by
Damien F. Mackey
“Nebuchadnezzar, the "wicked one"
("ha-rasha'"; Meg. 11a; Ḥag. 13b; Pes. 118a), was a … son-in-law of
Sennacherib (Targ. to Isa. x. 32; Lam. R., Introduction, 23, says "a
grandson"), with whom he took part in the expedition of the Assyrians
against Hezekiah, being one of the few who were not destroyed by the angels
before Jerusalem (Sanh. 95b)”.
According
to the standard interpretation of history one would hardly expect the young
Nebuchednezzar, who began to reign in 605 BC (conventional dating) to have been
involved in the ill-fated final campaign of Sennacherib (d. 681 BC,
conventional dating), when Israel’s heroine Judith brought the massive Assyrian
army to a shuddering halt at ‘Bethulia’ (Shechem). See e.g. my article:
In
the less standard interpretation of events (e.g. my revision) this situation, a
Jewish tradition, becomes quite possible, however. For, according to my
reinterpretation of how things were, Nebuchednezzar II was the same person as
Esarhaddon, the successor of - and thought to have been the son of - Sennacherib.
See e.g. my recent series:
Esarhaddon a tolerable fit for King Nebuchednezzar
Esarhaddon a tolerable fit for King Nebuchednezzar. Part
Two: Another writer has picked up this possible connection
Turning now to
the Jewish traditions, or legends, we learn two interesting things about
Nebuchednezzar, the second of which is his alleged involvement in Sennacherib’s
campaign. About the first, that Nebuchednezzar was a descendant of the Queen of
Sheba, I have mothing further to add at present: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11407-nebuchadnezzar
....
Nebuchadnezzar, the
"wicked one" ("ha-rasha'"; Meg. 11a; Ḥag. 13b; Pes. 118a),
was a son—or descendant?—of the Queen of Sheba by her marriage with Solomon
("Alphabet Ben Sira," ed. Venice, 21b; comp. Brüll's
"Jahrb." ix. 9), and a son-in-law of Sennacherib (Targ. to Isa. x.
32; Lam. R., Introduction, 23, says "a grandson"), with whom he took
part in the expedition of the Assyrians against Hezekiah, being one of the few
who were not destroyed by the angels before Jerusalem (Sanh. 95b). He came to
the throne in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim of Judah, whom he subjugated
and, seven years later, killed after that king had rebelled. Nebuchadnezzar did
not on this occasion go to Jerusalem, but received the Great Sanhedrin of
Jerusalem at Daphne, a suburb of Antioch, informing that body that it was not
his intention to destroy the Temple, but that the rebellious Jehoiakim must be
delivered to him, which in fact was done (Seder 'Olam R. xxv.; Midr. 'Eser
Galuyyot, ed. Grünhut, "Sefer ha-Liḳḳuṭim," iii.; Lev. R. xix.; comp.
Jehoiakim in Rabbinical Literature). ….
