1. Introduction to Daniel Part 2: History by Richard Dargie September 2018

2. Introduction
In our previous presentation we examined the structure of Daniel’s prophecy and noted how the chapters were not in chronological order
In this presentation we will consider the historical background against which Daniel’s prophecy was written
This will help us to understand the overall timescale of Daniel’s prophecy and should provide a fixed chronological datum line to enable us to understand the key events
It will also enable us to compare and contrast the out of sequence chronology which Daniel has presented in his prophecy and in another presentation consider the critical challenges to the prophecy.
To achieve this objective we will provide an account of the history of the last 5 kings of Judah and then we will summarise the key events of the lives of the Babylonian and Medo-Persian kings.
Finally, we will also provide a summary of the dates when Daniel says he wrote the various chapters of his prophecy and match them to the lives of these kings

3. Let us begin….historical background to Daniel
Egypt & Assyria were the 2 superpowers of young Daniel’s day, but Assyria was in decline losing its capital Nineveh in 612 bc – with the Assyrian king ruling a reduced empire from Harran which fell in 610 bc
Egypt was allied to Assyria, and opposed Babylon the new emerging superpower
The Kings of Judah [after the death of Josiah] were pawns in the “big game” being waged by these 2 superpower nations Egypt and Babylon
Power ebbed and flowed until Babylon decisively defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish in northern Syria in 605 bc

5. Kings of Judah 1: 609 bc
609 bc Pharaoh Necho leaves Egypt to link up with Assyrian forces on the Euphrates in support of the Assyrian King Assur-Uballet at Harran
Josiah of Judah opposes Necho’s advance at Megiddo and is killed [2 Kings 23:29 Lam 4:20]
The people of Judah put Josiah’s son Jehoahaz [aged 23] on the throne [2 Kings 23:30-31 & 2 Chron 36:1]
3 months later Necho takes Jehoahaz prisoner at Riblah and deports him to Egypt, and takes 1 talent of gold and 100 talents of silver as taxation[2 Kings 23:33; 2 Chron 36:3-4]
Necho puts Eliakim [aged 25] elder brother to Jehoahaz on the throne and changes his name to Jehoiakim [2 Kings 23:34 & 2 Chron 36:4]

6. Kings of Judah 2: 606 to 605 bc
606 bc Egyptians still successful on the Euphrates, but the Babylonian King Nabopolassar counter attacks and the war continues
May/June 605 Nebuchadnezzar II [ Crown Prince and son of Nabopolassar] defeats Necho at Carchemish [northern Syria] and becomes master of “the land of the Hatti” [i.e. Syria down to the border of Egypt but crucially including the whole of Israel]
It is thought that at this juncture Nebuchadnezzar takes the opportunity to besiege & take Jerusalem [2 Kings 24:1 Jer 25:1-3, Dan 1;1] – however there is no written confirmation of this in secular history

7. Kings of Judah 3: 605 bc (cont’d)
Nebuchadnezzar places Jehoiakim in chains for deportation but at some point Nebuchadnezzar reprieves him, (either in Babylon or at Jerusalem) and Jehoiakim becomes a tributary to Nebuchadnezzar for 3 years ruling in Jerusalem [2 Kings 24:1 & 2 Chron 36:3 – precise details of this are sparse]
At this time Nebuchadnezzar deports some of the Judean nobility to Babylon. [Dan 1:1]
August 605 Nabopolassar dies in Babylon, so in September 605 Nebuchadnezzar II returns to Babylon to receive the Kingship

8. Kings of Judah 4: 605 to 598 bc
605-1bc Nebuchadnezzar campaigns in Syria and Palestine
601 bc Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt and is repelled – Jehoiakim rebels against Babylon and makes a league with Pharaoh Hophra
598 bc Nov/ Dec - Nebuchadnezzar commences his 2nd siege of Jerusalem and at this point [or as near as] Jehoiakim dies (murdered?) and his body as prophesied by Jeremiah is dumped outside the walls although he is later buried in a sepulchre [2 Chron 36:6; Jeremiah 22:18-19]

