Revolt of Moab
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—The rebellion of Moab has recently had much light thrown upon it by the discovery of the monument (the " Moabite Stone ") erected to commemorate the occurrence. The "Mesha, king of Moab," who threw off the Israelite yoke, inscribed upon a pillar which he set up in his own land, the series of events whereby he had restored his country to independence; and the inscription upon this pillar has recently, by the combined labor of various Semitic scholars, been recovered, deciphered, and translated into the languages of modern Europe. (See under v. 5 of chap. iii.) Hist. Illust. of O. T., p. 126.
Elisha
2 Kings 2:21, 2221And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. 22So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. (2 Kings 2:21‑22).—And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters.... So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha, which he spake.
MAUNDRELL.—Turning down into the plain, we passed by a ruined aqueduct, and a convent in the same condition, and in about a mile's riding came to the fountain of Elisha, so called because miraculously purged from its brackishness by that prophet, at the request of the men of Jericho. Its waters are at present received in a basin about nine or ten paces long, and five or six broad: and from thence issuing out in great plenty, divide themselves into several small streams, dispersing their refreshment between this and Jericho, and rendering it exceeding fruitful. Close by the fountain grows a large tree, spreading into boughs over the water.—Journey, p. 80.
2 Kings 2:2323And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. (2 Kings 2:23).—And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; Go up, thou bald head.
REV. F. W. FARRAR, D. D., F. R. S.—In Leviticus (13:29) very careful directions are given to distinguish Bohak, “a plague upon the head and beard," from mere natural baldness, which is pronounced to be clean. But this shows that even natural baldness subjected men to an unpleasant suspicion. Baldness was despised both among Greeks and Romans.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 230.
OVID.—Disgraceful (turpis) is the shrub without leaves, the meadow without grass, and the head without hair.—De Art. Amd., iii., 250.
TACITUS.—When Tiberius retired to Campania it was said by some that he did so because he was ashamed in his old age of his deformities, his head being bald, etc.—Annals, iv., 57.
SUETONIUS.—His baldness gave Julius Cæsar much uneasiness, having often found himself on that account exposed to the jibes of his enemies.—Jul., c. 45.
ROBERTS.—I was not a little astonished in the East, when I first heard a man, who had a large quantity of hair on his head, called " a bald head; " and I found upon inquiry it was an epithet of contempt—" What can those bald heads do?" etc. Hence the epithet has often been applied to Christian missionaries.— Oriental Illustrations, p. 214.
DR. HENRY J. VAN-LENNEP.—The narrative in 2 Kings 2:23, 24,23And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. (2 Kings 2:23‑24) has sometimes been objected to by persons, who, we apprehend, have been misled by a defective translation, or have failed to attend to the circumstances of the case. The path of the prophet Elisha lay through the district of Beth-el, the stronghold of idolatry in Israel, where, as in Dan, stood one of the golden calves set up by Jeroboam. There was a crowd of idle young men on the outskirts of the town, lawless, rude, and amusing themselves-perhaps throwing stones with their slings—for the word translated “little children," in our version, is the same in Hebrew as that used in 1 Kings 12:8, 10, 14,8But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: (1 Kings 12:8)
10And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. (1 Kings 12:10)
14And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. (1 Kings 12:14) where it is applied to young men of the same age as king Rehoboam—41. In all the languages of the East, moreover, the words “child " and " children " often denote simply a social relation, and are constantly applied to full-grown persons, as in the New Testament.
No one who has traveled in the East can have failed to notice the extreme lawlessness of a certain class of boys and young men living on the outskirts of a town, especially toward a Jew, a Christian, or a European, who should happen to he passing by alone or unprotected. Let him go, for instance, to the castle-hill of Smyrna; and if it be a holiday, and the boys (oghlans) are out, he will perceive stones whizzing past him, and will hear the shouts of " Frank," " Hat-wearer," "Giaoor," rallying the rowdies of the vicinity, and warning him to beat a hasty retreat.
Elisha, as he slowly ascended the path leading past Beth-el alone and weary, was recognized as the servant of the obnoxious Elijah; he was soon surrounded by a crowd of bitterly hostile and lawless young men, presently increased to a mob by the accession of others " coming out of the city." They abused the prophet's person, pelted him with stones, knocked off his turban, and, seeing his shaved head, hooted after him, saying, " Go up, go along, bald head," throwing stones after him. In imminent danger of his life, he stood at bay-as we have done in similar circumstances—and looking upon his fierce assailants, he invoked the help of the God whom he served, and whom they had exchanged for a molten calf; and He instantly sent forth " two she-bears out of the wood " of Ephraim, which killed forty-two of them, and scattered the rest. This was the last blow that needed to be struck at idolatry in Israel for the re-establishment of the worship of the true God.
We have repeatedly known the bear to fall upon and devour children who had strayed out but a short distance from the mountain villages; and we particularly remember a Turkish girl about thirteen years of age, who thus lost her life on the Akdagh, near Amasia.—Bible Lands, p. 262-264.
