About 632 B.C., Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, the great and noble Asnapper of Ezra 4. 10, died and from that time the power of Babylonia gradually supplanted that of Assyria, until in 625 B.C. it became entirely independent under the sway of Nabopolassar, who established a strong native Chaldean dynasty. The Babylonian Empire continued until 539 B.C., when Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians. Records covering this period were kept and these are known as the Babylonian Chronicle. Texts still in existence cover the years 626-622, 610-594, 556, and 555-539 B.C. On a number of occasions during these years, events took place to which reference is made in the Old Testament, and it is interesting to compare the Chronicle and the Scriptures.
The Fall Of Nineveh
The prophets Nahum and Zephaniah prophesied against Nineveh. The former said, “The burden of Nineveh . . . all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee and say, Nineveh is laid waste” (1. 1; 3. 7). The latter, writing of God, says, “He will stretch forth his hand against the north and destroy Assyria and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness”.
An extract from a portion of the Chronicle in the possession of the British Museum reads:
” The king of Babylon called out his army . . and they marched along the Tigris river bank and pitched camp by Nineveh. From the month of Sivan to the month of Ab (July – August) they (advanced?). They made a strong attack on the citadel and in the month of Ab [on the . . the day the city was taken] a great defeat inflicted on the people and (their) chiefs. On the same day Sin-shar-ishkun, the Assyrian king [perished in the flames]. They carried off much spoil from the city and the temple area and turned the city into a ruin-mound and heap of debris.”
Nineveh, in fact, fell to a combined attack of the Babylonians, Medes and Scythians in 612 B.C.
This comparison indicates both the prophetic power and the historical accuracy of the Jewish prophets and their Scriptures.
Josiah
After the destruction of Nineveh, the Assyrian court was re-established at Harran, some hundreds of miles to the west, by Ashuruballit. Here the Assyrians were supported by the Egyptians under Pharoah Necho II and managed to hold out for two years until 609 B.C. To reach Harran the Egyptian troops had to pass through Palestine, capture Carchemish and cross the Euphrates. During their journey they fell foul of Josiah, king of Judah, who was seeking to recapture territory formerly occupied by Israel. In spite of an endeavour by Necho to avoid hostilities, Josiah persisted in his intervention and was killed at the battle of Megiddo (2 Chron. 35. 20-25)
Of the Egyptian intervention the Babylonian Chronicle records:
“In the sixteenth year in the month of lyyar the Babylonian king called out his army and marched to Assyria. . . . As for Ashur-Bballit and the army of Egypt which had come [to help him] the fear of the enemy fell on them and they abandoned the city and . . . crossed [the river Euphrates]. The Babylonian king reached Harran —captured the city, they carried off much spoil from the city and the temple.
“In the [seventeenth year], the month of Tammuz, ashur-uballit king of Assyria, a great Egyptian army . . . crossed the river, and marched against the city of Harran to conquer it . . . they slew the garrison which the Babylonian king had stationed there . . . and he beseiged the city of Harran. Until the month of Elul he assaulted the city, but although he did not take it, they withdrew . .
The Submission Of Judah
After the events referred to in the previous paragraph. Nabopolassar, now an aged man, fought in the defensive against the Egyptians, who had come to the aid of the Assyrians, for some two years. Then Nabopolassar handed over command of the troops to the crown prince, Nebuchadnezzar. At once the position changed. The new leader attacked his country’s foes vigorously. In 605 B.C. the Egyptians were utterly defeated in the battle of Carchemish, which was the Egyptian base. Not only was this so, but Nebuchadnezzar invaded and subdued Syria and parts of Palestine. The Chronicle describes this as follows:
“In the twenty-first year, the king of Babylon stayed in his own country while the crown prince Nebuchadnezzar, his eldest son, took personal command of his troops and marched to Carchemish, which lay on the bank of the river Euphrates. He crossed the river (to go) against the Egyptian army which was situated in Carchemish . . . they fought with each other and the Egyptian army withdrew before him. He defeated them (smashing) them out of existence. As for the remnant of the Egyptian army which had escaped from the defeat so (hastily) that no weapon had touched them, the Babylonian army overtook and defeated them in the district of Hamath, so that not a single man (escaped) to his own country. At that time Nebuchadnezzar conquered the whole of the land of Hatti. For twenty-one years Nabopolassar had been the king of Babylon. On the eighth of Ab he died . . Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon . . . and sat on the royal throne in Babylon.”
