The Definition of the word Nebuchadnezzar

Nebuchadnezzar

In the Babylonian orthography Nabu-kudur-uzur, which means "Nebo, protect the crown! or the "frontiers." In an inscription" "he styles himself "Nebo's favourite." He was the son and" "successor of Nabopolassar, who delivered Babylon from its" dependence on Assyria and laid Nineveh in ruins. He was the greatest and most powerful of all the Babylonian kings. He "married the daughter of Cyaxares, and thus the Median and" Babylonian dynasties were united. "Necho II., the king of Egypt, gained a victory over the Assyrians at Carchemish. (See [431]JOSIAH; [432]MEGIDDO.) This secured to Egypt the possession of the Syrian provinces of "Assyria, including Palestine. The remaining provinces of the" Assyrian empire were divided between Babylonia and Media. But Nabopolassar was ambitious of reconquering from Necho the "western provinces of Syria, and for this purpose he sent his son" with a powerful army westward (Dan. 1:1). The Egyptians met him "at Carchemish, where a furious battle was fought, resulting in" "the complete rout of the Egyptians, who were driven back (Jer." "46:2-12), and Syria and Phoenicia brought under the sway of" "Babylon (B.C. 606). From that time "the king of Egypt came not" "again any more out of his land" (2 Kings 24:7). Nebuchadnezzar" "also subdued the whole of Palestine, and took Jerusalem," "carrying away captive a great multitude of the Jews, among whom" "were Daniel and his companions (Dan. 1:1, 2; Jer. 27:19; 40:1)." "Three years after this, Jehoiakim, who had reigned in Jerusalem "as a Babylonian vassal, rebelled against the oppressor, trusting" to help from Egypt (2 Kings 24:1). This led Nebuchadnezzar to "march an army again to the conquest of Jerusalem, which at once" "yielded to him (B.C. 598). A third time he came against it, and" "deposed Jehoiachin, whom he carried into Babylon, with a large" "portion of the population of the city, and the sacred vessels of" "the temple, placing Zedekiah on the throne of Judah in his" "stead. He also, heedless of the warnings of the prophet, entered" "into an alliance with Egypt, and rebelled against Babylon. This" "brought about the final siege of the city, which was at length" taken and utterly destroyed (B.C. 586). Zedekiah was taken "captive, and had his eyes put out by order of the king of" "Babylon, who made him a prisoner for the remainder of his life." "An onyx cameo, now in the museum of Florence, bears on it an "arrow-headed inscription, which is certainly ancient and" genuine. The helmeted profile is said (Schrader) to be genuine "also, but it is more probable that it is the portrait of a" "usurper in the time of Darius (Hystaspes), called Nidinta-Bel," "who took the name of "Nebuchadrezzar." The inscription has been" "thus translated:, "In honour of Merodach, his lord," "Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in his lifetime had this made." "A clay tablet, now in the British Museum, bears the following "inscription, the only one as yet found which refers to his wars:" "In the thirty-seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the" "country of Babylon, he went to Egypt [Misr] to make war. Amasis," "king of Egypt, collected [his army], and marched and spread" "abroad." Thus were fulfilled the words of the prophet (Jer." 46:13-26; Ezek. 29:2-20). Having completed the subjugation of "Phoenicia, and inflicted chastisement on Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar" now set himself to rebuild and adorn the city of Babylon (Dan. "4:30), and to add to the greatness and prosperity of his kingdom" by constructing canals and aqueducts and reservoirs surpassing in grandeur and magnificence everything of the kind mentioned in "history (Dan. 2:37). He is represented as a "king of kings," "ruling over a vast kingdom of many provinces, with a long list" "of officers and rulers under him, "princes, governors," "captains," etc. (3:2, 3, 27). He may, indeed, be said to have" created the mighty empire over which he ruled. "Modern research has shown that Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest "monarch that Babylon, or perhaps the East generally, ever" produced. He must have possessed an enormous command of human "labour, nine-tenths of Babylon itself, and nineteen-twentieths" of all the other ruins that in almost countless profusion cover "the land, are composed of bricks stamped with his name. He" appears to have built or restored almost every city and temple in the whole country. His inscriptions give an elaborate account of the immense works which he constructed in and about Babylon "itself, abundantly illustrating the boast, `Is not this great" "Babylon which I have build?'" Rawlinson, Hist. Illustrations." "After the incident of the "burning fiery furnace" (Dan. 3) into "which the three Hebrew confessors were cast, Nebuchadnezzar was" afflicted with some peculiar mental aberration as a punishment "for his pride and vanity, probably the form of madness known as" "lycanthropy (i.e, "the change of a man into a wolf"). A" remarkable confirmation of the Scripture narrative is afforded "by the recent discovery of a bronze door-step, which bears an" inscription to the effect that it was presented by Nebuchadnezzar to the great temple at Borsippa as a votive offering on account of his recovery from a terrible illness. (See [433]DANIEL.) "He survived his recovery for some years, and died B.C. 562, in "the eighty-third or eighty-fourth year of his age, after a reign" "of forty-three years, and was succeeded by his son" "Evil-merodach, who, after a reign of two years, was succeeded by" "Neriglissar (559-555), who was succeeded by Nabonadius" "(555-538), at the close of whose reign (less than a quarter of a" century after the death of Nebuchadnezzar) Babylon fell under Cyrus at the head of the combined armies of Media and Persia. "I have examined, says Sir H. Rawlinson, "the bricks belonging perhaps to a hundred different towns and cities in the "neighbourhood of Baghdad, and I never found any other legend" "than that of Nebuchadnezzar, son of Nabopolassar, king of" "Babylon." Nine-tenths of all the bricks amid the ruins of" Babylon are stamped with his name.