Mesha, King of Moab
2 Kings 3:44And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool. (2 Kings 3:4).—And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheep-master, and rendered unto the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool. PROF. E. H. PALMER, M. A.—Here again the Bible receives fresh confirmation from geographical facts; Moab, with its extensive grass-covered uplands, is even now an essentially sheep-breeding country, although the “fenced cities and folds for sheep," of which mention is made in the book of Numbers, are all in ruins. But in its palmier days, when those rich pastures were covered with flocks, no more appropriate title could have been given to the king of such a country than that he was "a sheep-master. "—Des. of the Exod., 411.
THE MOABITE STONE.—And Chemosh had mercy on the land in my days; and I (Mesha) built Baal Meon, and made therein the ditch, and I built Kirjathaim, for the men of Gad dwelt in the land Ataroth from of old; and the king of Israel fortified Ataroth, and I assaulted the wall and captured it, and killed all the warriors of the wall, for the well pleasing of Chemosh and Moab; and I removed from it all the spoil, and offered it before Chemosh in Kirjath; and I placed therein the men of Siran and the men of Zereth Shachar. And Chemosh said to me, Go take Nebo against Israel. And I went in the night, and I fought against it from the break of dawn till noon, and took it, and slew in all seven thousand men; but I did not kill the women and maidens, for I devoted them to Ashtar-Chemosh; and I took from it the vessels of Jehovah and offered them before Chemosh. And the king of Israel fortified Jahaz, and occupied it, when he made war against me; and Chemosh drove him out before me, and I took from Moab two hundred men, all chiefs, and fought against Jahaz, and took it in addition to Dibon. I built Karcha, the wall of the forest, and the wall of the city; and I built the gates thereof, and I built the towers thereof, and I built the palace, and I made the prisons for the men of.... within the wall.—Ginsburg's Translation, lines 8-23.
ARRIANUS.—When Alexander approached the city Pellion, he offered three boys, three maidens, and three black rams in sacrifice.—Exped. Alex., 1. c. 5.
CÆSAR.—The Gauls in time of war or danger either sacrifice human victims, or make vows that they will do so; for they think that it is impossible for their gods to be appeased, unless one man's life is given for another's.—De Bell. Gal., l vi., c. 16.
DIONYSIUS HALICARNASSUS.—The ancients are said to have offered human victims to Saturn. The Carthaginians did so while their city stood; and the Gauls and other western nations have the same custom in these days.—Dion. Halie., 1. i.
The Creditor's Claim
PLUTARCH. —So greatly were the poor of Athens in debt to the rich, that some parents were forced to sell their own children, for no law forbade it, and to quit the city to avoid the severe treatment of the usurers.—Solon, c. 13.
Invisible Beings
2 Kings 6:1717And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17).—And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw; and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
PROF. JOSIAH P. COOKE. —When we remember that our organs of vision and hearing are capable of receiving impressions either of light or sound only when the rapidity of the undulations which cause them is comprised within certain Very narrow limits, and when we recall the facts stated in a previous lecture, that there are waves of light and sound of which our dull senses take no cognizance, that there is a great difference even in human perceptivity, and that some men, more gifted than others, can see colors or hear sounds which are invisible or inaudible to the great bulk of mankind, you will appreciate how possible it is that there may be a world of spiritual existence around us-inhabiting this same globe, enjoying this same nature-of which we have no perception; that in fact the wonders of the New Jerusalem may be in our midst, and the songs of the angelic hosts filling the air with their celestial harmony, although unheard and unseen by us. Let me not be understood as implying that science has in any sense revealed to us a spiritual world', or that it gives the slightest shadow of support to those products of imposture, credulity and superstition, which, under the name of witchcraft, mesmerism, or spiritualism, have in every age of the world deceived so many. The only revelation man has received of a spiritual existence is contained in the Bible; but modern science has rendered the conception of such an existence possible, and in this way has removed a source of doubt. The materialist can no longer say that the spiritual world is inconceivable; for these discoveries show that it may be included in the very scheme of nature in which we live, and thus, although science may not remove the veil, it at least answers this cavil of materialism.—Religion and Chemistry, p. 107.
Captives Spared
SENECA.—Pyrrhus. There is no law which spares the captive, or forbids that he should suffer.—Agamemnon. Though the law forbids it not, it cannot, for very shame, be done.—Troad., v. 337.
Siege of Samaria
PLUTARCH. —In the war with the Caducii, the troops of Artaxerxes were forced to kill their beasts of burden, and eat them; and those became so scarce that an ass's head was sold for sixty drachmas.— Artax., c. 24.
IDEM.—When Sylla was besieging Athens, a bushel of wheat was sold for one thousand drachmas. The people ate not only the herbs and weeds that grew about the citadel, but sodden leather and oil bags.—Sylla, c. 13.
