Before we come to the study of the Book of Daniel and how Judah went down to Babylon in captivity, we need to understand how it lost its sovereignty and became a tributary nation, first to Egypt and then to the four succeeding empires, beginning with Babylon. In the days of Josiah, king of Judah, Pharoah-nechoh went out against the King of Assyria and had come to the Euphrates River. At that time, Assyria and Babylon were one empire (2Kings 19:36; 2Chronicles 33:11). Pharoah-nechoh came up against the new king, Nabopolassar, seeking to take the lands away from him, which extend from the Euphrates River to Egypt (2Kings 23:29). King Josiah, who preferred good relations with Assyria or Babylon, came out against Pharoah-nechoh at Meggiddo and was slain in battle.
Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz, was made king after his father was slain in battle, and he reigned in Jerusalem for three months (2Kings 23:31). However, he fell prey to a trap set against him by Pharoah-nechoh, who called to meet with him at Riblah (2Kings 23:31; Ezekiel 19:4), and was taken captive there and sent to Egypt, where he died (2Kings 23:34; Jeremiah 22:11-12).[1] Pharoah made Eliakim, the son of Josiah, king instead of Jehoahaz, and changed his name to Jehoiakim (2Kings 23:34). At that time, Judah became a tributary nation that, for all intents and purposes, was and loyal to Egypt.
Meanwhile, the kings of Egypt and Babylon/Assyria continued to wage war against one another, and the armies of Egypt fought with Pharoah-nechoh at the Euphrates River. About three years into the war, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, defeated the king of Egypt in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah (Jeremiah 46:2), and all that was Pharoah’s became subject to the king of Babylon (2Kings 24:7). Therefore, Jehoiakim, no longer the servant of Egypt, became the servant of the king of Babylon. He served Nebuchadnezzar for three years and then rebelled (2Kings 24:1), which brings us to the seventh year of his eleven-year reign in Jerusalem (2Kings 23:36). With Judah at war with Nebuchadnezzar, eventually the king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem and conquered the city in the eighth year of his reign (2Kings 24:12). This means, Jerusalem was at war with Babylon for about five years.[2] Jehoiakim was either slain in battle or simply died while at war. After Jehoiakim’s death, his son, Jehoiachin (Jeconiah, Coniah) reigned, but after three months he and his family went out to Nebuchadnezzar and surrendered. He was taken to Babylon (2Kings 24:8, 12-16) and Zedekiah, another son of Josiah, was chosen by Nebuchadnezzar to reign as king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eleven years (2Kings 24:17-18).
Zedekiah served Nebuchadnezzar until the nineth year of his reign, at which time he, too, rebelled against the king, just as he brother Jehoiakim did (2Kings 25:1). So, Jerusalem and Babylon were at war once more for about three years, during which time, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege against Jerusalem until the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign (2Kings 25:1-2). The walls of the city were broken up, but the king and his family fled during the night. Nevertheless, he was captured before he could attain safety by Nebuchadnezzar’s army, and he was taken before the king. At that time Zedekiah’s sons were slain, and Zedekiah was blinded and taken to Babylon, where he died (2Kings 25:2-7). After this Jerusalem was captured, and the city with its Temple were destroyed, but the dignitaries were taken captive to Babylon (2Kings 25:8-11). ________________________________________________________________
[1] Shallum is another name for Jehoahaz, king of Judah.
[2] The 4th year of Jehoiakim’s reign was the 1st year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign (Jeremiah 25:1). If Jehoiakim served Nebuchadnezzar for three years before he rebelled (years 4, 5, and 6), the rebellion would have begun in Jehoiakim’s 7th year and Nebuchadnezzar’s 4th. If Jerusalem was taken in Nebuchadnezzar’s 8th year, Jerusalem and Babylon would have been at war for 5 years.
Smoodock's Blog 