Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
Against the wicked Jehoiakim, who succeeded his brother after Egypt deposed Jehoahaz and taxed Judah, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with a conquering army, besieged and took Jerusalem, bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon, and removed vessels of the house of the Lord to his own temple. Judah was thereby brought into vassalage while kings still sat on the throne by sufferance, with only part of the sacred vessels taken to the house of Bel and with chief men and royal sons, including Daniel and his companions, carried captive to serve in the king's palace. This first great captivity in B.C. 606 marks the beginning from which the seventy years are reckoned, distinct from the final destruction of Jerusalem in B.C. 586, and the head of the decline that ended in ruin and exile. It came as divine judgment because Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord and the people persisted in disobedience, formalism and apostasy after repeated warnings. Those who held the other teach that he was bound for transport but after humbling himself was left to rule as tributary, while Sabbath-breaking is named as the primal cause by which Judah forgot God and fell into idolatry and captivity.
Historical Setting and Details
After Josiah died his son Jehoahaz reigned three months until the king of Egypt deposed him and made his brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, changing his name to Jehoiakim and laying Judah under tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord, in contrast with his father Josiah who acted on the requirements of God's law.
Against Jehoiakim came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon with a conquering army, besieged and took Jerusalem, bound Jehoiakim in fetters to carry him to Babylon, and also carried off vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon to put in his temple. The chapter gives a fuller record of the siege than 2 Kings 24:1, which plainly identifies the event even without using the word siege. This coming to make war against the king of Judah and prevailing against him definitely marked the beginning of that downward course which ended in the Babylonish captivity.
In one reading Nebuchadnezzar only intended to take Jehoiakim to Babylon but did not take him there, for Jehoiakim reigned eleven years and died in Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar came against him twice, first in the third year of his reign and again three years later after Jehoiakim rebelled, and Jehoiakim then remained king in Jerusalem for five more years, with no reason stated for his not being carried away.
In another reading Nebuchadnezzar returned after Jehoiakim had served him three years and rebelled, besieged and took the city, bound Jehoiakim in fetters and carried him to Babylon, and made Jehoiachin king in his place. The verse so records that Nebuchadnezzar captured Jehoiakim and took him bound to Babylon, or took him toward Babylon, as part of the swift decline leading to Jerusalem's destruction and the burning of the temple. It thus marks the beginning of Judah's final decline, which ended with the kingdom's fall in 586 B.C.
In a third reading this was Nebuchadnezzar's first capture of Jerusalem: Jehoiakim was bound for transport to Babylon but after he humbled himself was allowed to remain ruling in Jerusalem as Babylon's tributary. Though Jehoiakim remained in Jerusalem afterward, some temple vessels and people including Daniel and his companions were still taken to Babylon at that time.
Daniel dates the expedition from its departure near the end of Jehoiakim's third year, while Jeremiah reckons from the subjugation of Jerusalem around the ninth month of the following year. Jerusalem was captured twice or three times more by Nebuchadnezzar after revolts, in B.C. 599 and 588, each time with harsher treatment. Not all the vessels were taken at the first coming, since Nebuchadnezzar did not take all the vessels of the house of God when he first came against Jehoiakim, and the last of the treasures were taken at those later takings.
At this first coming the king was made tributary and the whole land brought into vassalage to Babylon while kings still continued on Judah's throne by sufferance. Nebuchadnezzar took only part of the sacred vessels to the temple of his god Bel at Babylon and carried people captive. Those carried away included chief men, sons of the royal family and nobility made eunuchs and slaves in the king's palace, among whom were Daniel and his three companions.
Seventy Years and Sanctuary
Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar in B.C. 606 in the first great captivity of the Jews to Babylon, from which date the seventy years' captivity is reckoned, distinct from the destruction of Jerusalem and taking of many to Babylon in B.C. 586. That beginning is calculated as 602 years before the birth of Christ four years before the common era, with further deportations following, including the taking of Daniel and his companions in the first captivity, and with Jerusalem completely destroyed in 586 B.C. It marks the beginning of one reckoning of Jeremiah's seventy years, when in the fourth year of Jehoiakim Nebuchadnezzar took some of the Jewish people and some of the vessels of God's house to Babylon. In this he was the instrument God used to carry out His purpose, the head of gold in Daniel's image representing Babylon as the first universal empire, who took Jerusalem, made Jehoiakim his vassal, and began the seventy years of captivity.
It marks the beginning of Judah's final decline and downward course that ended in the Babylonish captivity and the kingdom's fall in 586 B.C. The conquest began in 606 B.C., and the people were removed to Babylon by 588 B.C. Jerusalem came under the power of Babylon because of a continued course of evil, bringing upon the people the wrath kindled in the days of Hezekiah after national independence had been lost.