The Chronicle goes on to record that during the year of his accession and the next year Nebuchadnezzar invaded the Hattiland and that he took heavy spoil and that all the kings of the Hattiland submitted to him and paid heavy tribute. The Hattiland meant to the Babylonians all the territory west of the Euphrates, including all Syria and Palestine.
The parallel record in the Old Testament tells of the rapidity and extent of the Babylonian ‘advance. “And the king of Egypt came’ not again any more out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that had pertained to the king of Egypt” (2 Kings 24. 7).
The prophet Jeremiah urged his people to submit to the overwhelming strength of Nebuchadnezzar’s armies. The king of Judah, Jehoiakim, accepted this advice: “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up and Jehoiakim became his servant” (2 Kings 24. 1). Hostages were sent to Babylon, and these may have included Daniel and Ezekiel. In 601 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt, but Necho II defeated him so heavily that the Babylonians were compelled to remain at home for eighteen months in order to re-equip their armies. Probably this led Jehoiakim to rebel and to cease payment of tribute. Against the advice of Jeremiah he replied upon support from Egypt to maintain his independence.
By 598 B.C. however, Babylonian reconstruction was complete and their armies were mobilised for an attack upon Jerusalem. In fact, in the previous year, in preparation for the invasion of Palestine, the Babylonians had despoiled the Arab tribes as prophesied by Jeremiah (49. 2833). About the time of the attack Jehoiakim died and was succeeded by Jehoiachin.
The Chronicle describes the siege of Jerusalem as follows:
“In the seventh year, in the month of Kislev, the Babylonian king mustered his troops and, having marched to the land of Hath, beseiged the city of Judah and, on the second day of the month Adar took the city and captured the king. He appointed therein a king of his own choice, received its heavy tribute and sent (them) to Babylon.”
The Bible (2 Kings 24. 10-18; 2 Chronicles 36. 9) confirms these statements. Jehoiachin, his mother, servants and household, and certain soldiers and craftsmen were captured and sent to Babylon, while the Babylonian king made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s nephew, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah. Treasures from the temple and the royal palace were also seized. An interesting feature of the Chronicle record is that it fixes the date of the fall of Jerusalem. The second day of the month Adar in the eighth year is the 16th March, 597 B.C.
The Fall Of Babylon
The Jewish prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah in particular, had long predicted the fall of Babylon and, although over 60 years were to elapse after the fall of Jerusalem before the end came, the doom of the Babylonian Empire was sure. The power of the Medes and Persians was growing and in due course the great leader, Cyrus, emerged. By him the city was taken. A text, sometimes called the Nabonidus Chronicle, describes the event. Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon and he was absent from the city, which was in charge of his Son Belshazzar, when it fell. The Chronicle testifies:
“(In the seventeenth year of Nabonidus) . . . In the month of Teshrit, while Cyrus was attacking the Babylonian army at Opis by the river Tigris, the people of Babylonia revolted and panicked, but he (Nabonidus) slew (some of) the people. On the 15th day when Sippar was taken without battle, Nabonidus fled. On the 16th day, Ugbaru, the district governor of Gutium, and the troops of Cyrus entered Babylon without battle. Afterwards Nabonidus was captured when he returned to Babylon. . . . On the 3rd of Marcheswan Cyrus entered Babylon and they waved branches before him. Peace settled on the city (and) Cyrus proclaimed peace to Babylon.”
The third of Marcheswan, in the seventeenth year of Nabonidus, was the 29th October, 539 B.C. This was 16 days after Ugbaru had captured the city.
The correspondence between the Bible and the Chronicle is impressive and leaves no doubt as to the accuracy of the description of the events related.
Jacob’s Prophecy in Gen 49 and Other Discussion Questions