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Babylon, Babel
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“Babylon” From
Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(
Greek
form of
Babel
). Capital city Babylonian empires. Situate on both sides of the
Euphrates
, 200 miles above its junction with the Tigris (
Gen. 10:10; 11:4-9
10
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (Genesis 10:10)
4
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
5
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6
And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7
Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8
So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
9
Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:4‑9)
;
Jer. 51:58
58
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labor in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary. (Jeremiah 51:58)
;
Isa. 45:1-3
1
Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
2
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
3
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. (Isaiah 45:1‑3)
). Once the capital of
Assyria
(
2 Chron. 33:11
11
Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. (2 Chronicles 33:11)
). Reached height of its splendor and strength under
Nebuchadnezzar
(
Isa. 13:19; 14:4; 47:5
19
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. (Isaiah 13:19)
4
That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! (Isaiah 14:4)
5
Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. (Isaiah 47:5)
;
Jer. 51:41
41
How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! (Jeremiah 51:41)
). Chief home of the captive Jews. Captured by
Cyrus
the Persian, through his leader
Darius
, B. C. 539, as prophesied (
Jer. 51:31,39
31
One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end, (Jeremiah 51:31)
39
In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 51:39)
), and narrated (Dan. 5). Its decay dates from that date. In
Rev. 14:8
8
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. (Revelation 14:8)
and 17:18
Babylon
represents the false
Church
remaining in
the world
for
judgment
after the Church of raptured believers is in
heaven
.
“Babel” From
Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(confusion). One of
Nimrod
’s cities in the plain of Shiner (
Gen. 10:10
10
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (Genesis 10:10)
). [
BABYLON
.]
“Babylon” From
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
Download (2.1 MB)
Nimrod
’s
BABEL
was doubtless in some way connected with the renowned city of Babylon and of the
kingdom
of which it was the capital. The
Hebrew
is
Babel
, the same for Babel and Babylon. In
Genesis 11:2
2
And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. (Genesis 11:2)
it speaks of Babel being built in a plain in the land of
Shinar
, which they reached by traveling from the
east
; this reads in the margin traveling “eastward,” a reading preferred by many and by the Revisers. This direction agrees well with the locality of Babylon on the
river
Euphrates
.
Historians speak of the great size of the city, though they are not agreed as to its dimensions. It had 25 gates on each side, and from the gates were streets which crossed one another at right angles. The houses were not built close together, so that there was ample room inside the city for gardens and even fields and vineyards. The walls were said to be 75 feet thick and 300 feet in height; and the gates were of
brass
. The river Euphrates ran through the city; but on the banks of the river strong walls were built with gates of brass; there was also a bridge from side to side near the center of the city. A lake was formed outside the city into which the waters of the river could be turned when the water
rose
too high, and deep ditches filled with water surrounded the walls of the city.
We also read of “
hanging
gardens” which
Nebuchadnezzar
built for his wife Amyitis, or Amyhia,
daughter
of a Median king, to give the place a measure of resemblance to the mountains and wooded hills of her native country. These gardens are supposed to have been built in terraces of different heights.
In several particulars
scripture
corroborates the statements of the historians. In
Jeremiah 50:11
11
Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls; (Jeremiah 50:11)
of Babylon it is said, “O ye destroyers of Mine heritage, because ye are grown
fat
as the
heifer
at
grass
, and bellow as bulls;” its broad walls are mentioned (
Jer. 51:12,58
12
Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon. (Jeremiah 51:12)
58
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labor in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary. (Jeremiah 51:58)
); its gates of brass and bars of
iron
(
Isa. 45:2
2
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: (Isaiah 45:2)
); and Nebuchadnezzar boasted of the “great Babylon” which he had built by the might of his
power
, and for the honor of his majesty (
Dan. 4:30
30
The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? (Daniel 4:30)
).
Among the relics recovered from the various mounds of ruins are some
bricks
with the
names
of the kings Neriglissar and Labynetus stamped upon them, but the great majority of those found
bear
the name of Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon was built with bricks, there being no stone at all near, and in later years the mounds were ransacked for bricks for other cities.
