Pharaoh-necoh, also known as Necho II, was a prominent Egyptian ruler of the 26th Dynasty, reigning from approximately 610 to 595 BC. He is a significant figure in the biblical narrative, particularly in the context of the late 7th century BC, during the decline of the Assyrian Empire and the rise of the Babylonian Empire. His interactions with the Kingdom of Judah are documented in the books of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles.

Historical Context

Pharaoh-necoh ascended to the throne during a period of geopolitical upheaval. The Assyrian Empire, which had dominated the Near East for centuries, was in decline, and new powers, such as Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar II, were emerging. Necho II sought to assert Egyptian influence in the region, particularly in the territories of the former Assyrian Empire.

Biblical Accounts

Pharaoh-necoh's most notable biblical encounter is with King Josiah of Judah. In 2 Kings 23:29-30 , it is recorded: "While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him, but Necho faced him and killed him at Megiddo." This encounter at Megiddo in 609 BC was pivotal, as Josiah's death marked the end of a period of religious reform and relative independence for Judah.

The Chronicler provides additional details in 2 Chronicles 35:20-24 : "After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to confront him. But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, 'What is the issue between you and me, O king of Judah? I have not come against you today, but I am fighting another dynasty, and God has told me to hurry. So stop opposing God, who is with me, or He will destroy you.' Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him; instead, he disguised himself to fight against Necho. He did not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command, but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo. There the archers shot King Josiah, who said to his servants, 'Take me away, for I am badly wounded.'"

Aftermath and Influence

Following Josiah's death, Pharaoh-necoh exerted influence over Judah by deposing Josiah's son Jehoahaz after a brief three-month reign. Necho placed Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim on the throne, renaming him Jehoiakim, as recorded in 2 Kings 23:34 : "Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he died."

Pharaoh-necoh's military campaigns were not limited to Judah. He sought to control the strategic city of Carchemish on the Euphrates, a key location in the power struggle between Egypt and Babylon. However, his efforts ultimately failed when the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar, defeated the Egyptian forces at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, as referenced in Jeremiah 46:2 : "Concerning Egypt: This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah."

Legacy

Pharaoh-necoh's interactions with Judah and his military campaigns in the Near East highlight the complex political landscape of the time. His actions had lasting implications for the Kingdom of Judah, contributing to its eventual subjugation by Babylon. Necho's reign is a testament to the shifting power dynamics of the ancient world and the intricate interplay between divine providence and human ambition as depicted in the biblical narrative.PHARAOH-NECOH

ne'-ko (par`oh nekhoh, also nekho; Nechao (2 Kings 23:29, 33, 34 2 Chronicles 35:22; 2 Chronicles 36:4, the King James Version, Necho, the Revised Version (British and American) NECO; Jeremiah 46:2 2 Chronicles 35:20, the King James Version Necho, the Revised Version (British and American) NECO)):

1. Pharaoh-Necoh, 610-594 B.C.:

Nekau II of the monuments-Greek Nekos-was the 2nd king of the XXVIth Dynasty, being the son of Psammetichus I, famous in Greek contemporary history, whose long reign has left so many memorials both in Upper and Lower Egypt (Herodotus ii.153, 158, 169). The great event of his reign (610-594 B.C.) was his expedition across Syria to secure for himself a share in the decaying empire of Assyria. In the days of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, Egypt had been tributary to Assyria, and, when it began to break up, Egypt and other subject kingdoms saw their opportunity to throw off its yoke. Psammetichus had turned back the Scythian hordes which had reached his border on their western march, and now his son Necoh was to make a bold stroke for empire.

2. Battle of Megiddo, 608 B.C.:

On his expedition toward the East, he had to pass through the territory of Judah, and he desired to have Josiah its king as an ally. Whatever may have been his reasons, Josiah remained loyal to his Assyrian suzerain, declined the Egyptian alliance, and threw himself across the path of the invader. The opposing armies met on the battlefield of Megiddo, 608 B.C., where Josiah was mortally wounded and soon after died amid the lamentations of his people. Necoh marched northward, captured Kadesh, and pressed on to the Euphrates. Not having met an enemy there, he seems to have turned back and established himself for a time at Riblah in Syria. To Riblah he summoned Jehoahaz whom the people had anointed king in room of his father Josiah, deposed him after a brief reign of 3 months, and set his brother Jehoiakim on the throne as the vassal of Egypt. Jehoiakim paid up the tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold which Necoh had imposed upon the land, but he recovered it by exactions which he made from the people (2 Kings 23:35).

