Nebuchadnezzar (III)

III. NEBUCHADNEZZAR, Son and Successor of Nabopolassar, succeeded to the Kingdom of Chaldea in the Year of the Word 3399, before Christ 601, before the vulgar Æra 605. Some time before this, Nabopolassar had taken him as a Partner in the Kingdom, and sent him to recover Carchemish, which had been conquered from him four Years before, by Necho King of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar having been succesful in this Expedition, marched against the Governor of Phœnicia, and 2 Chron. xxxvi. 6.against Jehoiachim King of Judah, who was a Tributary to Necho King of Egypt. He took Jehoiachim, and put him in Chains, in order to carry him Captive to Babylon; but on farther Thoughts he left him in Judea, under the Condition of paying him a large Tribute. He took away several Persons of the first Quality from Jerusalem; among others, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, all of the Royal Family, whom the King of Babylon caused to be brought up in Dan. i. 1, 2, 3, &c.his Court, in the Language and in the Learning of the Chaldeans, that they might be employed at Court.

Nabopolassar dying about the End of the Year of the World 3399, before Christ 601, before the vulgar Æra 605: Nebuchadnezzar, who was then either in Egypt or Judea, made haste to Babylon, and left to his Generals the Care of bringing to Chaldea the Captives he had taken in Syria, Judea, Phenicia, and Egypt¹; for according to Berosus, he had subdued all these Countries. He distributed these Captives into several Colonies, and in the Temple of his God Belus he deposited the Sacred Vessels of the Temple of Jerusalem; and the other rich Spoils he had taken from his Enemies.

Jehoiachim King of Judah continued three Years in Fealty to King Nebuchadnezzar, but then being weary of paying Tribute to the Chaldeans, he threw off their Yoke, and would not acknowledge them any longer². The King of Chaldea did not think fit to march in Person against him, but sent Troops of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, who harras’d all Judea. This War continued three or four Years³; in which at last Jehoiachim was besieged and taken in Jerusalem, put to Death, and his Body thrown to the Birds of the Air, according to the Predictions of the Prophet Jeremiah.Jer. xxii. 18, 19. xxxvi. 30. See JEHOIACHIM.

In the mean Time Nebuchadnezzar being then at Babylon, in the second Year of his Reign, had a very mysterious Dream⁴, in which he saw a Statue made up of several Metals, having a Head of Gold, a Breast of Silver, the Belly and Thighs of Brass, the Legs of Iron, and the Feet half of Iron, and half of Clay: A little Stone coming of its own Accord from the Mountain, struck against the Statue, and broke it to Pieces. The King having had this Dream, which gave him a great deal of Uneasiness, afterwards had so far forgot it, that he could not recover the least Notion of it. He ordered all his Diviners and Interpreters of Dreams to be sent for, but none of ‘em could tell him either the Dream or the Interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar being then in Wrath, pronounced a Sentence of Death against them all, which was going to be put in Execution, when Daniel was informed of it. He went immediately to the King, and desired him to respite the Sentence a little while, and he would endeavour to satisfie the King’s Desire. Daniel address’d himself to God, who in the Night revealed to him the King’s Dream, and also the Interpretation.

The Day following Daniel went to Arioch, who had Orders to put to Death all the Diviners of Babylon, and told him that he was then ready to satisfie the King’s Desire concerning the Dream in Question. The Prophet was admitted to Nebuchadnezzar’s Presence, and told him, that it was from the God of Heaven, and not from the Wise-men of Babylon, that he was to expect the Interpretation of his Dream. He then informed him what his Dream was, as is above related; to which he added this Explication. You are the King of Kings, and the most puissant Monarch in the whole World. ‘Tis you that are represented by the Golden Head of the Statue. After you there will arise a Kingdom inferior to yours, represented by the Breast of Silver; and after this another inferior to the former, which is denoted by the Belly and Thighs of Brass. After these three Empires, which are those of the Chaldæans, Persians, and the Greeks, there will arise a fourth, denoted by the Legs of Iron, and which represents the Empire of the Romans. Under this last Empire God will raise a new one, which shall be of greater Strength, Power, and Extent than all the others. This is that of the Messiah, represented by the little Stone coming from the Mountain, and overthrowing the Statue.

