chapter 21

, was a vassal of Esarhaddon. Esarhaddon is also alluded to in Ezra 4:2.

=14. Ashurbanipal of Assyria, 668-626 B. C.=

In my third campaign I marched against Baal, King of Tyre, who dwelt in the midst of the sea. Because he had not kept the word of my lordship nor heeded the utterance of my lips, I erected against him siege-works and cut off his exit both by land and sea; their lives I made narrow and straitened; I caused them to submit to my yoke. They brought the daughters that came forth from his loins and the daughters of his brothers into my presence to become concubines. Yahimilki, his son, who had never crossed the sea, they brought at the same time to do me service. His daughter and the daughters of his brothers with an abundant dowry I received from him. I granted him favor and returned to him the son that came forth from his loins.[538]

Yakinlu, King of Arvad, who dwells in the midst of the sea, who had not submitted to the kings, my fathers, I brought under my yoke. He brought his daughter to Nineveh with an abundant dowry and kissed my feet ..........

On my return I captured Ushu, which is situated on the coast of the sea. The inhabitants of Ushu, who had not been obedient to their governors, who had not paid their tribute, I killed as the tribute of their land. Among the rebellious peoples I set my staff. Their gods and their peoples I carried as booty to Assyria. The people of Accho who had not submitted I subdued. I hung their bodies on stakes around the city. The rest I took to Assyria; I preserved them and added them to the numerous army which Ashur had given unto me.[539]

These extracts from the inscriptions of Ashurbanipal show that during the reign of Manasseh he was active in reducing the rebellions of Phœnician cities, some of which, as Tyre and Accho, were at the doors of Palestine. No doubt Manasseh continued to pay him tribute and so was not molested. The name of Ashurbanipal is preserved in Ezra 4:10 in the corrupt form of Osnappar.

=15. Necho of Egypt, 609-593 B. C.=

Year 16, fourth month of the first season, day 16, under the majesty of Horus: Wise-hearted; king of Upper and Lower Egypt; Favorite of the two goddesses: Triumphant; Golden Horus: Beloved-of-the-Gods; Uhemibre; Son of Ra, of his body, his beloved: Necho, living forever, beloved of Apis, son of Osiris.[540]

(An account of the interment of an Apis bull then follows.)

The above is the beginning of an inscription of Pharaoh Necho, whose defeat of King Josiah, of Judah, is recorded in 2 Kings 23:29, f. He became over-lord of Judah for four years and placed Jehoiakim on the Judæan throne (2 Kings 23:34). Necho was himself defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates by Nebuchadrezzar, of Babylon, in 604 B. C., and as he retreated to Egypt Nebuchadrezzar pursued him through Palestine. The book of Jeremiah speaks of this defeat and vividly describes the pursuit which followed. (Cf. Jer. 46:2, f.)

=16. Nebuchadrezzar II, 604-562 B. C.=

Many inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar are known, but most of them relate to buildings. The following extracts are those which best illustrate the Bible.

In exalted trust in him (Marduk) distant countries, remote mountains from the upper sea (Mediterranean) to the lower sea (Persian Gulf), steep paths, blockaded roads, where the step is impeded, [where] was no footing, difficult roads, desert paths, I traversed, and the disobedient I destroyed; I captured the enemies, established justice in the lands; the people I exalted; the bad and evil I separated from the people.[541]

Reference to the Lebanon

From the upper sea to the lower sea, .......... [which] Marduk, my lord, had entrusted to me, in [all] lands, the totality [of dwelling-places] I [exalted] the city of Babylon to the first place. I caused his name to be reverenced among the cities; the shrines of Nabu and Marduk, my lords, I made them recognize, continually .......... At that time the Lebanon mountain, the mountain [of cedar], the proud forest of Marduk, the odor of whose cedars is good .......... of another god ........... no other king had ........... my god, Marduk, the king to the palace of the princes .......... of heaven and earth shone as adornment .......... As a foreign enemy had taken possession of (the mountain) and seized its riches, its people had fled and taken refuge at a distance. In the power of Nabu and Marduk, my lords, I drew up [my soldiers, for battle] in mount Lebanon. Its enemy I dislodged above and below and made glad the heart of the land. I collected its scattered people and returned them to their place. I did what no former king had done; I cleft high mountains, stones of the mountain I quarried, I opened passes. I made a straight road for the cedars. Mighty cedars they were, tall and strong, of wonderful beauty, whose dark appearance was remarkable,--the mighty products of mount Lebanon .......... I made the people of mount Lebanon to lie down in abundance; I permitted no adversary to possess it. That none might do harm I set up my royal image forever.[542]

