a He likewise entered Judea, besieged Jerusalem, and took it: he caused Jehoiakim to be put in chains, with a design to have him carried to Babylon; but being moved with his repentance and affliction, he restored him to his throne. Great numbers of the Jews, and, among the rest, some children of the royal family, were carried captive to Babylon, whither all the treasures of the king's palace, and a part of the sacred vessels of the temple, were likewise transported. Thus was the judgment which God had denounced by the prophet Isaiah 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, so often foretold by Jeremiah. Daniel, then but 12 years old, was carried captive among the rest; and Ezekiel some time afterwards.

• Towards the end of the fifth year of Jehoiakim died Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, after having reigned 21 years. As soon as his son Nabuchodonosor had news of his death, he set out with all expedition for Babylon, taking the nearest way through the desert, 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 those that had carefully preserved it for him, and so succeeded to all the dominions of his father, which comprehended Chaldea, Assyria, Arabia, Syria, and Palestine, over which, aċcording to Ptolemy, he reigned 43 years.

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 consulted the wise men and soothsayers of his kingdom, requiring of them to make known to him the substance of his dream. They all answered, that it was beyond the reach of their art to discover it; and that the utmost they could do, was to give the interpretation of his dream, when he had made it known to them. As absolute princes are not accustomed to meet with opposition, but will be obeyed in all things, Nabuchodonosor imagining they dealt insincerely with him, fell into a violent rage, and condemned them all to die. Now Daniel and his three companions were included in the sentence, as being ranked among the wise men. But Daniel, having first invoked his God, desired to be introduced to the king, to whom he revealed the whole substance of his dream. "The thing thou sawest "(says he to him) was an image of an enormous size, and a "terrible countenance. The head thereof was of gold, the

a Dan. i. 1-7. 2 Chron. xxxvi 6, 7.

6 Some imagine him to have been 18 years of age at this time.

Can Ptol Beros. apud Joseph Antiq. 4. x. c. 11. & non. Ap. I. x a A. M. 3401. Ant. J. C. 603, Dan. c. i.

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"breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of brass, "and the feet part of iron and part of clay. And as the king was attentively looking upon that vision, behold a "stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and the "stone smote the image upon his feet, and break then to "pieces; the whole image was ground as small as dust, "and the stone became a great mountain, and filled the "whole earth." When Daniel had related the dream, he gave the king likewise the interpretation thereof, showing him how it signified the three great empires, which were to succeed that of the Assyrians, namely, the Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman, or (according to some) that of the successors of Alexander the Great. "After these kingdoms "(continued Daniel) shall the God of heaven set up a king

dom, which shall never be destroyed; and this kingdom "shall not be left to other people, but shall break in pieces "and consume all these kingdoms, and shall stand for ever." By which Daniel plainly foretold the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The king quite ravished with adiniration and astonishment, after having acknowledged and loudly declared, that the God of the Israelites was really the God of gods, advanced Daniel to the highest offices in the kingdom, made him chief of the governors over all the wise 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.

a At this time Jehoiakim revolted from the king of Babylon, whose generals, that were still in Judea, marched against him, and committed all kinds of hostilities upon his country. "He slept with his fathers." is all the Scripture says of his death. Jeremiah had prophesied, that he should neither be regretted nor lamented; but should "be buried with the bu"rial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Je"rusalem :" this was no doubt fulfilled, though it is not known in what manner.

Jechonias succeeded both to the throne and iniquity of his father. Nabuchodonosor's lieutenants continuing the blockade of Jerusalem, 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 sent them away to Babylon, together with all the golden vesseis remaining, which Solomon had made for the use of the temple: he carried away likewise a vast 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 set

a2 Kings xxiv. 1, 2.

Al Jehoiakim. 2 Kings xxiv. 6-18.

upon the throne his uncle Mattaniah, who was otherwise called Zedekiah.

a

This prince had as little religion and prosperity as his forefathers. Having made an alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, he broke the oath of fidelity he had taken to the king of Babylon. The latter soon chastised him for it, and immediately laid siege to Jerusalem. The king of Egypt's arrival at the head of an army gave the besieged a gleam of hope; but their joy was very short-lived; the Egyptians were defeated, and the conqueror returned against Jerusalem, and renewed the siege, which lasted near a twelvemonth. At last the city was taken by storm, and a terrible slaughter ensued. Zedekiah's two sons were by Nabuchodonosor'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.