Of the early governments in Babylon but little is known with certainty. Berosus, as arranged by Rawlinson, gives from B.C. 2458 to 625 various dynasties of
Medes
, Chaldaeans, Arabs, and Assyrians; and lastly
Babylonians
from B.C. 625 to 538.
Babylon and
Assyria
are much blended together in history,
sometimes
being independent one of the other, and at other
times
being tributary to one another. In B.C. 745
Tiglath-pileser
may be said to have founded the later kingdom of Assyria, and among his victories he became
master
of Babylonia, as the kingdom of Babylon was called. About 721
Merodach
-baladan became king of Babylon, and in 712 he sent ambassadors to
Hezekiah
on hearing of his sickness. This is recorded in
2 Kings 20:12
12
At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. (2 Kings 20:12)
, where he is called
Berodach-baladan
. In B.C. 702
Sennacherib
king of Assyria expelled Merodach, and Babylon was governed by viceroys from Assyria. In B.C. 681
Esar-haddon
became king of Assyria but held his court at Babylon, to which place
Manasseh
king of
Judah
was carried prisoner about B.C. 677 (
2 Chron. 33:11
11
Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. (2 Chronicles 33:11)
). About B.C. 625 Nabo-polassar revolted from the king of Assyria and established the later kingdom of Babylon. He with Cyaxares (the
Ahasuerus
of
Dan. 9:1
1
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; (Daniel 9:1)
) founder of the Median kingdom, attacked and took
Nineveh
, and
put
an end to the
Assyrian
rule. Nebuchadnezzar, co-regent with Nabo-polassar, took
Jerusalem
, and carried many captives and the holy vessels to Babylon, about B.C. 606. In B.C. 604 Nabo-polassar died and Nebuchadnezzar reigned alone. In B.C. 603,
Jehoiakim
revolted and in 599 Nebuchadnezzar again took Jerusalem, and
Ezekiel
was carried to Babylon: this is called
the great
captivity
(
2 Kings 24:1-16
1
In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
2
And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets.
3
Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;
4
And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon.
5
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
6
So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
7
And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
8
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.
10
At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11
And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.
12
And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.
13
And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said.
14
And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.
15
And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16
And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. (2 Kings 24:1‑16)
).
Mattaniah
was left as king in Jerusalem, his name being changed to
Zedekiah
: he reigned 11 years (
2 Kings 24:17-20
17
And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18
Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
19
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
20
For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. (2 Kings 24:17‑20)
). Having rebelled against Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, after a siege of eighteen
months
, once more took Jerusalem, destroyed the city and burnt the
house
of the
Lord
, bringing
the kingdom of Judah
to an end
(B.C. 588) (
2 Kings 25:1-26
1
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.
2
And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
3
And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
4
And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
5
And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.
6
So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
7
And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
8
And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
9
And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.
10
And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
11
Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carry away.
12
But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
13
And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the Lord, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
14
And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
15
And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.
16
The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord; the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
17
The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work.
18
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
19
And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city:
20
And Nebuzar-adan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah:
21
And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
22
And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
23
And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
24
And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
25
But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
26
And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees. (2 Kings 25:1‑26)
). For the personal history of the king see NEBUCHADNEZZAR. In B.C. 561 Nebuchadnezzar died. He was the “
head
of
gold
” in
Daniel
’s great
image
. The
glory
of the later Babylonian Empire virtually began and ended with him. The succession of kings was somewhat as follows:
KINGS OF BABYLON.
B.C.
625 Nabo-polassar.
606 Nebuchadnezzar, co-regent.
604 Nabo-polassar dies. Nebuchadnezzar reigns alone.
561
Evil-Merodach
succeeds. He raises up
Jehoiachin
in the 37th
year
of his captivity (
2 Kings 25:27
27
And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; (2 Kings 25:27)
).