DR. W. M. THOMSON—I believe that the Hebrew Chiriyonim, or Khir yonim, was a name for a coarse and cheap sort of food, a kind of bean, as some think, to which this whimsical title was given on account of some fancied resemblance between the two. Nor am I at all surprised at it, for the Arabs give the most quaint, obscure, and ridiculous names to their extraordinary edible mixtures.—The Land and the Book, II., p. 200.
POLYBIUS.—When the camp of Spendius and Matho was besieged by Amilcar, the rebels were reduced to so great extremity by famine, that they were forced to feed upon each other. When they had impiously devoured all their prisoners and slaves, and no succors were arrived, the multitude grew impatient of their misery, and began to threaten their chiefs. —Polyb., 1. i., c. 6.
DR. JOHN KITTO.—At the present day in Western Asia, when a king walks any short distance, or remains standing, it is usual for him to support himself by resting his hand upon the arm of the highest officer of state who happens to be present.—Pict. Bib., note In loco.
REV. JOSEPH ROBERTS.—It is amusing to see full grown men here (India), as they walk along the road, leaning on each other's hands, like school-boys in England. Those who are weak or sick lean on another's shoulder. It is also a mark of friendship to lean on the shoulder of a companion.—Orient. Iliust p. 218.
2 Kings 7:6, 76For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. 7Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. (2 Kings 7:6‑7).—For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
SOPHOCLES.—When the gods oppose us, valor bends To cowardice, and strength to weakness yields.—Ajax, v. 455.
XENOPHON.—When the Persian king besieged Mespila, he could not make himself master of it, either by length of time or force; but Jupiter having struck the inhabitants with a panic fear, it was taken.—Cyrop., 1. iii., c. 4.
PLUTARCH.—The vast army of Tigranes was put to flight by Lucullus without any conflict; instead of standing to receive the Romans they set up a cry of fear, and most despicably fled without striking a stroke; insomuch that all those myriads were routed without waiting to receive one wound, or spilling one drop of blood.—Lucullus, c. 28.
2 Kings 7:88And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it. (2 Kings 7:8).—And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.
HERODOTUS.—After the battle of Platæa, the helots, as they dispersed themselves over the camp, found tents decorated with gold and silver, couches of the same, goblets, cups, and drinking-vessels of gold, besides sacks of gold and silver cauldrons, placed on carriages. The dead bodies they stripped of bracelets, chains, and cimeters of gold; to their habits of various colors they paid no attention.—Many things of value the helots secreted.—Herodt., 1. ix., C. 60.
2 Kings 7:1212And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city. (2 Kings 7:12).—And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry, therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.
HARMER.—The pasha of Damascus found his enemy, the sheikh Daher, encamped near the sea of Tiberias. The engagement was deferred to the next day, but during the night the sheikh divided his forces into three troops, and silently moved from his camp, leaving the fires burning, with all the tents and stores as they were, including plenty of provisions and strong liquors. At midnight the pasha thinking to surprise the sheikh, marched in silence to his camp, and, to his great astonishment, found it completely abandoned, and that too in such haste that the baggage and stores had been left behind. Rejoicing in his bloodless success, the pasha determined to stay there and refresh his soldiers. They soon fell to plunder, and drank so freely of the liquors, that, overcome by the fatigue of the day's march and the fumes of the spirits, it was not long before they were all in a sound sleep. Then the supposed fugitives, who were well informed of these proceedings, marched back silently to the camp, and rushing suddenly from all sides upon the confused and sleeping enemy, obtained an easy victory over them.—They slew 8,000 of their number, and the remainder, with the pasha at their head, escaped with great difficulty to Damascus, leaving all their own baggage behind them.—This was what the king of Israel feared.—In Pict. Bib., In loco.
2 Kings 8:99So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? (2 Kings 8:9).—So Hazael went to meet Elisha, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad, king of Syria, hath sent me to thee saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—The Assyrian monument known as “the Black Obelisk " contains a notice of Ahab, king of Israel, and of the Syrian king who succeeded Benhadad, Hazael. Hazael appears as the chief antagonist of the Assyrian invaders of Syria in immediate succession to Benhadad.—See Ancient Monarchies, Vol. II., p. 364, and Vol. IV., p. 576.
THE BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANEZER.—In my eighteenth year, for the 16th time the Euphrates I crossed. HAZAEL of Damascus to battle came: 1221 of his chariots, 470 of his war-carriages with his camp I took from him.... In my 21St campaign, for the 21St time the Euphrates I crossed. To the cities of HAZAEL of Damascus I went. Four of his fortresses I took.—Records of the Past, Vol. V., p. 34 and 35
2 Kings 9:1313Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king. (2 Kings 9:13).—Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king.
The name of Jehu is found on the BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANEZER.—The tribute of Jehu, the son of Omri silver, gold, bowls of gold, etc.—Records of the Past, Vol. V., p. 41.
Jezebel
XENOPHON.—The wife of Ischomachus had painted her face with a certain cosmetic in order to make her skin fairer than it was; and with another mixture had endeavored to increase the natural bloom of her cheeks; and also had put on higher shoes than ordinary, to make her look taller than she really was. —Œconomics, c. 10.