A Building Inscription

Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon, the restorer of Esagila and Ezida, son of Nabopolassar am I. As a protection to Esagila, that no powerful enemy and destroyer might take Babylon, that the line of battle might not approach Imgur-Bel, the wall of Babylon, that which no former king had done [I did]; at the enclosure of Babylon I made an enclosure of a strong wall on the east side. I dug a moat, I reached the level of the water. I then saw that the wall which my father had prepared was too small in its construction. I built with bitumen and brick a mighty wall which, like a mountain, could not be moved and connected it with the wall of my father; I laid its foundations on the breast of the under-world; its top I raised up like a mountain. Along this wall to strengthen it I constructed a third and as the base of a protecting wall I laid a foundation of bricks and built it on the breast of the under-world and laid its foundation. The fortifications of Esagila and Babylon I strengthened and established the name of my reign forever.

O Marduk, lord of the gods, my divine creator, may my deeds find favor before thee; may they endure forever! Eternal life, satisfied with posterity, a secure throne, and a long reign grant as thy gift. Thou art indeed my deliverer and my help, O Marduk, I by thy faithful word which does not change--may my weapons advance, be sharp and be stronger than the weapon of the foe![543]

Nebuchadrezzar was the king who destroyed Jerusalem and carried the more prominent of the people of Judah captive. (See 2 Kings 24 and 25.) His inscriptions give no account of these events. In the first of the quotations made above he covers all his conquests by one general reference. In the second quotation he gives a more detailed account of his conquest of the Lebanon, because that inscription was carved on the rocks at the side of one of the deep valleys of the Lebanon. The third inscription, relating to the building of Babylon, has been strikingly confirmed by Koldewey’s excavation of Babylon, by which the massive walls and extensive temples were uncovered.[544] It also gives us a background for Daniel 4:29, where Nebuchadrezzar is said to have walked upon[545] the royal palace and said: “Is not this great Babylon which I have built?”

=17. Evil-Merodach, 562-560 B. C.=

Nebuchadrezzar was succeeded by his son, Amil-Marduk, whom the Bible (2 Kings 25:27) calls Evil-Merodach. The only inscription of his that has been found is the following, inscribed on an alabaster vase found at Susa, whither the Elamites had at some time carried it as booty:[546]

Palace of Amil-Marduk, King of Babylon, son of Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon.

This is the king who released Jehoiachin, King of Judah, from prison after his thirty-six years in confinement and treated him kindly.

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NOTE ON THE LAND OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA.--This region, which lay in South Arabia, was explored during the nineteenth century by a number of travelers. Three of these, Thomas J. Arnaud in 1843, Joseph Halévy in 1869, and Eduard Glaser who made four expeditions between 1882 and 1894, brought back from South Arabia many inscriptions, several of which were made by rulers of Saba, the Biblical Sheba, whose queen is said to have visited Solomon (1 Kings 10:1-13). As none of these relate to that queen, it has not seemed fitting to include one of them. The inscriptions, however, show that two important kingdoms existed there, Saba and Main. Main is thought by some to be related to the Biblical Midianites. The Greek version of Job makes Job’s friend, Zophar, king of Main. The kingdom of Saba lasted until 115 B. C. It established strong colonies in Africa. In 115 B. C. one colony overthrew the mother-country and established the kingdom of Saba and Raidhan, which lasted till about 300 A. D. After that Saba became apparently unimportant, but various Semitic kingdoms succeeded one another in Africa, including the present-day Abyssinian kingdom. The Abyssinian king claims descent from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

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