3. Battle of Carchemish, 604 B.C.:

The Egyptian monarch still kept some hold upon Syria, and his presence there had attracted the attention of the newly established power at Babylon. The Chaldeans under Nebuchadrezzar set out for the Euphrates, and, meeting the army of Pharaoh-necoh at Carchemish, inflicted upon him a signal defeat. The Chaldeans were now undisputed masters of Western Asia, and the sacred historian relates that "the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt unto the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt" (2 Kings 24:7).

4. Commercial Development of Egypt:

While Pharaoh-necoh II was ambitious to extend his empire, he was bent also upon the commercial development of Egypt. For this he set himself to collect a navy. He had two fleets built, composed of triremes, one of them to navigate the Mediterranean, the other to navigate the Red Sea. In order to secure a combination of his fleets, he conceived the idea of reopening the canal between the Nile and the Red Sea which had been originally constructed by Seti I and Rameses II, two Pharaohs of the days of the Israelite oppression, but had become silted up by desert sands. He excavated this old canal, following the line of the former cutting, and widening it so that two triremes might meet and pass each other in it. According to Herodotus he was obliged to desist from the undertaking in consequence of the mortality among the laborers, and it was left to Darius to complete. He also resolved to try whether it was possible to circumnavigate Africa, and, manning his ships with Phoenician sailors, he sent them forth with instructions to keep the coast of Africa on their right and to return to Egypt by way of the Mediterranean. They succeeded, and, rounding the Cape of Good Hope from the East, anticipated by two millenniums the feat which Vasco da Gama accomplished from the West. The enterprise took more than two years, and the result of it was of no practical value. Herodotus, when he visited Egypt in 450 B.C., saw still remaining the docks which Necoh had built for the accommodation of his fleet.

LITERATURE.

Flinders Petrie, History of Egypt, III, 335;; Wiedemann, Geschichte von Alt-Aegypten, 179-90; Rawlinson, Egypt ("Story of the Nations"), 354;; Herodotus ii.158, 159.

T. Nicol.

Appendix ii.
... In addition to the accounts in the Books of Kings and Chronicles of Pharaoh Necoh's
advance into Asia in pursuance of his claim for a share of the crumbling ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/appendix ii.htm

From Megiddo to Carchemish, 608-605.
... The year was 608 BC Medes and Chaldeans together had either taken, or were still
besieging, Nineveh; and Pharaoh Necoh,(303) eager to win for Egypt a share of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/1 from megiddo to carchemish.htm

The Man and the Book.
... Pharaoh Necoh who had marched north to the Euphrates was defeated in a battle
for empire by Nebuchadrezzar, son of the King of Babylon. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/lecture i the man and.htm

Pharaohnecoh
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia PHARAOH-NECOH. ne'-ko (par`oh nekhoh, also
nekho; Nechao (2 Kings 23:29, 33, 34 2 Chronicles 35:22 ...
/p/pharaohnecoh.htm - 11k

Pharaoh-necoh (3 Occurrences)
Pharaoh-necoh. Pharaohnecoh, Pharaoh-necoh. Pharaoh's . Int. ... (See JPS ASV BBE).
Pharaohnecoh, Pharaoh-necoh. Pharaoh's . Reference Bible.
/p/pharaoh-necoh.htm - 12k

Neco (9 Occurrences)
... all the Bible lands. See PHARAOH-NECOH. Multi-Version Concordance Neco (9
Occurrences). 2 Kings 23:29 In his days PharaohNecoh king ...
/n/neco.htm - 11k

Necoh (4 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 23:29 In his days PharaohNecoh king of Egypt went up against the king of
Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and Pharaoh...
/n/necoh.htm - 7k

Phrat (17 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 23:29 In his days PharaohNecoh king of Egypt went up against the king of
Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and Pharaoh...
/p/phrat.htm - 11k

Megiddo (13 Occurrences)
... At Megiddo, Josiah, king of Judah, attempted to arrest Pharaoh-necoh and his army
on their march to the Euphrates against the king of Assyria. ...
/m/megiddo.htm - 16k

Josi'ah (50 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 23:29 In his days Pharaoh-necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of
Assyria to the river Euphrates; and king Josiah went against him; and he slew ...
/j/josi'ah.htm - 21k

Faced (32 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 23:29 In his days PharaohNecoh king of Egypt went up against the king of
Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and Pharaoh...
/f/faced.htm - 15k

Riblah (12 Occurrences)
... rib'-la (ribhlah; Rheblatha, with variants): (1) Riblah in the land of Hamath first
appears in history in 608 BC Here Pharaoh-necoh, after defeating Josiah at ...
/r/riblah.htm - 14k

Megiddon (1 Occurrence)
... At Megiddo, Josiah, king of Judah, attempted to arrest Pharaoh-necoh and his army
on their march to the Euphrates against the king of Assyria. ...
/m/megiddon.htm - 10k

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