9. Kings of Judah 5: 598 bc cont’d
Within the besieged city of Jerusalem Jehoiakim’s son Jeconiah [renamed Jehoiachin] is crowned king [2 Kings 24:6-20; 2 Chron 36:9; Jer: 22:18-24; 36:30; 52:58]
After a 3 month siege Jerusalem is taken Jehoiachin is deposed and deported to Babylon and his uncle Mattaniah [renamed Zedekiah] reigns in his stead [2 Kings 24:17 & 2 Chron 36:9-10]
Suffice to say Zedekiah was an evil king [2 Kings 24:19-20; Jer 52:2-3]
The Babylonian Chronicles – a series of clay tablets in the British Museum describe the events concisely [see next slide]

10. Babylonian Chronicles
According to the Babylonian Chronicles,[13] [published in 1956] Jerusalem fell on 2 Adar (16 March) 597 BC. The Chronicles state:
The seventh year (of Nebuchadnezzar – 598 BC.) in the month Chislev (Nov/Dec) the king of Babylon assembled his army, and after he had invaded the land of Hatti (Syria/Palestine) he laid siege to the city of Judah. On the second day of the month of Adar (16 March) he conquered the city and took the king (Jeconiah) prisoner. He installed in his place a king (Zedekiah) of his own choice, and after he had received rich tribute, he sent (them) forth to Babylon.[14]

11. Kings of Judah 6: 588 bc
We now fast forward 10 years to 588 bc and the last 8 months of a protracted 3 year siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar’s army
18th July Zedekiah flees Jerusalem but is captured, put in chains, blinded [after watching his sons being executed], and deported to Babylon [2 Kings 25:1-7; & 2 Chron 36:12; Jer 39:1-7, 52:4-11; Ezek 12:13]
14th August (9th day of Ab) Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, removes the remaining senior people, plunders the remaining precious materials, and then burns the temple in Jerusalem [2 Kings 25:8,11,20; 2 Chron 36:14-21; Jer 39:11, 40:2-5, 52:30
Gedaliah is appointed governor of the Judean province – he governs from Mizpah with a Chaldean guard [2 Kings 25:22-24 & Jer 40:6-8]

12. Kings of Judah 7: 588 to 561 bc
The removal of Zedekiah in 588 bc brought to an end the Davidide line of Israelite kings ruling from Jerusalem (David crowned 1010 bc approx)
The Davidide Kings therefore ruled for approximately 422 years
Interestingly, the Babylonian 11th Dynasty of kings would only last 70 years (609 to 539 bc)
561 bc – Amel-Marduk [son of Nebuchadnezzar] releases Jehoiachin from prison after a 37 year captivity and treats him kindly [2 Kings 25:7]

13. Summary – last 5 Kings of Judah
Common / Biblical Name
Albright
Thiele
Galil
Kitchen
Notes
Josiah Reigned for 31 years.
640–609
641–609
Killed by Egyptian archers at Megiddo
Jehoahaz (Shallum) 3rd son of Josiah, reigned for 3 months
609
Reigned 3 months then was deposed by Neco who put Eliakim on throne. Jehoahaz died in Egypt
Jehoiakim (Eliakim) Older brother to Jehoahaz, reigned for 11 years.
609–598
Taken by Neb in chains – then reprieved. Later rebelled. Then died at start of Neb’s 2nd siege of Jerusalem suspicion of murder
Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) Son of Jehoiakim, reigned for 3 months & 10 days.
598
598–597
Deposed on 16th March 597, then deported to Babylon where he was imprisoned 37 years before being liberated by Amel-marduk
Zedekiah (Mattaniah) Uncle of Jehoiachin reigned for 11 years
2nd rebellion – captured at Jericho sons put to death then blinded

14. Kings of Babylon 1
Babylon has been ruled by several dynasties (and nationalities) of kings starting from 1961 bc through to 142 bc, after which Babylon became a province of the Parthian Empire
At the time of Daniel, the Babylonian 11th (Chaldean) Dynasty was in power and it proved to be a significant period in the life of Babylon
The rise of the Assyrian Empire (as predicted by Balaam Num 24:22-24) had occurred some 140 years previously under Tiglath Pileser 3rd when he took Babylon and became its first Assyrian king
But Assyria could not hold onto Babylon, and although Assyria was a true world power for a very long period, by 609 bc Assyria effectively ceased to exist
The reign of Nebuchadnezzar commencing in 605 bc was to be a golden 40 year period of rule – the following slide summarises the main out turn of events concerning this 11th dynasty

