(r) Nebuchadnezzar and his army having undergone the utmolt fatigues during fo long and difficult a fiege, and having found nothing in the place to requite them for the fervice they had rendered Almighty God (it is the expreffion of the prophet) in executing his vengeance upon that city, to make them amends, God was pleafed to promife by the mouth of Ezekiel, that he would give them the fpoils of Egypt. And indeed Nebuchadnezzar conquered Egypt foon after, as I have more fully related in the hiftory of the Egyptians (s). When this prince had happily finished all his wars, and was in a state of perfect peace and tranquillity, he put the laft hand to the building, or rather to the embellishing of Babylon. The reader may fee in Jofephus (1) an account of the magnificent Aructures afcribed to this monarch by feveral writers. I have mentioned a great part of them in the description already given of that fately city. (a) Whilft nothing feemed wanting to compleat Nebuchadnezzar's happinefs, a frightful dream diftarbed his repose, and filled him with great anxiety. He dreamed, "He faw a tree "in the midst of the earth, whofe height was great: The tree grew, and was ftrong, and the height of it reached unto "heaven, and the fight thereof to the end of the earth. The "leaves were fair, and the fruit much; and in it was meat " for all: The beasts of the field had fhadow under it, and "the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof; and all flesh was fed f it.. Then a watcher and an holy one "came down from heaven, and cried; Hew down the tree, "and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter “his fruit; let the beafts get away from under it, and the "fowls from his branches. Nevertheless leave the stump of "his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brafs, "in the tender grafs of the field; and let it be wet with the "dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beafts in the grafs of the earth. Let his heart be changed from man's; and let a beaf's heart be given unto him; and let feven times pafs over him. This matter is by the decree of the "watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones, to “the intent that the living may know, that the Most High “ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever "be will, and fetteth up over it the bafeft of men.” The king, juftly terrified at this terrible dream, confulted all his wife mep and magicians, but to no purpose. He was obliged to have recourfe to Daniel, who expounded the dream, and (~) Ez, xxix. 18—20. (u) Dan. cap. iv. (s) Vol. I. (r) Antiq. 1. x. Ç. i la (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 deftruation of that city; of which at that time there was not the leaft appearance. He advifed them to quit the city, before its ruin came on, and to depart as foon 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 reafon, but we are taught by the Holy Ghoft, that her unrighteoufnefs was the true caufe 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. (*) 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 fpeak 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 Affyrian empire. The Babylonians and the Medes, having destroyed Nineveh, became fo formidable, that they drew upon themselves the jealousy of all their neighbours. Necho, king of Egypt, was fo alarmed at their power, that to ftop their progress 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 mish 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 fubjection. (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 tranfported., 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 eighteen years old, was carried captive among the reft; and Ezekiel fome time afterwards. (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 spoils. On his arrival, he received the government from the hands of (b) Vol. I. Ap. 1. j. E 6 thoie (c) Berof. apud Jofeph. Antiq. 1.x. c. 13.-& con (d) A. M. 3398. Ant. J. C. 606. 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. (6) 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 beyond 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 a ftone was "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 be46 came 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 Affyrians, 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 pieces and confume all thefe kingdoms, and shall "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 (b) A. M. 3401. Ant. J.-C. 603, Dan, e, iis 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 also 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 flept 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 master 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, amongst whom was king Jechonias, his 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. (k) 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 fhort-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 enfued. 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 prifon 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 (k) 2 Kings xxiv. 17—20. and xxi, ¡—10g. * A. Jehoiakim, 2. Kings xxiv, 6—18, |