图书图片
PDF
ePub

Nebuchadnezzar having taken Tyre after thirteen years' siege,* and when every head was become bald, and every shoulder peeled,† proceeded to Egypt, and conquered and lay waste the whole of that country, and then took captive those Jews who had fled with Johanan into that kingdom;‡ and returning to Babylon with his spoils, had his dream of a great tree, which was interpreted by Daniel,§ who concluded with the following earnest appeal; Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.||

Being at peace with all the world, the greater part of which he had conquered, this mighty monarch set himself to improve and beautify his metropolis of Babylon; a minute description of the extraordinary splendour and strength of which may be seen in Prideaux.¶

Inflated with pride, and forgetful of his dream, and the warning admonition of the prophet, this proud monarch, while walking in the palace, or rioting in the luxury of greatness, exclaimed, Is not this Babylon that I have built, for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying; O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; the kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet

* Prid. i. 24.
Dan. iv. 4-26.

+ Ezek. xxix. 18.
|| Dan. iv. 27.

Prid. i. 127. Con. i. 129-142.

with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.*

At the end of seven years, upon being restored to his reasonable faculties, he gave God the glory due to his name; of which no better evidence can be offered, than the desire expressed by himself, that this wonderful transaction should be made known to the nations of the earth: Nebuchadnezzar, the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the High God hath wrought toward me. How great are his signs, and how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.

And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will, in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time, my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, and extol, and honour the King of Heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride, he is able to abase.t

. Zedekiah's name is not mentioned after his apprehension : and, therefore, he most probably died in confinement at

Babylon. But not so his elder brother Jehoiachin; for after being kept in custody during the whole remaining reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and during which most of the above extraordinary and wonderful events took place; he was released on the decease of that mighty monarch, by his son and successor, Evilmerodach, who spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon, and changed his prison garments: and Jehoiachin did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life. And for his diet, there was a continual portion given him of the king of Babylon, every day until the day of his death.

In order to keep up the connection of the history, a slight digression is indispensable, for the purpose of introducing one of the most extraordinary and interesting individuals of profane antiquity, not only with respect to his military and political character, but more especially in regard to his being the specially appointed instrument of the Most High, long previously foretold; and prepared to restore the remnant of his chosen people, to their native and desolate country.

Nearly a century previous to this period, and even long before the desolation had taken place, the evangelical prophet had thus anticipated the existence and exploits of this distinguished conqueror. "Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer, that saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand have I holden, to subdue nations before him."+

Cyrus was the son of Cambyses, who was either the king, or a nobleman of Persia, by Mandana, the daughter of Astyages, king of Media. Cyrus being educated at the court of his grandfather Astyages, accompanied that prince Jer. lii. 31-34. 2 Kings, xxv. 27-30.

+ Is. xliv. 24-28. xlv. 1. Bp. Newton, i. 154.

Prid. i. 147.

in his war against Evilmerodach, and much distinguished himself in a victory which was then obtained over that monarch; and afterwards returned to his father in Persia.*

Evilmerodach having been assassinated, was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar, and on the death of Jehoiachin, the particulars of which do not appear, Salathiel, his son, became nominal prince of the Jews, or as they were called for many generations, the head of the captivity.†

On the death of Astyages, he was succeeded by his son, Cyaxares II., also called Darius, the Mede; against whom Neriglissar having formed a powerful confederacy, that

* Prid. i. 147—149. quoting Xenophon's Cyropod, and Herodotus. † 2 Esdras, v. 16. Notwithstanding the loss of the authority, they still kept up the title; and for a great many ages after, in the parts about Babylon, there was always one of the house of David, which, by the name of the head of the captivity, was acknowledged and honoured as a prince among the people, and had some sort of jurisdiction, as far as it was consistent with the government they were under, always invested in him; and sometimes a ratification was obtained of it from the princes that reigned in that country. And it is said this pageantry is still kept up among them; and chiefly, it seems, that they may be furnished from hence with an answer to give the Christians, when they urge the prophecy of Jacob (Gen. xlix. 10.) amongst them: for whensoever, from the prophecy, it is pressed upon them that the Messiah must be come, because the sceptre is now departed from Judah, and there is no more a lawgiver among them from between his feet, we are commonly told of this head of the captivity; their usual answer being, that the sceptre is still preserved among them in the head of the captivity; and that they have also in their Nasi, or prince of the Sanhedrim, (another pageantry officer of theirs) a lawgiver from between the feet of Judah (that is, of his seed) still remaining in Israel. But if these officers are now ceased from among them, as some of them will acknowledge, then this answer must cease also, and the prophecy returns in its full force upon them; and why do they then any longer resist the power of it? Prid. i. 145.

monarch called Cyrus to his help, and on his arrival with 30,000 Persians, gave him, also, the command of the Median army. After three years these powerful armies met, and Neriglissar was defeated and slain.*

La

The Babylonian monarch was succeeded by his son, borosoarchod, with whom Cyrus continued the war, and twice approached the walls of Babylon, and then returned with his victorious army towards Media; and sent for Cyaxares, to consult with him as to the future operations of the war.†

Laborosoarchod, having been assassinated by his subjects, was succeeded by Nabonadius, or, as he is called in Scripture, Belshazzar, a wicked prince; but during whose reign, the government was chiefly administered by his mother, Nicotris, a woman of singular ability.‡

In the first year of this monarch's reign, the vision of the beasts and horns was revealed to Daniel,§ being in substance, but under different emblems, an amplification of Nebuchadnezzar's metallic image.

In the third year of the reign of this monarch, the prophet Daniel saw the vision of the ram and the he goat,|| which foretold the overthrow of the Persian empire, by Alexander the Great, and the persecution of the Jews, by Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria.¶

Cyrus having defeated Croesus, king of Lydia, and taken his capital city of Sardis; and subdued all the surrounding nations, from the Ægean sea to the Euphrates, as well as in Syria and Arabia, and overthrown Belshazzar in battle, shut him up, and besieged him in Babylon.**

God had declared by his prophet Isaiah; "I will loose

Prid. i. 151, 152.
§ Dan. vii.

* Prid. i. 146–151.
Prid. i. 151. 154. 162.
Burder, O. C. 846, 847.

¶ Dan. viii.

** Prid. i. 154–159.

« 上一页继续 »