2 Kings 24:1
- In his days Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon came up
Cuneiform
tablet with part of the Babylonian Chronicle.
British Museum.
Brick
of Nebuchadnezzar II Neo-Babylonian dynasty,
about 604-561 BC From Babylon, southern Iraq.
British Museum.
This
door-slab comes from the lower part of a flight
of steps in the Temple of Ezida in Borsippa.
The inscription reads: Nebuchadnezzar, King
of Babylon. British Museum.
Cylinder
of Nebuchadnezzar II.Neo-Babylonian dynasty,
604-562 BC From Babylon, southern Iraq. British
Museum.
History
Nebuchadrezzar
II (also Nebuchadnezzar; reigned 605 BC - 562
BC) is perhaps the best known ruler of Babylon
in the Chaldean Dynasty. He is famous for his
conquests of Judah and Jerusalem, his monumental
building within his capital of Babylon, his
role in the Book of Daniel, and his construction
of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which as
legend has it, he made for his wife because
she was homesick for the mountain springs where
she grew up.
He is traditionally called "Nebuchadnezzar
the Great", but his destruction of temples
in Jerusalem and the conquest of Judah caused
his vilification in Judaic tradition and in
the Bible, causing him to be interpreted very
differently by western Christians and Jews
than in contemporary Iraq, where he is glorified
as a historic leader.
Babylonia
The most spectacular evidence of Nebuchadnezzar's
military successes are his building works in
Babylonia. All the great old cities were extensively
rebuilt. Most notable was the development of
Babylon. The remains were revealed
by German excavations early this century and
much material is now in the Vordersaistiche
Museum Berlin. After 594 BC little is known
about the political events of Nebuchadnezzar's
reign.
Dedicatory Inscription
on the Ishtar Gate, Babylon Part of the
inscription reads: "Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, the faithful
prince appointed by the will of Marduk, the
highest of princely princes, beloved of Nabu,
of prudent counsel, who has learned to embrace
wisdom, who fathomed their divine being and
reveres their majesty, the untiring governor,
who always takes to heart the care of the
cult of Esagila and Ezida and is constantly
concerned with the well-being of Babylon
and Borsippa, the wise, the humble, the caretaker
of Esagila and Ezida,
the firstborn son of Nabopolassar, the King
of Babylon."
Scriptures 2Kings
24:1 In
his days Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon came
up, and
Jehoiakim
became
his servant
three years:
then he
turned
and rebelled
against
him.
Jeremiah 28:3 Within
two full years will I bring again into this
place all the vessels
of the
LORD'S house, that Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon took
away from this place, and carried them to Babylon:
Daniel 3:9 They spake and said
to the king
Nebuchadnezzar