When Nebuchadnezzar had heard this Explication, he prostrated himself to the Ground, and worshipped Daniel; and commanded that Sacrifices and Incense should be offered to him. He acknowledged that the God of Daniel was the God of Gods, and the Lord of Kings, who only knew the most hidden Things, and reveals them when he pleases. Then the King raised Daniel to great Honour, made him noble Presents, set him over all the Wise -men of Babylon, and gave him the Government of that Province: At his Request he granted to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego the Oversight of the Works of the same Province of Babylon.

Jehoiakin, or Jechoniah, King of Judah having revolted against Nebuchadnezzar⁵, this Prince marched against him with an Army, and besieged him in Jerusalem. Jehoiakin was forced to surrender himself, and submit to the King of Babylon’s Mercy. But this Prince took him with his chief Officers, and led him Captive to Babylon, with his Mother, his Wives, and the best Workmen of Jerusalem, to the Number of ten Thousand Men. From the rest of the Country he took away also seven Thousand Men bearing Arms, with a Thousand Smiths and Carpenters. Among the Captives were Mordecai the Uncle of Esther, and Ezekiel the Prophet. Lastly, he took away all the Vessels of Gold which Solomon had made for the Use of the Temple, and whatever valuable Things were to be found in the King’s Treasury. Instead of Jeconiah, Nebuchadnezzar set up Mattaniah his Uncle by the Father’s Side, to whom he gave the Name of Zedekiah.

When Zedekiah had continued faithful to Nebuchadnezzar for nine Years⁶, being then weary of Subjection, he revolted against him, and entered into a Confederacy with the neighbouring Princes, that he might oppose him with the greater Security. The King of Babylon came into Judæa with a powerful Army, and having reduced the chief Places of the Country, he laid Siege to Jerusalem. But Pharaoh Hophra, or Vaphres, coming out of Egypt to the Assistance of Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar raised the Siege for some Time, went to meet the King of Egypt, overcame him in Battle, and forced him to retire into his own Country. After which he returned to the Siege of Jerusalem⁷, and was three Hundred and ninety Days before the Place, before he could take it. But at last, in the eleventh Year of Zedekiah, and in the Year of the World 3416, before Christ 584, and before the Vulgar Æra 588, the City was taken. Zedekiah attempted to make his Escape, 2 Kings xxv. Jerem. xxxiv. lii.but he was taken and brought to Nebuchadnezzar, who was then at Riblah in Syria. The King of Babylon condemned him to dye, caused his Children to be put to Death in his Presence, and then bored out his Eyes, loaded him with Chains, and sent him to Babylon. Nebuzar-adan, the General of the Chaldæan Troops, took Care of Jeremiah, according to the Orders he had received from the King, and left him at full Liberty to go where he pleased. Then setting Fire to the City and Temple, he brought to Babylon all the Captives he had got during the War. He left Gedaliah in the Country, as Governor to the small Remains of the People, 2 Kings xxv. 11, 12, &c. Jerem. xxxix. 10, 11. xl. 5, 7, &c.whom the Sword, and other Miseries of War had yet spared.

Three Years after the Jewish War, Nebuchadnezzar came to besiege the City of Tyre⁸, which Siege held for thirteen Years. But during this Interval of Time, he made War also with the People bordering upon the Jews, as the Sidonians, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and Idumæans; and these he treated much as he had done the Jews Jerem. xlviii. xlix Ezek. xxv.before. Josephus says⁹, that these Wars happened five Years after the Destruction of Jerusalem, and consequently in the Year of the World 3421, before Christ 579, before the Vulgar Æra 583. The City of Tyre was taken in the Year of the World 3432, before Christ 568, before the Vulgar Æra 572. Ithobaal, who was then King of it, was put to Death, and Baal succeeded him. The Lord as a Reward to the Army of NebuchadnezzarEzek. xxix. 17,, which had lain down so long before this Place, gave up Egypt also to them, and all its Spoils. Nebuchadnezzar came into this Country, and made an easy Conquest of it, because then they were divided by civil Wars among themselves; he enriched himself with the Booty he had taken, and returned with all his Army in Triumph to Babylon, bringing along with him a vast Number of Captives¹⁰.