The conquest brought the plundering of the temple and removal of part of the sacred vessels to Babylon to the temple of his god Bel, and the deportation of many people, including sons of the royal family and nobility made eunuchs and slaves in the king's palace, while kings still continued on Judah's throne by sufferance and the whole land was brought into vassalage. It is the beginning of God forsaking His sanctuary at Jerusalem as He had forsaken the tabernacle at Shiloh, only with tenfold heavier judgment ending in ruin, destruction of the ark, cutting to pieces and removal of the vessels, exile of the people, and the end of the Jerusalem temple's role as the people's central place of worship. In one dating the taking of the king captive and carrying of the temple vessels to Babylon occurred in 588 B.C., before the seventy-year captivity and the temple's desolation.
Josiah was the last king of Jerusalem who obeyed the Lord's commandments and statutes, and his reign ended in B.C. 607. After that no year of release or Jubilee was ever kept, because neither kings, nobles, people nor lands could be redeemed. There the Jewish Jubilees ended when not more than 21 had been kept, lacking 23 of the great Jubilee, and there the 2450 years of the Jubilee of Jubilees, 7 times 7 times 50 years, began, reaching to A.D. 1843 when the jubilee trump proclaims liberty and God's people enter the purchased possession and redemption of their bodies.
Cause and Moral Meaning
Because Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was permitted to come against him, bind him in fetters, and carry him with some of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon. Israel's persistent sin and failure to obey God brought the captivity, exile, bondage and scattering that began when Babylon came against Jerusalem and carried the people away captive. That Babylonian conquest was divine judgment for disobedience to God's commandments. Jehoiakim was the former Eliakim, placed on the throne by the king of Egypt after the people had made Jehoahaz king and the king of Egypt had deposed him, changing his name to Jehoiakim and laying Judah under tribute of an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
Sabbath transgression was the primal cause of Israel's overthrow and Babylonian captivity, for by neglecting the Sabbath Israel rejected the sign of the living Creator who sanctified them. Judah turned away from God, forgot His Sabbath, and fell into idolatry.
Jerusalem came under the power of Babylon because of a continued course of evil, bringing upon the people the wrath that was kindled in the days of Hezekiah. This followed the loss of national independence when Jerusalem became tributary to Egypt and a foreign king appointed its ruler. It marked the beginning of the downward course that ended in the Babylonian captivity, in which mere formalism and confidence in outward ceremony left the people under the power of sin and therefore prey to their enemies.
The coming against Jehoiakim belongs to the account of Judah's final kings and the consequences of their wickedness and growing apostasy. Babylon gained a hold on Jerusalem after the people repeatedly turned from God and ignored His warnings, when Nebuchadnezzar led his conquering army against the city while Jehoiakim was king. The conquest began in 606 B.C. and the people were removed to Babylon by 588 B.C. This history forms the background to the book of Daniel.
Against the wicked Jehoiakim, who succeeded his brother after Egypt deposed Jehoahaz and taxed Judah, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with a conquering army, besieged and took Jerusalem, bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon, and removed vessels of the house of the Lord to his own temple. Judah was thereby brought into vassalage while kings still sat on the throne by sufferance, with only part of the sacred vessels taken to the house of Bel and with chief men and royal sons, including Daniel and his companions, carried captive to serve in the king's palace. This first great captivity in B.C. 606 marks the beginning from which the seventy years are reckoned, distinct from the final destruction of Jerusalem in B.C. 586, and the head of the decline that ended in ruin and exile. It came as divine judgment because Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord and the people persisted in disobedience, formalism and apostasy after repeated warnings. Those who held the other teach that he was bound for transport but after humbling himself was left to rule as tributary, while Sabbath-breaking is named as the primal cause by which Judah forgot God and fell into idolatry and captivity.
Historical Setting and Details
After Josiah died his son Jehoahaz reigned three months until the king of Egypt deposed him and made his brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, changing his name to Jehoiakim and laying Judah under tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord, in contrast with his father Josiah who acted on the requirements of God's law.
Against Jehoiakim came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon with a conquering army, besieged and took Jerusalem, bound Jehoiakim in fetters to carry him to Babylon, and also carried off vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon to put in his temple. The chapter gives a fuller record of the siege than 2 Kings 24:1, which plainly identifies the event even without using the word siege. This coming to make war against the king of Judah and prevailing against him definitely marked the beginning of that downward course which ended in the Babylonish captivity.
In one reading Nebuchadnezzar only intended to take Jehoiakim to Babylon but did not take him there, for Jehoiakim reigned eleven years and died in Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar came against him twice, first in the third year of his reign and again three years later after Jehoiakim rebelled, and Jehoiakim then remained king in Jerusalem for five more years, with no reason stated for his not being carried away.
In another reading Nebuchadnezzar returned after Jehoiakim had served him three years and rebelled, besieged and took the city, bound Jehoiakim in fetters and carried him to Babylon, and made Jehoiachin king in his place. The verse so records that Nebuchadnezzar captured Jehoiakim and took him bound to Babylon, or took him toward Babylon, as part of the swift decline leading to Jerusalem's destruction and the burning of the temple. It thus marks the beginning of Judah's final decline, which ended with the kingdom's fall in 586 B.C.
