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Nebuchadnezzar of Chaldea

Nebuchadnezzar was the popular king of Babylon who ruled the throne during the time of the Judean exile. He is known to westerners as Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadnezzar were how his name was pronounced in ancient times. Chaldaic was a dialect of Aramaic, and it used to be the official language of the Middle East and Mesopotamian region once the Babylonians gained power over the Assyrians. Nebuchadnezzar’s official name was pronounced and written in this ancient language. His name means “Nabu defend my son” or ” a favorite of Nabu”. The deity Nabu was the son of the Babylonian chief god Marduk and Nebuchadnezzar was named after this deity from his father King Nebopolasser, who considered himself to be favored by Marduk.

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Nebuchadnezzar took the throne of Babylon in 605 B.C. when his father passed away from natural causes. This is when he appears on the Biblical Timeline Chart. Before he became king, he was a coregent with Nabopolassar, and he was out fighting many battles to expand the Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar’s father defeated the Assyrians and from this event the Babylonians began to dominate various cultures all throughout the Middle East and the Mesopotamian region.

The Bible states that before Nebuchadnezzar began his conquest the Lord communicated to him that he was supposed to dominate the land of Judah. God had revealed himself to Nebuchadnezzar, and this probably happened through the dreams he had and through the reputation of the Hebrew people. Nebuchadnezzar’s father made it a point to search out ancient records so that he could worship the pagan deities from the past. This too probably helped to inspire Nebuchadnezzar to conquer Judah since the Assyrians had revelations from God that they were given this task for the Israelites they defeated. It should also be kept in mind that many of the Israelites were living in Assyria after the Babylonians took it over, and they too revealed God to the Babylonian rulers.

Nebuchadnezzar had become very powerful and successful with his conquests, and the defeat of Judah was one of his most important victories. A few years after he conquered Judah he had a particular group of young Hebrew boys to become educated within his court. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were the young men who would really reveal God to him by their presence.

Nebuchadnezar,_Chaldaic_King
Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

Nebuchadnezzar was prone to have strange dreams that troubled him deeply, and he would usually try to have the Chaldean wise men interpret these dreams. The Chaldean wise men couldn’t interpret his dreams but with God’s help Daniel was able to tell Nebuchadnezzar about his dreams.

King Nebuchadnezzar went insane during a seven-year period during his rule. Nebuchadnezzar honestly believed that he handled being so successful during his reign and would not acknowledge that God was behind his achievements. So God revealed to Nebuchadnezzar that he would go insane and believed that he was a wild animal. Daniel had told the Babylonian king that this would happen and eventually came to pass. After this period was over God allowed Nebuchadnezzar regain his sanity. He then was humble enough to acknowledge that the Lord of the Hebrews was the only true and living God.

Nebuchadnezzar married a Mede princess named Amytis and he spent the early years of his reign conquering the nations of Syria, Phoenicia and Egypt. He managed to subdue the Scythians, Tyre and the Cimmerians. He reconstructed the temples of Marduk, and he created the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon which is considered one of the Seven Great Wonders of the ancient world. Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 B.C. and was succeeded by Amel-Marduk, who is also known as Belshazzar.

Biblical References:

  •  Daniel 1 – 4 There are four key chapters in the book of Daniel that outlines God’s plans for Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar.
  • 2 Kings 24 and 25 Mentions Nebuchadnezzar’s activities in Judah.
  • 2 Chronicles 36 Mentions Nebuchadnezzar’s activities in Judah from a different perspective.
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10 thoughts on “Nebuchadnezzar of Chaldea

  1. What happened to Babylon during the seven missing years of King Nebuchadnezzar?

    1. He lived among the wild animals in the bush.

  2. What happened to Babylon during the seven missing years of the King Nebuchadnezzar?
    Well, the bible stated that it was seven times not seven years.
    I do not know what seven times is. But, it seems that if it were seven years there would have been a war in Babylon to reinstall King Nebuchadnezzar and we have not heard that in any history books. So it must have been a different amount of time than seven year, less time, for a New king would have been needed if it was seven years and no history books state that.
    So, the answer is beyond me. But, if more than 9 months passed they would have needed a new King as they would have things that only a king would do. And if a new King was there for over 6 years it would take a war to out him.
    The bible does say he lived among the wild animals but for seven times and I do not know how long that is. So, this is a statement that this needs a serious review by some people in this field so that we can know what happen to Babylon when he was gone and how long was he out of power and the bible states he returned to power and the kingship.