Nebuchadnezzar being now at Peace in Babylon, applied himself to the adorning, aggrandizing, and enriching the City with magnificent Buildings. ‘Twas then he undertook those famous Gardens, which were supported by Arches, and which have been esteemed as one of the Wonders of the World. Several also have ascribed to him the Walls of Babylon, though many Authors have given the Honour of this Work to Semiramis. Berosus and Abidenus may be consulted, as they are cited in Josephus¹¹. About this Time¹² Nebuchadnezzar had a Dream of a great Tree, very tall, and loaden with Fruit. On a sudden an Angel descending from Heaven, commanded that the Tree should be cut down, that the Branches, Leaves, and Fruit should be beat down, but that the Trunk and the Root should be preserved in the Earth, that it should be tied with Chains of Iron and Brass, that it should dwell among the Beasts of the Field, and that for seven Years it should be in the Condition of the Brutes, feeding upon the Herbs of the Field, and exposed to the Dew of Heaven. The King sent for all the Diviners in the Country, none of which could explain his Dream to him. Then Daniel coming to him, informed him, that this Dream let him know what was to happen to himself. ‘Tis you, says Daniel to him, that are represented by the great Tree: You are to be brought low, to be reduced to the Condition of a Brute, and to be driven from the Society of Men. But when you have been for seven Years in this State, and when you shall have acknowledged that all Power is derived from Heaven, you shall be restored to your first Condition. Wherefore break off thy Sins by Righteousness, and thine Iniquities by shewing Mercy to the Poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy Tranquility.

A Year after¹³, as Nebuchadnezzar was walking in his Palace at Babylon, he began to say within himself, “ Is not this Babylon the Great, which I have built in the “ Greatness of my Power, and in the “ Brightness of my Glory?” But hardly had he pronounced these Words, but a Voice was heard from Heaven, telling him, that he should be deprived of his Kingdom, driven from the Company of Men, and be reduced like a brute Beast to eat the Herbs of the Field. This Threatning was immediately executed upon him; for he fell into a Distemper or Distraction, which so altered his Imagination, that he thought himself to be metamorphosed into an Ox. He took up the Inclinations and Manners of this Creature; and after having been seven Years in this State, God opened his Eyes, he acknowledged his Dependance; and his Understanding was restored to him¹⁴. He again recovered his Royal Dignity, and continued to reign with the same Splendor as formerly¹⁵. This is what he acknowledges himself, in a Decree which he published sometime after, upon the Occasion we shall now relate.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Repentance was neither solid nor sincere. For the same Year of his Restoration, he caused a golden Statue to be set up, whose Height was sixty Cubits, and Breadth six Cubits; and this he erected in the Plains of Dura, in the Province of Babylon. And having appointed a Day for the Dedication of this Statue, he assembled all the principal Officers of his Kingdom; and published by an Herald, that all his Subjects should adore this Image, when they heard the Sound of the Instruments of Musick, on Penalty of being cast into a burning fiery Furnace, to all those that should disobey these Orders. As soon as the Solemnity was begun it was observed, that the Jews, and especially the three Companions of Daniel, would not bend the Knee, nor worship the King’s Image; of which Piece of Contumacy he was quickly informed. Nebuchadnezzar therefore commanded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be called to him. Daniel probably was absent. He asked them why they presumed to disobey his Orders; to which they replied, that they neither feared the Flames, nor any other Penalty; that the God, whom only they would worship, knew how to preserve them; but if the Lord should not think fit to deliver them out of his Hands, yet however they would obey him rather than Men.

At these Words the King caused them to be bound, and to be thrown into the Furnace, with all their Cloaths; and the Furnace being vehemently heated, the Flame consumed the Men that cast them in; but it spared Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The Angel of the Lord came down from Heaven, and divided the Flames, making a fresh Breeze in the Middle of the Furnace, and a pleasant Dew: So that the Fire did not so much as touch them, or gave them the least Uneasiness. Then these three Men glorified God, and called upon all his Creatures to join with them in his Praise. Nebuchadnezzar seeing this Miracle, was much astonished at it. He got up on a sudden, and said to his Nobles; ” Did we not cast three Men ” into the Fire, and from whence is it ” that I see four Men walking in the midst ” of the Flames? And the fourth is like ” the Son of God.” Then Nebuchadnezzar approaching towards the Mouth of the Furnace, called the three Hebrews by their Names, who presently came out of the Furnace in perfect Health, to the great Astonishment of the whole Court. Nor could they find that their Cloaths were so much as singed, nor had the Smell of Fire passed on them.

