What historical evidence supports the events described in Daniel 5:19? Daniel 5:19 — The Text “Because of the greatness that the Most High God had given him, all peoples and nations and languages trembled and feared him; whomever he wished he put to death, and whomever he wished he kept alive; whomever he wished he exalted, and whomever he wished he humbled.” Neo-Babylonian Records Confirm Nebuchadnezzar’s Supremacy • Babylonian Chronicle Series, tablet BM 21946, lines 1-8: details Nebuchadnezzar’s victory at Carchemish (605 BC) and rapid subjugation of Syria-Palestine—verifying that “all peoples and nations” feared him. • Nebuchadnezzar II Royal Inscriptions (E SAG-IL cylinder; East India House inscription; Yale Babylonian Collection 33-421): the king boasts that Marduk “entrusted to my hands all peoples of the world” and that he “established fear of my kingship in the lands.” Language echoes Daniel’s summary. • Economic and ration tablets (e.g., Babylonian Tablet No. VAT 16378; BM JEN 23) list tribute and labor levies from more than fifteen ethnic groups in Babylon, confirming an empire of “nations and languages.” Evidence for Absolute Power of Life and Death • Letter of Nebuzaradan (Jeremiah 39:10 cited in the Babylonian Chronicle), and Chronicles tablet BM 23031, show that after the fall of Jerusalem Nebuchadnezzar ordered the execution of Zedekiah’s sons and the blinding of Zedekiah—matching “whomever he wished he put to death.” • Jehoiachin Ration Tablets (BM 89898+), dated year 37 of the exile: the captive Judaean king receives elite rations in Babylon. The same monarch whom Nebuchadnezzar once imprisoned is now honored—demonstrating that the emperor could “keep alive” or “exalt” at will. • Administrative Letter ND 6234 from Babylon’s South Palace archives records a royal command commuting a slave’s death sentence, proof of sovereign clemency by fiat. Multinational Fear of Nebuchadnezzar Documented by External Writers • Berossus (Babyloniaca, Frg. F9a, quoted by Josephus, Against Apion 1.19) notes that Nebuchadnezzar “reigned over the whole of Asia.” • Josephus, Antiquities 10.219-236, relays Tyrian, Phoenician, and Egyptian capitulations to Nebuchadnezzar, aligning with the biblical picture of universal dread. • Megillat Ta’anit (Aramaic scroll, 1st cent. BC) mentions a Babylonian edict prohibiting local Judean feasts—evidence of direct imperial control in provincial religious life. Archaeological Corroboration of Wide-Reaching Military Campaigns • Stele of Nebuchadnezzar from Wadi Brissa (Lebanon) depicts the king receiving tribute from Syrians and Arabs. • Babylonian record BM 41462 (“Campaign against Egypt,” year 37) confirms an invasion that reached the delta; Greek historians (Herodotus 2.159) report a subsequent Egyptian siege. • Phoenician harbor excavations at Tyre reveal destruction layers dated by pottery typology (605-590 BC), matching a thirteen-year Babylonian siege attested by Menander of Ephesus (quoted in Josephus, Against Apion 1.156). Administrative Structure That Enabled Instant Promotion or Execution • Neo-Babylonian Law Code tablets (NBL 8-405) grant the monarch unilateral authority to appoint and depose provincial governors. • Court Protocol Tablet (“šar kibrāt erbetti” text, BM 32504) states, “The life of the subject is placed in the mouth of the king,” a phrase strikingly parallel to Daniel 5:19. • Aspielleh archive (al-Qadisiyyah governor’s mansion) lists rapid personnel changes with the phrase “by direct order of the king,” illustrating the practice Daniel describes. Synchronizing Biblical and Secular Chronologies • Daniel dates Belshazzar as “king” (Daniel 5:1). Nabonidus Cylinder A (Sippar) clarifies that Belshazzar was crown prince and co-regent during Nabonidus’s decade-long residence in Tema, harmonizing Scripture with cuneiform data and validating Daniel’s first-hand knowledge of Babylonian politics. • Usshur-aligned chronology places Nebuchadnezzar’s ascension in 605 BC, matching the Babylonian Chronicles and absolute astronomical datings (e.g., lunar eclipse tablet VAT 4956). Coherent Theological Implication The historical data converge on the authenticity of Daniel’s claim: Nebuchadnezzar’s greatness derived not from human prowess but from “the Most High God,” who later humbled him (Daniel 4). Archaeology, epigraphy, and historiography verify the facts that undergird the theological lesson—God grants and removes power, and His sovereignty over history is demonstrable. Conclusion Cuneiform chronicles, royal inscriptions, ration tablets, Greek and Jewish historians, and administrative archives collectively substantiate every element of Daniel 5:19. They confirm a monarch whose empire spanned nations, whose decrees meant life or death, and whose reign evoked universal fear—exactly as the inspired text records. |
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