IDEM.—Cyrus observed Astyages to be adorned, with his eyes and complexion painted, and with false hair, things that are allowed among the Medes; for the purple coat, the rich habit called candys, collars about the neck, and bracelets about the arms, all belong to the Medes.—Cyropœdia, 1. i., c. 3.
JUVENAL.—One with needle held obliquely, adds to his eyebrows, touched with moistened soot; and raising the lids, paints his quivering eyes.—Satire, II., v. 93.
PLINY.—Such is their affectation of ornament, that they paint their eyes also. —Nat. Hist., lib. xi., c. 37.
DR. JOHN KITTO.—Eyes thus adorned are depicted in the mural tablets of Egypt, and pots containing the coloring material and the instruments for its application have been found.—Pict. Bible, In loco.
DR. HENRY J. VAN-LENNEP. —Should a belated traveler enter a town in the East his progress through the streets can be certainly known by the furious barking that salutes him as he proceeds. Drunken strangers, reeling homeward late in the night, have been overpowered by them, and devoured before morning; and when the town has been invaded by an enemy, these same hungry brutes first feed upon the dead bodies in the street, and then enter the very houses to search for more.—Bible Lands, p. 276.
EAST INDIA LETTER-WRITER. March last, as I was repairing to the native village of Bustom to survey a bridge which was thrown across the road, on my route from the station of Jellasore, on crossing the Sonbunreeka river, my attention was attracted to a number of human skeletons which lay scattered in various directions upon the white sands adjacent to the course of the stream. Upon inquiry I learned that these unfortunate relics were the remains of pilgrims, who were on their road to the great Pagoda at Juggernaut, and had been drowned two evenings before by means of a ferry-boat sinking with them during a violent northwester. On my approaching several of these sad vestiges of mortality, I perceived that the flesh had been completely devoured from the bones by Pariah dogs, vultures, and other obscene animals. The only portion of the several corpses I noticed that remained entire and untouched were the bottoms., of the feet and the insides of the hands; and this extraordinary circumstance immediately brought to my mind that remarkable passage recorded in the Second Book of Kings, relating to the death and ultimate fate of Jezebel, what was, as to her body, eaten of dogs, and nothing remained of her but " the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet."—London Times, Aug. 12, 1841.
Sons of Ahab
2 Kings 10:66Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up. (2 Kings 10:6).—Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.
DR. WILLIAM JENKS. —From polygamy numerous sons are still common in the East Artaxerxes Mnemon, king of Persia, had by his 360 concubines, 115 sons, and three by his queen.—Comp. Com., note In loco.
2 Kings 10:77And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel. (2 Kings 10:7).—And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.
PLUTARCH. —In the families of kings nothing is more common than the murder of sons, wives and mothers: as for the killing of brothers, like a postulate in geometry, it was considered as indisputably necessary to the safety of the reigning prince. —Demetr., c. 3.
ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL. —Eight hundred of their soldiers by my arms I destroyed; their heads I cut off; many soldiers I captured in hand alive; their populace in the flames I burned; their spoil I carried off in abundance; a trophy of the living and of their heads about his great gate I built (B. C. 879). —Records of the Past, Vol. III., p. 61.
DR. JOHN KITTO.—These horrid usages prevail throughout Asia, but are more revoltingly displayed, we believe, in Persia than elsewhere. It has there, not seldom, been known that the king has expressed his anger at some town or village, by demanding from it a pyramid of heads of given dimensions; and Sir John Malcolm states that the executioners are so indifferent to the distresses of others, that they will select a head of peculiar appearance and long beard to grace the summit of the pyramid.—Piet. Bible, note In loco.
Buying Peace
2 Kings 12:1818And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. (2 Kings 12:18).—And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.
HOME...—Paris offers to Greece the spoils and treasures he to Ilion bore, with large increase of added Trojan wealth, to buy the peace.—Iliad, lib. vii., v. 389.
PLUTARCH. —Darius offered Alexander ten thousand talents and half of Asia, if he would withdraw his army.—Reg. et Imp. Apophth. Alex., c.
The Signal of War
VIRGIL.—Who first, he cried, with me the foe will dare? Then hurl'd a dart, the signal of the war. —Æn., 1. ix., v. 51.
JUSTIN.—As soon as Alexander the Great had arrived on the coasts of Ionia, he threw a dart into the country of the Persians.—Just., lib. ii.
Valley of Salt
2 King, 14:7 HE slew of Edom, in the valley of Salt, ten thousand, and took Selah by was, and called the name of it Joktheel.
CAPTAINS IRBY AND MANGLES.—The “Valley of Salt “was the salt and sandy plain to the south of the Dead Sea. On crossing this plain we found, exclusive of the saline appearance left by the retiring of the waters, several large fragments of clear rock salt lying on the ground; and, on examining the hill, we found it composed partly of salt and partly of hardened sand. In many instances the salt was hanging from cliffs in clear perpendicular points like icicles; and we observed numerous strata of that material of considerable thickness, having very little sand mixed with it.—Travels, as quoted in the Pictorial Bible.