559 Neriglissar succeeds. Perhaps the same as one of the princes called
Nergal
-
sharezer
in
Jeremiah 39:3,13
3
And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon. (Jeremiah 39:3)
13
So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rab-saris, and Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, and all the king of Babylon's princes; (Jeremiah 39:13)
.
556 Laborosoarchod succeeds. Reigned 9 months and is slain.
555 Nabonidus, or Nabonadius (also called Labynetus), a usurper:
Belshazzar
his
son
afterward reigning with him.
538 Babylon taken, and Belshazzar slain.
End of the Empire of Babylon
.
Babylon has a large place in the
Old
Testament
with reference to its interactions with
Israel
, in nearly every chapter of Jeremiah, from Jeremiah 20-52, Babylon is mentioned. Babylon is also of note as being the first of the four great empires prophesied of by Daniel. The kingdom of the Lord, established in the house of
David
, and maintained in Judah, had for the
time
come to an end because of iniquity, and the “times of the
Gentiles
” had begun. Of Nebuchadnezzar it was said, “Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the
God
of
heaven
hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength and glory.... Thou art this head of gold” (
Dan. 2:37-38
37
Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. (Daniel 2:37‑38)
). Babylon was God’s instrument by which Judah was punished; and then because of the pride and wickedness of the king of Babylon he also was brought under the rod of the
Almighty
.
The
destruction
of Babylon was fully foretold in scripture, though some of these prophecies may refer also to still future events, namely, the overthrow by the Lord (typified by
Cyrus
) of the last holder of Nebuchadnezzar-like
authority
, namely, the
beast
, the last head of the revived
Roman empire
(
Isa. 13:6-22
6
Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7
Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
8
And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9
Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10
For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11
And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12
I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13
Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
14
And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
15
Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.
16
Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.
17
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
18
Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
19
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20
It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
21
But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
22
And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. (Isaiah 13:6‑22)
;
Isa. 14:4-23
4
That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
5
The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
6
He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
7
The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
8
Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
9
Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10
All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
11
Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
12
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17
That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
18
All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
19
But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
20
Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
21
Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
22
For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord.
23
I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts. (Isaiah 14:4‑23)
;
Isa. 21:2-9
2
A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
3
Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
4
My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
5
Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
6
For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
7
And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:
8
And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:
9
And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. (Isaiah 21:2‑9)
;
Isa. 47:1-11
1
Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
2
Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
3
Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
4
As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
5
Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
6
I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
7
And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.
8
Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:
9
But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
10
For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
11
Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. (Isaiah 47:1‑11)
;
Jer. 25:12-14
12
And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.
13
And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.
14
For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. (Jeremiah 25:12‑14)
and Jer. 50-51). Its downfall was unexpected. For 24 years after the
death
of Nebuchadnezzar Babylon continued the seat of the imperial court. In B.C. 538 the city was taken in a remarkable way. A
night
was chosen when the inhabitants were about to hold a festival, when the whole city would be given up to
drunkenness
and debauchery. The water of the river was diverted from its
bed
so as to render it shallow enough to let the troops pass along. The gates were opened, and the city was taken.
This also was prophesied of in scripture: it specifies that Cyrus was God’s
shepherd
, and He had holden him to subdue nations: God would loose the
loins
of kings to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the gates should not be shut: the gates of brass should be broken, and the bars of iron be cut asunder (
Isa. 45:1-2
1
Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
2
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: (Isaiah 45:1‑2)
). Again the suddenness and unexpectedness of the attack is also mentioned: “evil shall come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know” (
Isa. 47:11
11
Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. (Isaiah 47:11)
). We also find that it was on the night of the revelry of Belshazzar’s feast that the king was slain (
Dan. 5:30
30
In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. (Daniel 5:30)
).
The
monuments
show that Babylon was taken by Gobryas the general of Cyrus, and that the capture of the city was, as some think, aided by treachery among its inhabitants.
Daniel 5:3
3
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. (Daniel 5:3)
1 Says, “
Darius
the Median took the kingdom.” This king has not been found mentioned by name on the monuments, but he is well accredited as king in Daniel. He was probably ASTYAGES, who was a Median king. He had been conquered by Cyrus, who may have found it to his advantage to let him reign at Babylon as long as he lived. Astyages being a Mede and Cyrus a Persian agree with the second great empire being called by the two names.