In a third reading this was Nebuchadnezzar's first capture of Jerusalem: Jehoiakim was bound for transport to Babylon but after he humbled himself was allowed to remain ruling in Jerusalem as Babylon's tributary. Though Jehoiakim remained in Jerusalem afterward, some temple vessels and people including Daniel and his companions were still taken to Babylon at that time.
Daniel dates the expedition from its departure near the end of Jehoiakim's third year, while Jeremiah reckons from the subjugation of Jerusalem around the ninth month of the following year. Jerusalem was captured twice or three times more by Nebuchadnezzar after revolts, in B.C. 599 and 588, each time with harsher treatment. Not all the vessels were taken at the first coming, since Nebuchadnezzar did not take all the vessels of the house of God when he first came against Jehoiakim, and the last of the treasures were taken at those later takings.
At this first coming the king was made tributary and the whole land brought into vassalage to Babylon while kings still continued on Judah's throne by sufferance. Nebuchadnezzar took only part of the sacred vessels to the temple of his god Bel at Babylon and carried people captive. Those carried away included chief men, sons of the royal family and nobility made eunuchs and slaves in the king's palace, among whom were Daniel and his three companions.
Seventy Years and Sanctuary
Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar in B.C. 606 in the first great captivity of the Jews to Babylon, from which date the seventy years' captivity is reckoned, distinct from the destruction of Jerusalem and taking of many to Babylon in B.C. 586. That beginning is calculated as 602 years before the birth of Christ four years before the common era, with further deportations following, including the taking of Daniel and his companions in the first captivity, and with Jerusalem completely destroyed in 586 B.C. It marks the beginning of one reckoning of Jeremiah's seventy years, when in the fourth year of Jehoiakim Nebuchadnezzar took some of the Jewish people and some of the vessels of God's house to Babylon. In this he was the instrument God used to carry out His purpose, the head of gold in Daniel's image representing Babylon as the first universal empire, who took Jerusalem, made Jehoiakim his vassal, and began the seventy years of captivity.
It marks the beginning of Judah's final decline and downward course that ended in the Babylonish captivity and the kingdom's fall in 586 B.C. The conquest began in 606 B.C., and the people were removed to Babylon by 588 B.C. Jerusalem came under the power of Babylon because of a continued course of evil, bringing upon the people the wrath kindled in the days of Hezekiah after national independence had been lost.
The conquest brought the plundering of the temple and removal of part of the sacred vessels to Babylon to the temple of his god Bel, and the deportation of many people, including sons of the royal family and nobility made eunuchs and slaves in the king's palace, while kings still continued on Judah's throne by sufferance and the whole land was brought into vassalage. It is the beginning of God forsaking His sanctuary at Jerusalem as He had forsaken the tabernacle at Shiloh, only with tenfold heavier judgment ending in ruin, destruction of the ark, cutting to pieces and removal of the vessels, exile of the people, and the end of the Jerusalem temple's role as the people's central place of worship. In one dating the taking of the king captive and carrying of the temple vessels to Babylon occurred in 588 B.C., before the seventy-year captivity and the temple's desolation.
Josiah was the last king of Jerusalem who obeyed the Lord's commandments and statutes, and his reign ended in B.C. 607. After that no year of release or Jubilee was ever kept, because neither kings, nobles, people nor lands could be redeemed. There the Jewish Jubilees ended when not more than 21 had been kept, lacking 23 of the great Jubilee, and there the 2450 years of the Jubilee of Jubilees, 7 times 7 times 50 years, began, reaching to A.D. 1843 when the jubilee trump proclaims liberty and God's people enter the purchased possession and redemption of their bodies.
Cause and Moral Meaning
Because Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was permitted to come against him, bind him in fetters, and carry him with some of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon. Israel's persistent sin and failure to obey God brought the captivity, exile, bondage and scattering that began when Babylon came against Jerusalem and carried the people away captive. That Babylonian conquest was divine judgment for disobedience to God's commandments. Jehoiakim was the former Eliakim, placed on the throne by the king of Egypt after the people had made Jehoahaz king and the king of Egypt had deposed him, changing his name to Jehoiakim and laying Judah under tribute of an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
Sabbath transgression was the primal cause of Israel's overthrow and Babylonian captivity, for by neglecting the Sabbath Israel rejected the sign of the living Creator who sanctified them. Judah turned away from God, forgot His Sabbath, and fell into idolatry.
Jerusalem came under the power of Babylon because of a continued course of evil, bringing upon the people the wrath that was kindled in the days of Hezekiah. This followed the loss of national independence when Jerusalem became tributary to Egypt and a foreign king appointed its ruler. It marked the beginning of the downward course that ended in the Babylonian captivity, in which mere formalism and confidence in outward ceremony left the people under the power of sin and therefore prey to their enemies.
The coming against Jehoiakim belongs to the account of Judah's final kings and the consequences of their wickedness and growing apostasy. Babylon gained a hold on Jerusalem after the people repeatedly turned from God and ignored His warnings, when Nebuchadnezzar led his conquering army against the city while Jehoiakim was king. The conquest began in 606 B.C. and the people were removed to Babylon by 588 B.C. This history forms the background to the book of Daniel.