C

Upon Nabuchodonosor's return to Babylon, after his successful war against Judea, he ordered a golden statue to be made, 60 d cubits high, assembled all the great men of the kingdom to celebrate the dedication of it, and commanded all his subjects to worship it, threatening to cast those that should refuse into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Upon this occasion it was that the three young Hebrews, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias, who with an invincible courage refused to comply with the king's impious ordinance, were preserved after a miraculous manner, in the midst of the flames. The king, himself a witness of this astonishing miracle, published an edict, whereby all persons whatsoever were forbidden, upon pain of death, to speak any thing amiss against the God of Ananias, Misael, and Azarias. He likewise promoted these three young men to the highest honours and employ

ments.

Nabuchodonosor, in the twenty-first year of his reign, and the fourth after the destruction of Jerusalem, marched again into Syria, and besieged Tyre, at the time when Ithobal was king thereof. Tyre was a strong and opulent city, which had never been subject to any foreign power, and was then in great repute for its commerce: by which many of its citizens were become like so many princes in wealth and magnificence. It was built by the Sidonians 240 years before the temple of Jerusalem. For Sidon being taken by the Philistines of Ascalon, many of its inhabitants made their escape in ships, and founded the city of Tyre. And for

a 2 Kings xxiv. 17-20. and xxv. 1-10. b A. M. 3415. Ant. J. C. 589. e Dan. ii. d 90 feet. e Ezek. xxvi. & xxvii. Is. xxiii. 8. Just. I. xviii, C.

1

this reason we find it called in Isaiah a" the daughter of Sidon." But the daughter soon surpassed the mother in grandeur, riches, and power. Accordingly, at the time we are speaking of, she was in a condition to resist, thirteen years together, a monarch, to whose yoke all the rest of the East had submitted.

It was not till after so long an interval, that Nabuchodonosor made himself master of Tyre. His troops suffered incredible hardships before it; so that according to the prophet's expression, every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled." Before the city was reduced to the last extremity, its inhabitants retired, with the greatest part of their effects, into a neighbouring isle, half a mile from the shore, 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.

d Nabuchodonosor, and his army having undergone the utmost fatigues during so long and difficult a siege, and having found nothing in the place to requite them for the service they had rendered Almighty God (it is the expression of the prophet) in executing his vengeance upon that city, to make them amends, God was pleased to promise by the mouth of Ezekiel, that he would give them the spoils of Egypt. And indeed they soon after conquered that country, as I have more fully related in the history of the Egyptians e. When this prince had happily finished all his wars, and was in a state of perfect peace and tranquillity, he employed himself in putting the last hand to the building, or rather to the embellishing of Babylon. The reader may see in Josephus.f an account of the magnificent structures ascribed to this monarch by several writers. I have mentioned a great part of them in the description already given of that stately city.

Whilst nothing seemed wanting to complete this prince's happiness, a frightful dream disturbed his repose, and filled him with great anxiety. He dreamed, "He saw a tree in "the midst of the earth, whose height was great: the tree 66 grew, and was strong, and the height of it reached unto "heaven, and the sight 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 shadow under it, "and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof; "and all flesh was fed of it. Then a watcher and an holy 66 one came down from heaven, and cried; hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and

a Is. xxiii. 12. b Jos. Ant. . x. c. 11. & con. Ap l. i. c Ezek. xxix. 18, 19. d Ezek. xxix 18-20. e Vol. I. f Antiq. l. x. c. 11. g Dan, ly

"scatter his fruit; let the beasts 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 brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be "wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the "beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed "from man's; and let a beast's heart be given unto him ; ❝ and let seven times pass 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 he will, and setteth up over it the basest of "men."

The king, justly terrified at this terrible dream, consulted all his wise men and magicians, but to no purpose. He was obliged to have recourse to Daniel, who expounded the dream, and applied it to the king's own person, plainly declaring to him, "That he should be driven from the company of men "for seven years, should be reduced to the condition and fellowship of the beasts of the field, and feed upon grass like "a bullock; that his kingdom nevertheless should be pre"served for him, and he should repossess his throne, when ❝he should have learnt to know and acknowledge, that all "power is from above, and cometh from Heaven. After "this he exhorted him to break off his sins by righteousness, "and his iniquities by showing mercy to the poor."

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All these things came to pass upon Nabuchodonosor, as the prophet had foretold, At the end of 12 months, as he was walking in his palace, and admiring the beauty and magnificence of his buildings, he said, " Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ?" Would a secret impulse of complacency and vanity in a prince, at the sight of such noble structures erected by himself, appear to us so very criminal? And yet, hardly were the words out of his mouth when a voice came down from heaven, and pronounced his sentence: "in the same hour his understanding went from him; he was driven from men, "and did eat grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the "dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws."

After the expiration of the appointed time, he recovered his senses, and the use of his understanding: "he lifted

up

his

eyes unto heaven (says the scripture) and blessed the Most "High; he praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, "whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his king"dom is from generation to generation :" Confessing, "That "all the inhabitants of the earth are as nothing before him,