Bethshemesh
MR. GEORGE GROVE, Cryst. Pal.—Bethshemesh is now Ain-Shems. It was visited by Dr. Robinson, who found it to be in a position exactly according with the indications of Scripture, on the northwest slopes of the mountains of Judah—a low plateau at the junction of two fine plains—about two miles from the great Philistine plain, and seven from Ekron.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 299.
General Picture of Syria
2 Kings 14:2828Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? (2 Kings 14:28).—Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—A more interesting point of agreement than the bare mention in the same chronological order of the same historic names, is to be found in the accord between the general picture of Syria at this time (B. C. 900-800), as presented to us in our Sacred Books, and the representation of it given by the Assyrian Records. In both we find the country between the middle Euphrates and Egypt parceled out among a large number of tribes or nations, of whom the most powerful are, in the north, the Hittites, the Hamathites, the Phœnicians, and the Syrians of Damascus; in the south, the Philistines and the Idumeans. In both there is a similar portrait of Syria of Damascus as a considerable state, the strongest in these parts, ruled from a single center by a single monarch. The same general character, and the same secondary position, is in both assigned to Hamath, which, like Damascus, has its single king, but is evidently a kingdom of less strength. In contrast with these two centralized monarchies stand the nations of the Hittites and the Phœnicians, each of which has several independent kings or chiefs, the number in the case of the, Hittites being, apparently, very great, The military strength of the northern nations consists especially, according to both authorities, in their chariots, besides which they have a numerous infantry, but few Or no horsemen. Both authorities show that, in this divided state of Syria, the kings of the various countries were in the habit of forming leagues, uniting their forces, and making conjoint expeditions against foreign countries. Lastly, in both pictures we see in the background the two great powers of Egypt and Assyria, not yet in conflict with one another, nor yet able, either of them, to grasp the dominion of Syria, or crush the spirit of its brave and freedom-loving peoples, but both feeling their way towards a conquest, and tending to come into a collision which will establish the complete preponderance of the one or the other in the region lying between the Nile and the Euphrates. —Historical Illustrations of the O. T., p. 128.
INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH-PILESER IL—This inscription has been much injured; but in it are found the names of Azariah and Jehoahaz, kings of Judah; and also those of Menahem, Pekah and Hoshea, kings of Israel. Imperfect as time and violence have rendered this inscription, yet it confirms in a striking manner the accuracy of this and the following chapters.—See Records of the Past, Vol. V., p. 43.
Menahem
2 Kings 15:27, 2927In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. (2 Kings 15:27)
29In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria. (2 Kings 15:29).—And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
AUSTEN H. LAYARD, M. P.-In an inscription on a bas-relief representing part of a line of war chariots, Dr. Hincks has detected the name of Mena-hem, the king of Israel, amongst those of other monarchs paying tribute to the king of Assyria in the eighth year of his reign.—Nineveh and Babylon, p. 526.
Tiglath-Pileser
2 Kings 15:27, 2927In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. (2 Kings 15:27)
29In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria. (2 Kings 15:29).—In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years... In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-bethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—With the reign of Tiglath-pileser in Assyria, and those of Azariah and Ahaz in Judah, and of Menahem and Pekah in Israel, points of contact between Assyrian and Hebrew records become abundant. Tiglath-pileser relates that, about his fifth year (B. C. 741), being engaged in wars in Southern Syria, he met and defeated a vast army under the command of Azariah, king of Judah, the great monarch whose host is reckoned in Chronicles at 307,500 men, and whose military measures are described at considerable length in 2 Chr. 26:6-156And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. 7And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Mehunims. 8And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly. 9Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them. 10Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry. 11Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains. 12The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valor were two thousand and six hundred. 13And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. 14And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. 15And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong. (2 Chronicles 26:6‑15).—Historical Illust. of O. T., p. 134.
TABLET OF THE TEMPLE OF NEBO.—Palace of Tiglath-pileser, the great king, the powerful king of nations, king of Assyria, king of Babylon, king of Sumir and Akkad, king of the four regions. The powerful warrior who, in the service of Assur his Lord, the whole of his haters has trampled in like clay, swept like a flood, and reduced to shadows. The king who, in the might of Nebo and Merodach, the great gods, has marched, and from the sea of Bit-yakin to the land of Bikni by the rising sun, and from the sea of the setting sun to Egypt; from the west to the east all countries possesses, and rules their kingdoms.—Smith's Assyrian Discoveries, p. 256.
2 Kings 16:5-105Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. 6At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day. 7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. 8And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. 9And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin. 10And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. (2 Kings 16:5‑10).—Then Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath and dwelt there unto this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up and save me out of he hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present for the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin. And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria.
