Nebuchadnezzar

Nebuchadnezzar , d. 562 BC, king of Babylonia (c.605-562 BC), son and successor of Nabopolassar. In his father's reign he was sent to oppose the Egyptians, who were occupying W Syria and Palestine. At Carchemish he met and defeated (605 BC) Pharaoh Necho , thus becoming the undisputed master of Western Asia. The sudden death of his father caused Nebuchadnezzar to return home to safeguard his inheritance, permitting Necho to escape to Egypt with part of his army. Three years later (601 BC) Necho defeated Nebuchadnezzar in battle. This event may have encouraged the Judaean revolt under Jehoiakim . Jehoiakim died shortly after the siege began and was succeeded by his son, Jehoiachin. In Mar., 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar crushed the revolt and carried off the young Jehoiachin and many of his nobles to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar then placed the puppet king Zedekiah on the throne of Judaea. A new revolt occurred (588-587 BC) in Judaea. After a siege of about a year, Jerusalem was finally destroyed in 586 BC Nebuchadnezzar was a splendid builder, and Babylon with its hanging gardens was then the greatest city of the ancient world. However, Babylon was shortly to fall under conquest when Nabonidus was king. The book of Daniel depicts Nebuchadnezzar as a conceited and domineering king and tells of his going mad and eating grass. He is also called Nebuchadrezzar or Nebuchodonosor.

Bibliography: See G. R. Tabouis, Nebuchadnezzar (1977).

Nebuchadnezzar Four kings in ancient Mesopotamia had this name. The second reigned in Babylon from 605 to 562 BCE. (The alternative spelling Nebuchadrezzar (e.g. Jer. 39: 5, NRSV, REB) is closer to the Babylonian form.) He was a powerful and cruel monarch who defeated Assyria and Egypt; in 597 BCE he captured Jerusalem and deported King Jehoiachin to Babylon and appointed Zedekiah in his place. When Zedekiah rebelled, Nebuchadnezzar renewed the assault on Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and took many of the people to Babylon (586 BCE), though Jeremiah had urged submission to the Babylonians (Jer. 27: 11).

Nebuchadnezzar (c.630–562 bc), king of Babylon 605–562 bc. He rebuilt the city with massive walls, a huge temple, and a ziggurat, and extended his rule over neighbouring countries. In 586 bc he captured and destroyed Jerusalem and deported many Israelites in what is known as the Babylonian Captivity.

Allusive uses of his name often refer to the biblical story in Daniel 4, which recounts how Nebuchadnezzar's pride and wickedness were punished by his being driven mad ‘and he was driven from men, and did eat the grass as oxen.’

The name Nebuchadnezzar is given to a very large wine bottle, equivalent in capacity to about twenty regular bottles.