NEBUCHADNEZZAR Kings, Chronicles, and Daniel ; Jer. xxvii. ; xxviii. ; xxxiv. 1 ; xxxix. 1 ; Ezek. xxvi. 7 ; and Ezra v. 12 ; written also generally in Jeremiah, and in Ezek. xxx. 18) was the name of the Chaldunan monarch of Babylon by whom Judah was conquered, and the Jews led into their seventy years' captivity. In the Sep tuagint version he is called NapouxoSovocrop ; by Berosus (ap. Josephum), NapouxoSov6cropos ; by Abydenus (ap. Eusebium, Prop. Evang:),Nagovo 8pbcopos ; and by Strabo, the only writer among the Greeks by whom he is named (xv. 687), Nap). KoSp6cropos. This name, Nabuchodonosor, has passed from the Septuagint into the Latin Vul gate, and into the authorised English version of the books of Judith and Tobit. The name Nebu chadnezzar has been commonly explained to sig nify the treasure of Nebo, but according to Lors bach (Archly. f. Morsel:Z. Literatur), it signifies , • Nebo, Me prince of gods; L.)) . ; see also Norberg's Onomasticon Cod. Nasar., p. 95, seq., and Gesenius in Isai. iv. 344, 366. [According to the native orthography, the name is Nabukud ariutzur, and is said to mean Nebo is the protector against misfortune. In the Behistun Inter., it ap pears in Pe s. as Nabukudrachara, which is nearer the original than any of the Greek forms.] The only notices which we have of this monarch in the canonical writings are found in the books of Kings, Chronicles, Daniel, and Ezra, and in the allusions of the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
From 2 Kings xxiii. 29, and 2 Chron. xxxv. 20, we gather that in the reign of Josiah (B.c. 6 to), Pharaoh-Necho, king of Egypt, having approached by sea the coast of Syria, made a friendly applica tion to King Josiah to be allowed a passage through his territories to the dominions of the As syrian monarch, with whom he was then at war. ' I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war ; for God (Elohim) commanded me to make haste,' etc. (2. Chron. xxxv. 20, 21). The design of Pharaoh-Necho was to seize upon Carchemish (Circesium or Cercusium), a strong post on the Euphrates ; but Josiah, who was tributary to the Babylonian monarch, opposed his progress at Megiddo, where he was defeated and mortally wounded [JostAx]. Necho marched
upon Jerusalem, when the Jews became tributary to the king of Egypt. Upon this, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (z Kings xxiv. I ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 6, where this monarch's name is for the first time introduced), invaded Judah, retook Carchemish, with the territory which had been wrested from him by Necho, seized upon Jehoiakim, the vassal of Pharaoh-Necho, and reduced him to submission (B. C. 607). This invasion took place, according to Jer. xxvi. i, xlvi. I, in the fourth year of Je hoiachim, but according to Daniel i. 12, in the third. In order to reconcile this apparent contra diction, it has been generally maintained that the first year of Nebuchadnezzar fell partly in the third and partly in the fourth year of Jehoiakim [CAPTI VITIES ; DANIEL]. Jehoiachim was at first loaded with chains, in order to be led captive to Babylon, but was eventually restored by Nebuchadnezzar to his throne, on condition of paying an annual tribute. Nebuchadnezzar carried off part of the ornaments of the Temple, together with several hostages of distinguished rank, among whom were the youths Daniel and his three friends Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael (Dan. i.) These were educated at court in the language and sciences of the Chal where they subsequently filled offices of distinction. The sacred vessels were transferred by Nebuchadnezzar to his temple at Babylon (Is. xxxbc. ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 6, 7); [BABYLON].
After the conquest of JudMa, Nebuchadnezzar turned his attention towards the Egyptians, whom he drove out of Syria, taking possession of all the land between the Euphrates and the river (2 Kings xxiv. 7) ; which some suppose to mean the Nile, but others a small river in the desert, which was reckoned the boundary between Palestine and Egypt (Prideaux's Connection).