from Heaven came down to cast a spell that destroyed it. What happened is that Nebuchadnezzar being the master of the known world of the times, he grew in vanity so God would not let him rest upon it. Yet, as He had granted him extra years to live, He had to comply with His word but did so by getting the great king mad and finally lose power in 562 BCE. Nebuchadnezzar was cast out of the city of Babylon, as he was considered insane, and he probably died 7 years later, as the Biblical text states:
This is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king, that you shall be driven from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and you shall be made to eat grass as oxen, and shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times [seven years] shall pass over you; till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will. (Daniel 4:21-22)
Jeremiah had prophesied about the end of the empires of the time. Indeed, the 26th Dynasty of Egypt was the last one of native rulers as they will be replaced by foreign rulers. Also, Nebuchadnezzar’s reign ended in 562 BCE, in the 26th year after he destroyed Jerusalem. The number 26 is the sign of a divine act (for Jewish symbolism of the numbers, click here).
Year 3200 – 560 BCE – Belshazzar and the writing on the wall
Nebuchadnezzar's son, Amel-Marduk, called Evil-Merodach in the Bible, was brought to reign in his stead. He changed some of his father’s policies and this caused some resentment among the upper class of Babylon society. One of his first acts was to free the old king of Judah, Jehoiachin (Leviticus Rabbah 18:2), who had surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar but had nonetheless been taken captive to Babylon and left in jail for over 36 years. Jehoiachin was then treated with the honors due to a king but died soon after.
This new ruler did not have the talent to be a great leader and busied himself in arranging great feasts for his guests. This was certainly a manner to please them but also to keep them close enough and better control them, because the new king clearly faced some difficulty imposing his authority. In the Bible, he is mentioned as Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 5:1-2). Historians associated this name with the last king of Babylon before the Persian conquest. But the name Belshazzar simply means “heir of the lord” (Bel/Bels means lord like the god Baal, and Azzar/Usur means firstborn son). It could have been said for any king who came to rule after his father, as it was the case for Amel-Marduk. Anyway, he was indeed the "last king" of Babylon because he became the last legitimate Chaldean ruler. The following rulers were usurpers.
He is also mentioned in one of the Apocrypha books:
And pray you for the life of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and for the life of Belshazzar his son, that their days may be upon earth as the days of heaven. (Apocrypha, Baruch, chapter 1, 11)
During a feast, he asked to bring the golden vessels of the Temple of Jerusalem to drink from them (Daniel 5:3). For this act, which profaned the sacred vessels, he was to receive divine punishment. So, during the feast and in front of the entire assembly, God had a human hand to write on a wall. But nobody could understand the meaning. So, Daniel was called to interpret it. He explained that his father Nebuchadnezzar had been punished by God because of his vanity. As of Belshazzar:
“And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you know all this; but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your consorts and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified; then was the palm of the hand sent from before Him, and this writing [on the wall] was inscribed.
And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE MENE, TEKEL UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE, God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end. TEKEL, you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES, your kingdom is broken, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made proclamation concerning him, that he should rule as one of three in the kingdom. In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. (Daniel 5:22-30)
The Biblical text is correct in mentioning that the son of Nebuchadnezzar was slayed. Indeed Amel-Marduk was assassinated by his brother-in-law Nergal-Sharezer, or Neriglissar, who had been one of the high-ranked officers of Nebuchadnezzar’s army who conquered Jerusalem and was ordered to protect Jeremiah the Prophet:
Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying: 'Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto you.' So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushazban Rab-saris, and Nergal-Sharezer Rab-mag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon; they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard [when he was under arrest], and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home; so he dwelt among the people. (Jeremiah 39:11-14)
This Nergal-Sarezer (written Neriglissar in English) was married to one of the daughters of Nebuchadnezzar. He murdered Belshazzar and succeeded him as king of Babylon. He was probably old himself, because 27 years had passed since his participation in the conquest of Jerusalem. He only reigned four years and was supposed to be succeeded by one of his late sons, still a boy of age. But this didn’t happen.
Year 3204 – 556 BCE – Nabonidus
Nergal-Sarezer was killed in another conspiracy and Nabonidus seized power. He had no legitimacy to reign and was not even Chaldean but probably from Assyria because he worshipped Sin, which was the god of Charan, instead of worshipping Marduk, god of Babylon.
His reign effectively marked the end of the Chaldean dynasty over the Babylonian empire, and it occurred precisely when Jeremiah had prophesied:
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; which Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even unto this day, these three and twenty years, the word of the Lord has come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, speaking betimes and often; but you have not hearkened. And the Lord has sent unto you all His servants the prophets, sending them betimes and often -- but you have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear -- saying: 'Return you now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given unto you and to your fathers, for ever and ever; and go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke Me not with the work of your hands, and I will do you no hurt.' Yet you have not hearkened unto Me, says the Lord; that you might provoke Me with the work of your hands to your own hurt.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not heard My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says the Lord, and I will send unto Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover, I will cause to cease from among them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.
And this whole land shall be desolation, and a waste; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, says the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. (Jeremiah 25:1-13)
The 70 years of Jeremiah’s prophecy started from the year of his prophecy, in the 13th year of Josiah, king of Judah, and ended with the year when Nabonidus usurped power and took the throne of the Chaldeans.
The name of Nabonidus is mentioned in a clay cylinder, of which archaeologists have found only two copies. The cylinder was written in the 13th year of Nabonidus’ reign, in year 544 BCE (Hebrew year 3216).
A transcription of the text is as follows:
I, Nabonidus, the great king, the strong king, the king of the universe, the king of Babylon, the king of the four corners, the caretaker of Esagila and Ezida, for whom Sin and Ningal in his mother's womb decreed a royal fate as his destiny, the son of Nabû-balâssi-iqbi, the wise prince, the worshiper of the great gods, I: […]
In the beginning of my everlasting reign, they sent me a dream. Marduk, the great lord, and Sin, the luminary of heaven and the netherworld, stood together. Marduk spoke with me: 'Nabonidus, king of Babylon, carry bricks on your riding horse, rebuild Ehulhul and cause Sin, the great lord, to establish his residence in its midst.' […] But Marduk spoke with me: 'The Mede whom you mentioned, he, his country and the kings who marched at his side will be no more.' (Harper, Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, London, 1911, Vol.1 p.163)
It is interesting to note that this cylinder mentions a dream that Nabonidus claimed to have had during which the god of Babylon, Marduk, had talked to him. Since the times of Nebuchadnezzar, dreams must have been very important as direct messages from the gods. A usurper like Nabonidus would of course find it useful to use dreams in an attempt to portray himself as a messenger of the gods and justify his legitimacy in power. But, in his case, the dream was a political invention and his assertion that Cyrus the Mede will be no more proved to be wrong.
To return to the first part of this generation 27, click here.
To continue reading to the last section of this generation 27, click here.
To return to the list of chronological generations from Seder Olam Revisited, click here.
Albert Benhamou
Private Tour Guide in Israel
Adar 5785 - March 2025