15. Dynasty XI of Babylon (Neo-Babylonian) Further information: Neo-Babylonian Empire
Ruler
Reigned
Comments
Nabu-apla-usur (Nabopolassar)
626 – 605 BC
Took control of Babylonia from Sinsharishkun of Assyria, ejected Assyrian armies from Babylonia in 616 BC. Entered into alliance with Cyaxares and destroyed Assyrian empire.
Nabu-kudurri-usur (Nebuchadnezzar II)
605 – 562 BC
Chaldean king. Defeated the Egyptians and Assyrians at Carchemish. Is associated with Daniel in the Bible.
Amel-Marduk (Evil-Merodach)
562 – 560 BC
AM (son of Neb) released Jeconiah after 37 years in captivity
Nergal-shar-usur (Nergal-sharezer/Neriglissar)
560 – 556 BC
Son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar II. Murdered Amel-Marduk
Labashi-Marduk
556 BC
Son of Neriglissar. Murdered after being deemed unfit to rule.
Nabu-na'id (Nabonidus)
556 – 539 BC
Last Mesopotamian king of Babylon, originated in Harran in Assyria. Was not a Chaldean, often left rule to his son Belshazzar in a co-regency arrangement.

16. Kings of Babylon 2
In summary Nebuchadnezzar 2nd was truly the “head of gold” of the 11th Dynasty as depicted on the image which Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about in Daniel chapter 2
Babylon was at the zenith of its power and influence under the rulership of Nebuchadnezzar who was a genuine “Chaldean”
Subsequently, Nebuchadnezzar’s son Amel Marduk only ruled for 2 years being murdered and usurped by his brother in law Neriglissar, who only ruled 4 years thereafter
Neriglissar’s son Labasi Marduk was considered unfit to rule and was also murdered
Eventually Nabonidus of Harran (not a Chaldean) took the throne, but was largely absent from Babylon leaving his son Belshazzar to rule in a co-regency arrangement
In 539 bc Babylon was taken by the forces of the Medo-Persian king Cyrus II and during the assault on the city Daniel records that Belshazzar was slain. His father Nabonidus was not in Babylon and he evaded capture for some considerable time afterwards

17. Medo-Persian Kings 1
The Medo-Persians had been erstwhile allies of the Babylonians against the Assyrians
Indeed Nebuchadnezzar II married Amytis daughter of Astyages the (last) King of Media – thus cementing the alliance between Babylon and Media in marriage
Astyages also had another daughter called Mandane who married Cambyses I who arguably, was the progenitor of the line of great Persian kings that were to follow
From this union came Cyrus II (The Great)…who proved to be an outstanding warrior
In due course, Cyrus II overthrew Astyages and it was the forces of Cyrus II who overthrew the Nabonidus / Belshazzar regency of Babylon in 539 bc
Cyrus II would argue (doubtless) that as the nephew of Amytis, (Nebuchadnezzar II’s daughter) he had a greater claim to the Babylonian throne than an usurper such as Nabonidus

18. Medo-Persian Kings 2
The line of Medo-Persian kings within Daniel’s lifetime was as follows
Cyrus II
Cambyses II
Bardiya 522
Darius I bc
Clearly the prophetic content of Daniel 11 with respect to the history of the Greco-Syrian and Egyptian kingdoms is within our scope but we will deal with those historical matters in a later presentation
We note that Cyrus II is feted as the gentile king who issued an edict to re-build the temple in Jerusalem but the reality is the Temple in Jerusalem was only completed circa 518/7 bc during the reign of Darius I – but much more on this in a later presentation

19. Daniel’s prophecy – Chapter Plotter (all dates bc)
Neo Babylonian (Neb/Bel’zar)
Medo-Persian (Darius)
ch 1 Trial by diet
604/3 ch 2 Neb’s dream
588? ch 3 Trial by fire
570 ch 4 Neb eats grass
549 ch 7 Vision of 4 beasts
546 ch 8 Vision of ram & he-goat
539 ch 5 Belshazzar’s feast
538 ch 6 Trial by wild beast
538 ch weeks prophecy
534 ch 10 Vision of man in linen
534 ch 11 Kings of the North & South
534 ch 12 Eschaton (End times)

20. Acknowledgements
Finally, for a more detailed discussion of these matters please refer to “The Prophecy of Daniel” by Bro. Edmund Green Chapter 1 (pp5-16) (The Christadelphian 404 Shaftmoor Lane Birmingham 1988 – ISBN )
Charts courtesy of Wikipedia
Map courtesy of the Christadelphian
All references /quotes from the KJV