(x) Tobit was ftill alive at this time, and dwelt among other captives at Nineveh. Perceiving his end approaching, he foretold his children the fudden deftruction of that city; of which at that time there was not the leaft appearance. He advised them to quit the city, before its ruin came on, and to depart as soon as they had buried him and his wife. The ruin of Nineveh is at hand, fays the good old man, abide no longer bere, for I perceive the wickedness of the city will ocea fion its deftruction. Thefe laft words are very remarkable, the wickedness of the city will occafion its deftruction. Men will be apt to impute the ruin of Nineveh to any other reason, but we are taught by the Holy Ghoft, that her unrighteousness was the true cause of it, as it will be with other ftates, that imitate her crimes. () Nabuchodonofor defeated the king of the Medes, in a pitched battle fought the twelfth year of his reign upon the plain of Ragau, took Ecbatana, the capital of his kingdom, and returned triumphant to Nineveh. When we come to treat of the hiftory of the Medes, we fhall give a more particular account of this victory. It was immediately after this expedition, that Bethulia was befieged by Holofernes, one of Nabuchodonofor's generals; and that the famous enterprize of Judith was accomplished. (2) SARACUS, otherwife called CHYNA-LADANUS. This prince fucceeded Saofduchinus; and having rendered himself contemptible to his fubjects, by his effeminacy, and the little care he took of his dominions, Nabopolaffar, a Babylonian by birth, and general of his army, ufurped that part of the Affyrian empire, and reigned over it one and twenty years. (a) NABOPOLASSAR. This prince, the better to maintain his ufurped fovereignty, made an alliance with Cyaxares, king of the Medes. With their joint forces they befieged and took Nineveh, killed Saracus, and utterly deftroyed that great city. We shall speak more largely of this great event, when we come to the hiftory of the Medes. From this time forwards the city of Babylon became the only capital of the Afsyrian empire. The Babylonians and the Medes, having deftroyed Nineveh, became fo formidable, that they drew upon themselves the jealoufy of all their neighbours. Necho, king of Egypt, was fo alarmed at their power, that to ftop their progrefs he marched towards the Euphrates at the head of a powerful army, and made feveral confiderable conquefts. See the hiftory of the Egyptians (6) for what concerns this expedition, and the confequences that attended it. (c) Nabopolaffar finding, that after the taking of Carche mith by Necho, all Syria and Paleftine had revolted from him, and neither his age nor infirmities permitting him to go in perfon to recover them, he made his fon Nabuchodonofor partner with him in the empire, and fent him with an army, to reduce thofe countries to their former subjection. (d) From this time the Jews begin to reckon the years of Nabuchodonofor, viz. from the end of the third year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, or rather from the beginning of the fourth. But the Babylonians compute the reign of this prince only from the death of his father, which happened two years later. (e) NABUCHODOHOSOR II. This prince defeated Necho's army near the Euphrates, and retook Carchemish. From thence he marched towards Syria and Paleftine, and re united thofe provinces to his dominions." (f) He likewife entered Judea, befieged Jerufalem, and took it: He caufed Jehoiakim to be put in chains, with a de fign to have him carried to Babylon; but being moved with his repentance and affliction, he reftored him to his throne. Great numbers of the Jews, and, among the reft, fome chil dren of the royal family, were carried captive to Babylon whither all the treafures of the king's palace, and a part of the facred veffels of the temple, were likewife transported. Thus was the judgment God had denounced by the prophes Ifaiah to king Hezekiah accomplished. From this famous. epocha, which was the fourth year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, we are to date the captivity of the Jews at Babylon, fo often foretold by Jeremiah. Daniel, then but eightee years old, was carried captive among the reft; and Ezekiel fome time afterwards. een (g) Towards the end of the fifth year of Jehoiakim dici Nabopolaffar, king of Babylon, after having reigned one. and twenty years. As foon as his fon Nabuchodonofor had, news of his death, he fet out with all expedition for Babylon,, taking the neareft way through the defert, attended only with, a small retinue, leaving the bulk of his army with his generals. to be conducted to Babylon with the captives and (poils. On his arrival, he received the government from the hands of E 6 tboie (b) Vol. I. Ap. 1. i. xxiv. 7. (c) Beros, apud Joseph. Aniq. Lx. c. 11%-& con (d) A. M, 3398. Ant. J. C. 606, (e) Jr. xlv. 2K 145 Berof. apud Jofeph, Antiq. 1. x-c, 11, & con. Ap-lex. thofe that had carefully preferved it for him, and fo fucceeded to all the dominions of his father, which comprehended Chaldea, Affyria, Arabia, Syria, and Paleftine, over which, according to Ptolemy, he reigned forty-three years. (b) In the fourth year of his reign he had a dream, at which he was greatly terrified, though he could not call it again to mind. He thereupon confulted the wife men and diviners of his kingdom, requiring of them to make known to him the fubftance of his dream. They all anfwered, that it was be yond the reach of their art to divine the thing itself; and that the utmoft they could do, was to give the interpretation of his dream, when he had made it known to them. As abfolute princes are not accustomed to meet with oppofition, but will be obeyed in all things, Nabuchodonofor, imagining they dealt infincerely with him, fell into a violent rage, and condemned them all to die. Now Daniel and his three compani ons were included in the fentence, as being ranked among the wife men. But Daniel, having firft invoked his God, defired to be introduced to the king, to whom he revealed the whole fubftance of his dream. The thing thou faweft (fays he to "Nebuchadnezzar) was an image of an enormous fize, and "a terrible countenance. The head thereof was of gold, the "breaft and arms of filver, the belly and thighs of brafs, "and the feet part of iron and part of clay. And as the king "was