Then Nebuchadnezzar gave Glory to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He acknowledged his Power and Majesty, and ordained, that whoever should utter any blasphemous or injurious Words against the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, should be put to Death, and his House converted into a Dunghil. He exalted the three Hebrews to great Dignity in the Province of Babylon, and made a Decree, in which he declared the Greatness of the God of the Hebrews, and related what Dan. iv. 1, 2, 3, &c.had happened to him after his Dream, in which he had seen the great Tree, which was cut into Pieces by the Command of God, as above related.

Nebuchadnezzar died this same Year, being the Year of the World 3442, before Christ 558, before the Vulgar Æra 562, after having reigned three and forty Years¹⁶. Megasthenes quoted by Eusebius¹⁷ says, that this Prince having ascended to the Top of his Palace, was there seized with a Fit of divine Enthusiasm, and cried out, ” O Babylonians, I declare to you a Misfortune, ” that neither our Father Belus, nor Queen ” Baltis, have been able to prevent. A ” Persian Mule shall one Day come into ” this Country, who, supported by the ” Assistance of your Gods, shall bring you ” into Slavery. He shall be assisted by ” the Mede, the Glory of the Assyrians. (This Persian Mule is Cyrus, who was born of a Mother that was a Mede, and a Persian Father. The Mede who assisted Cyrus was Cyaxares, or Darius the Mede.) Nebuchadnezzar added, ” Would to God ” this Conqueror might perish in the ” Depths of the Sea, or in some dismal ” Wilderness where no Human Creature ” sets his Foot, that we may not see the ” Evils with which we are threatened. ” And would to God that I my self had had ” a happier Fate before this had come into ” my Mind.” At saying which he disappeared. ‘Tis doubted whether these Words, He disappeared, are to denote his Death, or only his Flight and Retreat, which followed his Metamorphosis into an Ox. The Name Neb-

Nebuchadnezzar or uchadonosor¹⁸ in the Chaldæan Tongue may signifie, a Treasure defended by the God Nebo.

Persian Authors relate,¹⁹ that Laborasb, the fourth King of Persia, of the Dynasty of the Caianides, who succeeded Kaikhostrot, made great Conquests in the East, and afterwards carry’d his victorious arms to the western Parts of his Empire. For he sent into Palestine one of his Generals call’d Raham, and surnamed Bakhtalnassar, that is to say, The Happiness of Victory, from which the Hebrews have formed the Name Nebuchadnezzar, and the Greeks that of Nebuchadonosar, under the Conduct of whom all Syria was reduced to his Obedience. The King of Judah, of the Race of Solomon, who then reigned at Jerusalem, refusing to submit himself, was attacked by Raham, who beat the Jews, took the City of Jerusalem, sack’d and intirely destroy’d it, after which he returned into Persia, loaded with rich Spoils, and accompanied by an almost infinite Number of Prisoners.

Other Historians give to Nebuchadnezzar the Name of Gudarz, and say he was Lieutenant-General to King Loborash; who having spent the greatest Part of his Life in the most western Parts of the Empire, was almost unknown to the Hebrews and the Arabians; while Gudarz, called also Raham, or Nebuchadnezzar, acquired a very great Reputation, tho’ he was but the Subaltern or Lieutenant-General of Loborash’s Army. But all are agreed about his great Valour and martial Exploits, and maintain, that King Loborash was cotemporary with the Prophets Jeremiah, Daniel, and Esdras. It would be undoubted very difficult to reconcile all this with what the Scripture informs us of, concerning Nebuchadnezzar, whom it always represents as one of the greatest Kings of the World.