    1. The Babylonians only recognized two seasons–summer and winter–so if each of those is counted as one season, that would make it 3-1/2 years (7 seasons).

    2. It was seven years and God kept the govt in order to give it back to Nebachadnezzer like He said He would. God spoke all matter in to existence, He easily could have kept a country together for 7 yrs

  3. How would you describe Nebuchadnezzar’s actions during g his reign as king

  4. The word “times”infact means years. Notice that the same is used in Revelation 12:14. The time is 1time+2times+1/2a time that brings =3and a1/2years. During the seven years,which God Himself had ordered,the subjects saw the proud monarch humbled. There were officials who most probably must have taken lead,among them Daniel. I believe that God who decreed this was in control and it was to mercifully chasten Nebuchadnezzar. After all the Bible does say that God “rules the kingdoms of men…”Daniel 4:32.

    1. If you are referring to what the Watcher says to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream in Daniel 4:16, 23, 25, & 32, it would not make sense that the words “seven times” should necessarily be interpreted as seven years. In Daniel 2:1, the word year is used to represent a single year. The words “year” and “years” are used several times throughout the book of Daniel to indicate a specific time period of what we would equate to a year in modern vernacular.

      According to the Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, the word used for “times” simply means a fixed, appointed, definite, or set period of time, and while it is often translated as “a year” the Chaldaic (from which the word originated) is not clear on the defined period of time. It does, however, stem from the same root as the word used for “menstruation.” This unused root means “to set a period.” (Period in this instance referring to time, of course.) Menstruation certainly does not occur for one year, so I do not believe that “years” would be an accurate translation in this instance and would assume that the author was trying to convey a set period of time, but not necessarily a year.

      Now, if we look to the phrase “seven times” we see that it is used 34 times in the KJV. This phrase has a very important esoteric meaning to be discerned and this should be done in the context of the phrase itself as used throughout the whole of scripture and not just specific to these few verses in Daniel. Seven being a holy number, this likely means something much more significant to the author of Daniel’s day. I certainly think it is no coincidence that it appears 34 times (3+4=7.) And, given the other verses in which the phrase appears, I would most certainly conclude that the esoteric definition of such is exactly what the author was going for in this text.

      Look deeper. Numbers always carry special significance and no words have been used without a specific purpose. The entire Bible is written in code and he that seeketh shall find.

      For your investigation, here are the other verses in which the phrase “seven times” appears:
      Genesis 33:3
      Leviticus 4:6
      Leviticus 4:17
      Leviticus 8:11
      Leviticus 14:7
      Leviticus 14:16
      Leviticus 14:27
      Leviticus 14:51
      Leviticus 16: 14
      Leviticus 16:19
      Leviticus 25:8
      Leviticus 26:18
      Leviticus 26:21
      Leviticus 26:24
      Leviticus 26:28
      Numbers 19:4
      Joshua 6:4
      Joshua 6:15
      1 Kings 18:43
      2 Kings 4:35
      2 Kings 5:10
      2 Kings 5:14
      Psalms 12:6
      Psalms 119:164
      Proverbs 24:16
      Daniel 3:19
      Daniel 4:16
      Daniel 4:23
      Daniel 4:25
      Daniel 4:32
      Daniel 9:25
      Matthew 18:21
      Matthew 18:22
      Luke 17:4

      1. It is also worth noting that an entirely different Hebrew word is used for the word year. The Blue Letter Bible’s reverse interlinear concordance is a wonderful resource to help you further your study of scripture and all of the beautiful hidden messages therein.

        1. It was 1260 days which equals three and one half years. The key to this is it began at the end of 12 months, and it ended after days, not years. Jesus was baptized before the Passover, and 1260 days later three and one half years would have been on the Feast of Tabernacles, But Ceasar added 30 days to the end of the year causing the Feast of Tabernacles to be 1290 days (the abomination of desolation. The baptism of Jesus fulfilled the Righteousness of the Law thereby taking away the need for a daily sacrifice. Weigh the words at http://www.backtoomega..com

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