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—Again, Tiglath-pileser relates (in the inscriptions) that from his twelfth to his fourteenth year (B. C. 734-732) he carried on a war in southern Syria with the two kings, Pekah of Samaria, and Rezin of Damascus, who were confederate together, and that he besieged Rezin in his capital for two years, at the end of which time he captured him and put him to death, while he punished Pekah, by mulcting him of a large portion of his dominions, and carrying off vast numbers of his subjects into captivity. It is scarcely necessary to point out how completely this account harmonizes with the Scriptural narrative, according to which Pekah and Rezin, having formed an alliance against Ahaz, and having attacked him, Ahaz called in the aid of Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, who " hearkened to him, and went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people captive to Kir, and slew Resin; " and who likewise punished Pekah by invading his territory, and carrying away the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, and settling them in Gozan in the Khabour. Further, Tiglath-pileser relates that, before quitting Syria, he held his court at Damascus, and there received submission and tribute from the neighboring sovereigns, among whom he expressly mentions, not only Pekah of Samaria, but Ahaz king of Judah. This passage of the Assyrian annals very remarkably illustrates the account given in 2 Kings 16:10-6, of the visit of Ahaz to Damascus "to meet king Tiglath-pileser."—Hist. Illust. of O. T., p. 134.
Hoshea
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A. The annals of Tiglath-pileser contain some mention of the two Israelite monarchs, Menahem and Hoshea. Menahem appears as tributary to Assyria in the early part of Tiglath-pileser's reign (about B. C. 743); and Hoshea makes submission to the Assyrian monarch, probably in his last year, B. C. 728. Of Hoshea, the last Israelite king, there is no further mention in the Assyrian inscriptions.—Hist. Iliust., p. 135.
AUSTEN H. LAYARD, M. P.—Whenever an expedition against the kings of Judah or Israel is mentioned in the Assyrian Records, it is stated to have been undertaken on the ground that they had not paid their customary tribute.—Nineveh and Babylon. p. 541.
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—Hoshea's league with “So, `king of Egypt," admits of some illustration from the Egyptian records. So may reasonably be identified with the Sabaco of Manetho and Herodotus, and the Shebek I. of the hieroglyphical inscriptions. This prince, who contended with Sargon in southern Palestine a little later, may well have attracted the regard of Hoshea, when, about B. C. 724 or 723, he was looking out for some powerful ally who might help him to throw off the yoke of Assyria. The league formed between the two neighbors is natural and has many analogies.—Hist. Illust. of the O. T., p. 137.
HERODOTUS.—Sabacôs continued master of Egypt for the space of fifty years. —Herodt., lib. ii., c. 137.
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—The capture of Samaria, and the deportation of its people by the Assyrians, which terminated the reign of. Hoshea, and at the same time brought the kingdom of Israel to an end, is noticed in the annals of Sargon, who was Shalmaneser's successor, and assigned by him to his first year, which was B. C, 722-721. Here, it will be observed, there is an exact accord between the Assyrian and the Hebrew dates, the Hebrew chronology placing the fall of Samaria in the 135th year before the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, which was in the 18th year of that king, or B. C. 586 (and B. C. 586+135 producing B. C. 721).—Hist. Illust. of the O. T., p. 138.
2 Kings 17:2323Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. (2 Kings 17:23).—So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—Again, Sargon relates (in the Assyrian inscriptions) that he carried away captive from Samaria 27,280 families.—Hist. Illust. of the O. T., p. 138.
2 Kings 17:2424And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. (2 Kings 17:24).—And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel.
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—And Sargon subsequently states (in his inscriptions) that he transported numerous prisoners from Babylonia to a place "in the land of the Hittites," which is probably Samaria, though the inscription is not at this point quite legible.—Hist. Illust. of the O. T., p. 138.
AUSTEN H. LAYARD, M. P.—The conquerors, as we learn from the inscriptions, established the worship of their own gods in the conquered cities, raising altars and temples, and appointing priests for their service.—Nineveh and Babylon, p. 524
Hezekiah
INSCRIPTIONS OF KOUYUNJIK. —Because Hezekiah, king of Judah, would not submit to my yoke, I (Sennacherib) came up against him, and by force of arms, and by the might of my power, I took forty-six of his strong fenced cities, and of the smaller towns which were scattered about 1 took and plundered a countless number. And from these places I captured and carried off as spoil 200,150 people, old and young, male and female, together with horses and mares, asses and camels, oxen and sheep, a countless multitude. And Hezekiah himself I shut up in Jerusalem, like a bird in a cage, building towers round the city to hem him in, and raising banks of earth against the gates to prevent escape... Then, upon this Hezekiah there fell the fear of the power of my arms, and he sent out to me the chiefs and the elders of Jerusalem with thirty talents of gold, and eight hundred talents of silver, and diverse treasures, a rich and immense booty.
All these things were brought to me at Nineveh, the seat of my government, Hezekiah having sent them by way of tribute, and as a token of submission to my power.—In Ancient Monarchies, Vol. III., p. 160, 161.