attentively looking upon that vifion, behold * cut out of a mountain without hands, and the ftone fmote "the image upon his feet, and brake them to pieces; the whole image was ground as fmall as duft, and the ftone became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." When Daniel had related the dream, he gave the king likewife the interpretation thereof, fhewing him how it fignified the three great empires, which were to fucceed that of the Aflyrians, namely, the Perfian, the Grecian, and the Roman, or (according to fome) that of the fucceffors of Alexander the Great. "After thefe kingdoms (continued Daniel) fhall the God of heaven fet up a kingdom, which fhall never be destroyed; and this kingdom fhall not be left to other people, but fhall break in picces and confume all thefe kingdoms, and fhall "ftand for ever." By which Daniel plainly foretold the kingdom of Jefus Chrift. Nebuchadnezzar, quite ravished with admiration and aftonishment, after having acknowledged and loudly declared, that the God of the Ifraelites, was really the God of gods, advanced Daniel to the higheft offices in the kingdom, made him chief of the governors over all the wife (4) A. M. 3401. Ant. J.C. 603, Dan, s. iię men men, ruler of the whole province of Babylon, and one of the principal lords of the council, that always attended the court. His three friends were alfo promoted to honours and dignities. (i) At this time Jehoiakim revolted from the king of Babylon, whofe generals, that were fill in Judea, marched against him, and committed all kinds of hoftilities upon his country. He lept with his fathers, is all the fcripture fays of his death. Jeremiah had prophefied, that he fhould neither be regretted nor lamented; but should be buried with the bu rial of an afs, drawn and caft forth beyond the gates of Jerufalem: This was no doubt fulfilled, though it is not known in what manner. Jechonias fucceeded both to the throne and iniquity of his father. Nebuchadnezzar's lieutenants continuing the blockade of Jerufalem, in three months time he himself came at the head of his army, and made himself mafter of the city. He plundered both the temple and the king's palace of all their treasures, and fent them away to Babylon, together with all the golden veffels remaining, which Solomon had made for the ufe of the temple: He carried away likewife a vaft number of captives, amongft whom was king Jechonias, bis mother, his wives, with all the chief officers and great men of his kingdom. In the room of Jechonias, he fet upon the throne his uncle Mattaniah, who was otherwise called Zedekiah. (4) This prince had as little religion and profperity as his fore-fathers. Having made an alliance with Pharath, king of Egypt, he broke the oath of fidelity he had taken to the king of Babylon. The latter foon chaftifed him for it, and immediately laid fiege to Jerufalem. The king of Egypt's arrival at the head of an army gave the befieged fome hopes; but their joy was very short-lived; the Egyptians were defeated, and the conqueror returned against Jerufalem, and renewed the fiege, which lafted near a twelvemonth. (1) At laft the city was taken by ftorm, and a terrible flaughter enfped. Zedekiah's two fons were by Nebuchadnezzar's orders killed before their father's face, with all the nobles and principal men of Judah. Zedekiah himself had both his eyes put out, was loaded with fetters, and carried to Babylon, where he was confined in prison as long as he lived. The city and temple were pillaged and burnt, and all their fortifications demolished. (i) 2 Kings xxiv. 1, 2. (1) A. M. 3415. Ant. J. C. 589. Upon (*) 2 Kings xxiv. 17-20. and xxi, 1—10§. * A. Jehoiakim, 2. Kings xxiv. 6—18, (m) Upon Nebuchadnezzar's return to Babylon, after his fuccefsful war against Judea, he ordered a golden statue to be made Exty cubits high, affembled all the great men of the kingdom to celebrate the dedication of it, and commanded all his fubjects to worship it, threatening to caft thofe that fhould refufe into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Upon this occafion it was, that the three young Hebrews, Ananias, Mifael, and Azarias, who with an invincible courage refused to comply with the king's impious ordinance, were preferved af ter a miraculous manner, in the midst of the flames. The king, himself a witnefs of this aftonishing miracle, published an edict, whereby all perfons whatfoever were forbid, upon pain of death, to fpeak any thing amifs against the God of Ananias, Mifael, and Azarias. He likewife promoted these three young men to the highest honours and employments. Nebuchadnezzar, in the twenty-firft year of his reign, and the fourth after the deftruction of Jerufalem, marched again into Syria, and befieged Tyre, at the time when Ithobal was king thereof Tyre was a frong and opulent city, which had never been subject to any foreign power, and was then in great repute for its con.merce; (7) by which many of its citizens were become like fo many princes in wealth and magnificence. It was built by the Sidonians two hundred and forty years before the temple of Jerufalem. For Sidon being taken by the Philistines of Afcalon, many of its inhabitants made their efcape in fhips, and founded the city of Tyre. And for this reafon we find it called in Ifaiah (0) the daughter of Sidon. But the daughter foon furpaffed the mother in grandeur, riches, and power. Accordingly, at the time we are fpeaking of, fhe was in a condition to refift thirteen years together a monarch, to whofe yoke all the reft of the east had fubmitted. (p) It was not till after fo many years, that Nebuchadnezzar made himself matter of Tyre. His troops fuffered incredible hardships before it; fo that, according to the prophet's expreffion, (q) every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled. Before the city was reduced to the laft extremity, its inhabitants retired, with the greatest part of their effects, into a neighbouring ifle, half a mile from the fhore, where they built a new city; the name and glory whereof extinguished the remembrance of the old one, which from thenceforward became a mere village, retaining the name of ancient Tyre. (m) Dan. iii. (a) 1. xxiii 12. xxix. 18, 19. Nebu (n) Ezek. xxvi. 27. If. xxiii. 8. Juft. 1. xviii. c. 3. Ip; JL. Ant. L. x. c. 11. & con. Ap. 1. i. • Ninety feat, (2) Ez. |