Babylonian Chronicle BM 21946 (the 'Jerusalem Chronicle')
Nebuchadnezzar's own dated record: Carchemish 605 and the capture of Jerusalem, 2 Adar 597 BCE
Found 1896 — Acquired by the British Museum in 1896 from the antiquities market; identified and published by Donald J. Wiseman in 1956
Where Unknown (Babylonia) (Iraq)
Dates from covers 605–594 BCE · Neo-Babylonian · Reigns of Yehoyakim (Jehoiakim) and Yehoyakhin (Jehoiachin)
Now at British Museum, London (BM 21946)
Names a biblical person Nebuchadnezzar (Jehoiachin not named (only 'the king'))
How Babylonian Chronicle BM 21946 (the 'Jerusalem Chronicle') was found
The tablet lay unread in the museum for sixty years until Wiseman recognised the entry for Nebuchadnezzar's seventh year. Its original findspot is unknown, probably Babylon or Borsippa.
What it is
A small clay tablet in Akkadian cuneiform, one of a series of year-by-year chronicles. It records the battle of Carchemish in 605 where crown prince Nebuchadnezzar crushed the Egyptians, and in his seventh year: 'he encamped against the city of Judah and on the second day of the month Adar he seized the city and captured the king. He appointed there a king of his own choice, received its heavy tribute and sent [them] to Babylon.'
Why it matters for the Bible
This is the only Babylonian text that describes the taking of Jerusalem, and it pins the surrender of Jehoiachin to 15/16 March 597 BCE — one of the most precisely dated events in the whole Bible. It also confirms Carchemish in Jeremiah 46:2 and shows Nebuchadnezzar replacing the captured king with 'a king of his own choice', the Bible's Zedekiah. The chronicle breaks off before 586, so the final destruction is not covered.
The Hebrew word: gah-LOOT
גָּלוּת
גָּלוּת is pronounced gah-LOOT and means exile, captivity (Strong's H1546).
People this discovery connects to
- Nebuchadnezzar — נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר (ne-voo-chad-neh-TSAR) — Akkadian Nabu-kudurri-usur, 'Nabu protect my heir'
- Jehoiachin — יְהוֹיָכִין (ye-hoh-yah-CHEEN) — YHVH establishes
Places
- Carchemish — כַּרְכְּמִישׁ (kar-ke-MEESH) — Hittite/Assyrian city name
Events
Battle of Carchemish (605 BCE) · First capture of Jerusalem and exile of Jehoiachin (597 BCE)
Babylonian Chronicle BM 21946 (the 'Jerusalem Chronicle') in Scripture
2 Kings 24:1 First mention of Nebuchadnezzar in Scripture.
2 Kings 24:10-12 Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem and Jehoiachin surrenders 'in the eighth year of his reign' — the event the chronicle dates to 2 Adar.
2 Kings 24:17 The king of Babylon makes Mattaniah (Zedekiah) king — the chronicle's 'king of his own choice'.
Questions people ask
What is Babylonian Chronicle BM 21946 (the 'Jerusalem Chronicle')?
A small clay tablet in Akkadian cuneiform, one of a series of year-by-year chronicles. It records the battle of Carchemish in 605 where crown prince Nebuchadnezzar crushed the Egyptians, and in his seventh year: 'he encamped against the city of Judah and on the second day of the month Adar he seized the city and captured the king. He appointed there a king of his own choice, received its heavy tribute and sent [them] to Babylon.'
When was Babylonian Chronicle BM 21946 (the 'Jerusalem Chronicle') discovered?
It was found in 1896 by Acquired by the British Museum in 1896 from the antiquities market; identified and published by Donald J. Wiseman in 1956, at Unknown (Babylonia).
Where is Babylonian Chronicle BM 21946 (the 'Jerusalem Chronicle') today?
British Museum, London (BM 21946).
Which Bible verses does Babylonian Chronicle BM 21946 (the 'Jerusalem Chronicle') relate to?
2 Kings 24:1, 2 Kings 24:10-12, 2 Kings 24:17.
Related discoveries
- אֲרֻחָהJehoiachin Ration TabletsBabylonian palace records of oil for 'Yaukin, king of the land of Judah' and his sons
- בֵּלEast India House Inscription of NebuchadnezzarThe king's own account of rebuilding Babylon's temples, palaces and walls
- רַב־סָרִיסNebo-Sarsekim TabletA Babylonian temple receipt naming an officer from Jeremiah 39:3
- בָּבֶלIshtar Gate and Processional Way of BabylonNebuchadnezzar's glazed-brick gateway, the Babylon the exiles walked into
- שְׁמָמָהAshkelon's Destruction by Nebuchadnezzar (604 BCE)A Philistine city burned to the ground the winter Jeremiah's scroll was read
- אֶרֶזNebuchadnezzar's Wadi Brisa InscriptionRock reliefs in Lebanon where the king boasts of cutting cedars — Habakkuk's 'violence of Lebanon'
Sources
- Wiseman, Chronicles of Chaldaean Kings (626–556 B.C.) in the British Museum (1956)
- Wikipedia, 'Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle'
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