Persia
gained the ascendancy, and Babylon was a royal residence during part of the year. There were occasional revolts, in the putting down of which the city was more and more destroyed. In the year B.C. 478
Xerxes
returning from his inglorious invasion of
Greece
passed through the city, robbed
the temple
of Belus of its wealth and left its lofty towers a heap of ruins. In B.C. 324
Alexander
the Great attempted to rebuild that edifice, and employed 10,000 men; but his sudden death, before the ruins had been cleared away, left it still in desolation.
Scripture is very decisive as to the utter destruction of the city: “Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the
Chaldees
’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew
Sodom
and
Gomorrah
. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from
generation
to generation: neither shall the Arabian
pitch
tent
there; neither shall the shepherds make their
fold
there: but wild beasts of the
desert
shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the
islands
shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces” (
Isa. 13:19-22
19
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20
It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
21
But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
22
And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. (Isaiah 13:19‑22)
).
Now vast mounds extend for miles. If Hillah (about 32° 27’ N, 44° 25’ E) be taken as a center, the mounds extend northward about 3 miles. About 6 miles S.W. of Hillah stands the celebrated heap known as
Birs Nimrood
, supposed to be the site of the ancient temple of Belus. There are
three
large piles on the east of the river: the Mujelibe or Mukallibe, the
Kasr
or
palace
, and the Amran.
Download (1.3 MB)
Birs Nimrud
The moral features of Babylon were idolatrous corruption and worldliness, which will be seen in full manifestation in
Babylon the Great
. It is the place where the people of God get into captivity through dalliance with
the world
.
In the
New
Testament Babylon is mentioned in
1 Peter 5:13
13
The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son. (1 Peter 5:13)
. There is evidence in Josephus that there were many Jews in the district forty years after Christ. On the occasion of the gathering at Jerusalem in
Acts 2:9-11
9
Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11
Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. (Acts 2:9‑11)
mention is made of the Parthians, Medes and
Elamites
; and when Peter commences his epistle, supposing he was in the district of Babylon, he naturally puts
Pontus
first and then passes on to
Galatia
,
Cappadocia
,
Asia
, and
Bithynia
. There can be no reason therefore to doubt that the ancient district of Babylon is alluded to by Peter, where, through God’s
grace
, there were some of the “elect.”
Download (1.1 MB)
Download (781.4 KB)
“Babel” From
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
The word
“Babel” occurs but twice: in
Genesis 10:10
10
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (Genesis 10:10)
it is the name of the first place mentioned as the
beginning
of the
kingdom
of
Nimrod
; and in
Genesis 11:9
9
Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:9)
the
tower
and city are called “Babel,” because there the language of
man
was confounded so that they did not understand one another. The tower was to be very high “unto
heaven
,” not with any thought of reaching heaven, but it declared the lofty imagination of man’s
heart
in the desire to make them a name, and to form a gathering point, which would
prevent
their being scattered.
God
would not suffer this, for man no sooner has
power
than he begins to abuse it. He could not therefore let them as one family exalt their own name, for the
Lord
’s name alone is to be exalted. As the result of God’s
judgment
they were scattered and formed into nations according to their tongues and families.
It may be that the name given to the city by Nimrod was Bab-il, signifying “
gate
of God” (and it is said that on the
monuments
this very name “The gate of God,” as the name of a city has been found); but that
Jehovah
altered it to Ba-
bel
, which signifies “confusion.”
Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:
Number:
894
(
find all occurrences in KJV Bible
)
Transliteration:
Babel
Phonic:
baw-bel’
Meaning:
from
1101
; confusion; Babel (i.e. Babylon), including Babylonia and the Babylonian empire
KJV Usage:
Babel, Babylon
Jackson’s
Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names
:
confusion (by mixing)
Potts’
Bible Proper Names
:
capital city of Babylonian empires [BABEL], Dan. 1:1. {Confusio-Confusion:}
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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