Babylon's Record of Jerusalem's Fall

The second day of Adar. Babylon's Chronicle gives that day for the fall of "the city of Judah", understood as Jerusalem, which modern sources date to 16 March 597 BC, and the capture of its king.

Scripture: At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers; and the king of Babylon captured him in the eighth year of his reign.

First, the background. In 601 BC Nebuchadnezzar tried to invade Egypt and was repulsed with heavy losses. Rebellions followed, and Judah's King Jehoiakim stopped paying tribute.

Jehoiakim is thought to have died during the siege. His son Jeconiah, also called Jehoiachin, reigned just three months, says Kings.

The record is the Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle, part of the Babylonian Chronicles published by Donald Wiseman in 1956. The sources I have don't say where it was found or which museum holds it today.

Scripture: Its entry for his seventh year has him invading the land of Hatti, meaning Syria and Palestine, and besieging the city of Judah. Then comes the line that matters.

The Chronicle, published by Wiseman, establishes the capture at March 16, 597 BC, according to Wikipedia. Earlier, E. R. Thiele reached spring 597 from the biblical texts alone, while William Albright and others more often chose 598.

So the Bible and the Babylonian Chronicle both record the siege and the king's capture. Wikipedia says the siege is recorded in both.

Kings gives ten thousand captives in one verse, and eight thousand in another, seven thousand fighting men plus a thousand craftsmen. Jeremiah mentions 3,023 for the first wave. New World Encyclopedia says only men were likely counted. Including women and children, the total across all three deportations is estimated at fourteen to eighteen thousand.

One more puzzle. The passage dates this to Nebuchadnezzar's eighth year, while the Chronicle's entry sits under his seventh. The sources I have don't settle it.

Two records that appear to describe one event. May the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today. Follow Bible Evidence for more from the ground beneath the Bible.