It may not be amiss to add a Word here, concerning the Metamorphosis of this Prince into an Ox. There are many Opinions about this Matter. Origen²⁰ believed the Thing to be impossible, and has turned it into an Allegory. Bodin²¹ thought that Nebuchadnezzar was really changed into a Bull, and did not only lose the Shape and Sentiments, but even the Soul of a Man. But others maintain²², that this Change was only in his Body and outward Form, but not in his Soul; the King preserving his Reason in the midst of his Misfortune, as Apuleius during his Change into an Ass, and like those Italians mentioned by St. Austin²³, who after they had tasted some Cheese that was given them by some Magicians of the Country, were immediately changed into Beasts of Burden, and then after a certain Time recovered their own Shape again, and returned to their first Condition. Some Rabbins have pretended, that the Soul of Nebuchadnezzar quitted the Body of that Prince, and gave Place for a Time, to that of an Ox, which communicated its Sentiments to him, and imparted to his Body the same Motions, the same Taste, the same Inclinations as may be observed in Oxen. Others have acknowledged in Nebuchadnezzar²⁴ only a vitiated imagination, and in his Subjects a Kind of Fascination of the Eyes, which made both believe that Nebuchadnezzar was changed into an Ox, and had the Figure of one, tho’ really there was no such Thing. Pretty like the Story of the young Woman that was brought to St. Macair²⁵, whom her Parents took to be changed into an Heifer, when there was nothing in it; and St. Macair undeceived them by removing the Delusion that had affected their Eyes.

The most received Opinion is²⁶, that by the Effect of the Power of God, Nebuchadnezzar fell into a black Melancholy, and in his Frenzy he imagined that he was become an Ox. As in the Disease called a Lycanthropy, a Man is persuaded that he is changed into a Wolf, a Dog, a Cat; a Change which only takes Place in his distempered Brain, and in his own heated Imagination, since those that are about him perceive no such Change in his outward Figure; but only in his Inclinations, his Motions, his Behaviour. So that he howls and bites like a Wolf, eats raw Meat, runs into the Fields, and avoids the Society of Men.

Thus Nebuchadnezzar imagining that he was become an Ox, grazed upon Herbs like a Brute, butted with his Horns, let his Hair and Nails grow, low’d, went naked, and imitated all the external Actions of an Ox. His People being astonished at such a Change, bound him as Mad-men or Ideots are used to be bound²⁷; but at last he escaping out of their Hands, fled into the Fields, living there naked like an Ox, exposed to the Dew of Heaven, and to the other Inclemencies of the Weather, so that his Hair grew like the Feathers of an Eagle, and his Nails like the Claws of a Lion. Nothing more than this is required, to account for all that the Scripture says of Nebuchadnezzar. There was nothing miraculous in this, except the foretelling of this Distemper, its Approach and its Conclusion, which happened just at the Time that the Prophet had foretold.

A Question is moved concerning the Duration of this Disease. Some, as Theodoret maintain²⁸, that the Persians distinguishing their Years into two Seasons, Winter and Summer, the seven Years of Nebuchadnezzar must be reckoned in this Manner, which will therefore reduce it to the Space of three Years and an half. Dorotheus²⁹, and the spurious Epiphanius³⁰, affirm, that in Truth God had condemned Nebuchadnezzar to a seven Years Habitation with the Brutes, but that at the Instances of Daniel, the seven Years were reduced to seven Months. The false Epiphanius adds, that as Daniel did not cease to foretel to the great Men of Chaldæa, that Nebuchadnezzar should again ascend the Throne, and as the Courtiers disbelieved and derided these Predictions, in Order to convince them he obtained of God by his Prayers, that this Time might be shortened. Others maintain, that the Prince we are speaking of, was changed into an Ox for the Space only of twenty one Months. They explain these Words of Daniel, Donec septem tempora mutentur super eum, of seven Times the Space of three Months. For Tempus according to them is a quarter of a Year, or three Months. Peter Comestor makes it but seven Months, which he thus divides. For the first forty Days Nebuchadnezzar continued in his Phrenzy as a Mad-man; in the forty Days following he bewailed his Offences, and for the last forty Days he recovered by Degrees from his Infirmity. Yet according to the Counsel he had received from Daniel, he did not omit to remain for seven Years in the Exercise of Repentance; eating nothing but Herbs and Pulse, as an Atonement for his Pride and Folly.

But we need seek no other Interpreter for Daniel, but Daniel himself. It is certain that this Prophet by Tempus, means nothing else than an Year. For Example, to denote the Space of three Years and an half, he says, Tempus & tempora & dimidium temporisDan. vii. 25. Rev. xii. 14.; we find the same Way of speaking in the Revelations, and in the same Sense.

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