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—The close agreement of these two accounts (that of Scripture and this of the Inscriptions) is admitted on all hands, and is indeed so palpable that it is needless to enlarge upon it here. The Assyrian monarch, with pardonable pride, brings out fully all the details at which the Hebrew annalist, in his patriotic reticence, only hints—as the ravage far and wide of the whole territory, the vast numbers of the captives and the spoil, the actual siege and blockade of the capital, the alarm of the Jewish monarch, and his eagerness to propitiate his offended lord,—but his main facts are exactly those which the Jewish historian puts on record, the only apparent discrepancy being in the number of the talents of silver, where he probably counts the whole of the treasure carried off, while the Hebrew writer intends to give the amount of the permanent tribute which was agreed upon. It may be added, that the details, which the author of Kings suppresses, are abundantly noticed in the writings of the contemporary prophet, Isaiah, who describes the ravage of the territory (Isa. 24), the siege of Jerusalem (29:1-8), and the distress and terror of the inhabitants (22:2-14), even more graphically and more fully than the historiographer of Sennacherib.—Hist. Illust. of O. T. 71, p. 143.
DR. HENRY J. VAN-LENNEP.—It is surely very interesting to meet with so close an agreement between records kept in different languages and by people in bitter hostility to each other. The Assyrian record calls Hezekiah, Khazakiah-hoo; Jerusalem, Urselimma; and Judah, Yehoodah, names which come closer to the original Hebrew than our rendering of them.—Bible Lands, 357.
Tirhakah
SIR J. G. WILKINSON.—With Tirhakah we are acquainted both from sacred and profane records, and his successful opposition to the power of Assyria is noticed in the Bible, may be traced in Herodotus, and is recorded on the walls of a Theban temple. At Medinet Abou are the figure and name of Tirhakah, and of the captives taken by him.—In Pict. Bib., Vol. II., p. 375.
INSCRIPTIONS OF KOUYUNJIK.—The nobles and people of Ekron attached themselves to Hezekiah of Judea, and paid their adorations to his God. The kings of Egypt also sent horsemen and footmen, belonging to the army of the king of Ethiopia, of which the numbers could not be counted. In the neighborhood of the city of Lachish I joined battle with them.—Colonel Rawlinson's Outlines.
Sennacherib
HERODOTUS.—After the taking of Memphis by Cambyses two thousand Egyptians were made to walk in procession with ropes round their necks, and bridles in their mouths. —Herodt., lib. 3, c. 14.
2 Kings 19:7, 357Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. (2 Kings 19:7)
35And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. (2 Kings 19:35).—Behold I will send a blast upon him.... And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred four-score and five thousand; and when they arose early in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses.
DR. ADAM CLARKE.—His sentence was that God would send upon him a "blast," ruach, a wind. The connection of this sentence with its execution is given by the Psalmist, who says, “He maketh his angels ruchoth," winds; or maketh the winds his angels, or messengers, for the performance of his will. Prof. Michaelis has these words, "The wind Zelgaphoth is a pestilent east wind, well known to the Asiatics, which suddenly kills those who are exposed to it." And Thevenot mentioned such a wind in 1658, that in one night suffocated 20,000 men!—Comment., on 1 Kings 20: 30.
PROF. GEORGE RAWLINSON, M. A.—The murder of Sennacherib by two of his sons, though not distinctly related in the Assyrian Records, is illustrated by the condition wherein Assyria is found at the commencement of the reign of Esarhaddon. This monarch's inscriptions show that soon after his accession he was engaged for some months in a war with his half-brothers, who would naturally, after murdering their father, endeavor to seat themselves upon his throne. The Greek historian, Abydenus, alludes to the same struggle; and the Armenian records declare that the two assassins, having made their escape from the scene of conflict, obtained a refuge in Armenia, where the reigning monarch gave them lands, which long continued the possession of their posterity.—Hist. Illust. of the O. T., p. 146.
AUSTEN H. LAYARD, M. P.—After a few days' labor, the workmen came to the walls of a chamber. They were paneled with inscribed, but un-sculpted, alabaster slabs. The inscriptions contained the name, titles, and genealogy of Esar-haddon, such as were found on the bulls and sphinxes of the southwest palace at Nimroud. Several bricks and fragments of stone were also obtained from the ruins, which all bore the same inscription. The annals of this monarch are inscribed on a large hexagonal cylinder presented by me to the British Museum. Like his father, he was a great warrior, and he styles himself in his inscriptions, "King of Egypt, conqueror of Ethiopia."—Nineveh and Babylon, p. 296, 508, 529.
Hezekiah's Sickness
PLINY. —With the leaves of figs still green, an application is made for scrofulous and other sores. Figs are applied in all cases where sores are required to be brought to a head or dispersed. A decoction of figs is applied to boils, inflamed tumors, and imposthumes of the parotid glands. Green figs applied raw, with the addition of niter and meal, remove warts and wens.—Natural History, 1. xxiii., c. 63.
HERODOTUS.—As to the pole, the gnomon and the division of the day into twelve parts, the Greeks received them from the Babylonians.—Herodt., 1. ii., c. 109.
DIOGENES LAERTIUS. —A sun-dial, the work of Pherecydes, the astronomer (B. C. 600), is still preserved in the island of Syra.—Pherec. Vit.
PLUTARCH.—At the fort of the citadel at Syracuse, under the Pentapylæ, was a lofty sun-dial, which had been placed there by Dionysius.—Dion., c. 29.
Josiah
2 Kings 23:55And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. (2 Kings 23:5).—Them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
PLATO.—Addressing the gods in prayers and supplications, both at the rising of the sun and moon, rolling upon the ground and offering adorations, both by the Greeks and Barbarians.—De Leg., 1. x., c. 3.
COL. RAWLINSON. —The commemorative cylinders of the Birs Nimroud designate the building by the name of "The Temple of the Planets of the Seven Spheres."—Pict. Bib., Vol. II., p. 702.
LUCIAN. —Mankind have consecrated to their gods groves and mountains, and assigned to every deity a particular bird, or tree, or plant.—De Sacrif., c. 10.
OVID. —I saw myself the garlands on their boughs, And tablets hung for gifts of granted vows. —MetAmor., 1. viii., v. 722.
DR. JOHN KITTO.—The ancient Persians, who were sun-worshippers, dedicated to that luminary white horses and chariots, which were paraded in their sacred processions; and it is thought that other nations borrowed the practice from them. Whether so or not, we find the same idea of associating a chariot and horses with the sun, to denote the rapidity of his apparent progress, common in the poetry and sculpture of classical antiquity. The sun was supposed to be drawn daily, in a chariot, by four wondrous coursers, through the firmament: and we all recollect the fate of the ambitious Phaeton, who aspired to guide the swift chariot and control the strong coursers of the sun.—Pict. Bib., In loco.
XENOPHON. —Next to the bull there were horses led for a sacrifice to the sun. After these proceeded a white chariot, with its perch of gold adorned with a crown or wreath around it, and sacred to Jove. After this a white chariot, sacred to the sun, and adorned with a crown as that before.—Cycrop., 1. viii., c. 3.
OVID. —Persia propitiates Hyperion begirt with rays of light, by the sacrifice of a horse, that no sluggish victim may be offered to the swift god.—Fast., lib. i., v. 385.
STRAW. —The Nabatæans worship the sun, and construct their altar on the top of a house, pouring out libations, and burning frankincense upon it every day.—Strab., 1. xvi., c. 4.
2 Kings 23:1616And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. (2 Kings 23:16).—And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchers that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchers, and burned them upon the altar and polluted it.
PROF. H. B. HACKETT, D. D., LL. D.—It is interesting to be reminded that sepulchers are found at the present day in the rocky heights around Bethel. It was from such recesses, no doubt, that King Josiah, in his zeal for the worship of Jehovah, dug up the bones of the old idolaters who had lived at Bethel, which he burned on the altar of the golden calf in order by this act of pollution to mark his abhorrence of such idolatry, and to render the place infamous forever.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 290.
REGINALD STUART POOLE, Brit. Mus.—The name of this monarch, in hieroglyphics, is written NEKU. Herodotus calls him Nekôs and assigns to him d reign of sixteen years, which is confirmed by the monuments. Herodotus also mentions the battle in which Josiah was slain, relating that Necho made war against the Syrians, and defeated them at Magdolus (Megiddo), after which he took Cadytis, a large city of Syria.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 2467.
That there was a king bearing this name, and ruling at this time, in Babylon, is abundantly attested by his own records, which have recently been exhumed from the ruins of that city.
INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR.—Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, glorious Prince, worshipper of Marduk, adorer of the lofty one, etc.—See Records of the Past, Vol. V., p. 113.
Jerusalem Taken by Nebuchadnezzar
2 Kings 24:10-1610At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it. 12And 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 took him in the eighth year of his reign. 13And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said. 14And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. 15And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. (2 Kings 24:10‑16).—And at that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged, etc.
BEROSUS.—The king of Babylon sent his son Nebuchadnezzar against Egypt, and against the land of the Jews, with a great army, upon his being informed that they had revolted from him, and by that means he subdued them all, and set the temple that was at Jerusalem on fire; and he removed the people of the Jews entirely out of their own country, and transferred them to Babylon; when it so happened that their city was desolate during the interval of seventy years, until the days of Cyrus, king of Persia.—Josephs. Cont. Ap., I., 19.
Zedekiah
REV. HENRY WRIGHT PHILLOTT, M. A.—Putting out the eyes of captives, and other cruelties, as flaying alive, burning, tearing out the tongue, etc., were practiced by the Assyrian and Babylonian conquerors; and parallel instances of despotic cruelty are found in abundance in both ancient and modern times in Persian and other histories.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 2643.
ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL.—Many soldiers I captured alive; of some I chopped off the hands and feet; of others the noses and ears I cut off; of many soldiers I destroyed the eyes; one pile of bodies while yet alive, and one of heads I reared up on the heights within their town (B. C. 882).— Records of the Past, Vol. III., p. 50.