Nebuchednezzar emulating Nimrod?

by Damien F. Mackey “I made it the wonder of the people of the world, I raised its top to the heaven, made doors for the gates, and I covered it with bitumen and bricks”. King Nebuchednezzar If Nebuchednezzar was the same Chaldean king as Nabonidus, as I think he was: Daniel’s Mad King was Nebuchednezzar, was Nabonidus https://www.academia.edu/119035506/Daniel_s_Mad_King_was_Nebuchednezzar_was_Nabonidus and if Sargon ‘the Great’ of Akkad was the biblical Nimrod as I believe, following others, then Nebuchednezzar showed the greatest respect and devotion for Sargon ‘the Great’/ Nimrod: Nabonidus repaired the head of a statue of Sargon of Akkad (3) Nabonidus repaired the head of a statue of Sargon of Akkad | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu And did Nebuchednezzar also try to emulate the Tower of Babel? James Bejon has, in his article: Nebuchadnezzar & the Tower of Babel (3) Nebuchadnezzar & the Tower of Babel | James Bejon - Academia.edu drawn some interesting parallels: Nebuchadnezzar & the Tower of Babel The events of Dan. 1-4—and especially those of ch. 3—share numerous contact-points with the text of Gen. 11, where the rise and fall of the tower of Babel is narrated. • Just as (in Gen. 11) the men of Babel gather the world’s people-groups together in the land of Shinar, so Nebuchadnezzar gathers the world’s people-groups together under the shadow of his empire (cp. 3.2-4, 4.12) in a land referred to (by Daniel) as ‘Shinar’ (1.2). • Just as Shinar’s inhabitants are able to speak to one another in a common tongue, so Nebuchadnezzar is able to address his people in a common tongue (3.4, 4.1). • Just as the men of Babel gather various people-groups together at the foot of a tall vertical structure, erected on an open plain, so Nebuchadnezzar gathers his people together around the foot of a tall vertical structure erected ‘on the plain of Dura’ (3.1-2), which he does in order to ‘make a name’/‘create a reputation’ for himself, like the men of Babel before him (cp. Gen. 11.4 w. 4.30). • Just as the top of Babel’s ancient tower comes into contact with the heavenly realms and hence arouses God’s attention, so too does Nebuchadnezzar’s tree/kingdom (4.11). • And, just as God assembles his heavenly council in response to the men of Babel’s actions (by means of a chain of plur. cohortatives: םתפש הלבנו הדרנ), so God’s ‘watcher’ in Babylon assembles the same heavenly council (by means of a chain of plur. impvs.: יהופנע וצצקו אנליא ודג). In both cases, heaven descends and breaks up Babel’s party. Shinar’s inhabitants are dispersed throughout the world, as they should have been in the first place; meanwhile, Nebuchadnezzar is driven into the wild (and rendered unable to communicate with his people), and Babylon falls shortly afterwards, which allows Israel to return to her land. These parallels are instructive, not least because Nebuchadnezzar appears to have been involved in a Tower-of-Babel-like project. …. [End of quote] And we read at: https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2011/12/29/the-tower-of-babel-king-nebuchadnezzar-ii-and-the-sch%C3%B8yen-collection/ The Tower of Babel, King Nebuchadnezzar II and the Schøyen Collection Ancient Texts Part of Earliest Known Documents 29 Dec 2011 by Archaeology Newsroom A team of scholars has discovered what might be the oldest representation of the Tower of Babel of Biblical fame, they report in a newly published book. Carved on a black stone, which has already been dubbed the Tower of Babel stele, the inscription dates to 604-562 BCE. It was found in the collection of Martin Schøyen, a businessman from Norway who owns the largest private manuscript assemblage formed in the 20th century. Consisting of 13,717 manuscript items spanning over‭ ‬5,000‭ ‬years, the collection includes parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient Buddhist manuscript rescued from the Taliban, and even cylcon symbols by Australia’s Aborigines which can be up to 20,000 years old.‬‬‬‬‬‬ The collection also includes a large number of pictographic and cuneiform tablets — which are some of the earliest known written documents — seals and royal inscription spanning most of the written history of Mesopotamia, an area near modern Iraq. A total of 107 cuneiform texts dating from the Uruk period about 5,000 years ago to the Persian period about 2,400 years ago, have been now translated by an international group of scholars and published in the book Cuneiform Royal Inscriptions and Related Texts in the Schøyen Collection. The Tower of Babel stele stands out as one of “the stars in the firmament of the book,” wrote Andrew George, a professor of Babylonian at the University of London and editor of the book. The spectacular stone monument clearly shows the Tower and King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled Babylon some 2,500 years ago. Mackey’s comment: If I am correct in identifying Nebuchednezzar, so-called I, with Nebuchednezzar, so-called II: The 1100 BC Nebuchednezzar (3) The 1100 BC Nebuchednezzar | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu then Nebuchednezzar ‘the Great’ cannot accurately be labelled as II. Archaeology Newsroom continues: Credited with the destruction of the temple of Solomon in 586 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II was also responsible for sending the Jews into exile, according to the Bible. The first Babylonian king to rule Egypt, he is also famous for building the legendary Hanging Gardens, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, and many temples all over Babylonia. Mackey’s comment: Another correction needed. See e.g. my article: Chronologically ‘Landscaping’ King Nebuchednezzar’s “Hanging Gardens” https://www.academia.edu/35953185/Chronologically_Landscaping_King_Nebuchednezzars_Hanging_Gardens_ Archaeology Newsroom continues: Calling himself the “great restorer and builder of holy places,” he also reconstructed Etemenanki, a 7-story, almost 300-foot-high temple (also known as a ziggurat) dedicated to the god Marduk. Biblical scholars believe that this temple may be the Tower of Babel mentioned in the Bible. In the inscription, the standing figure of Nebuchadnezzar II is portrayed with his royal conical hat, holding a staff in his left hand and a scroll with the rebuilding plans of the Tower (or a foundation nail) in his outstretched right hand. According to George, the relief yields only the fourth certain representation of Nebuchadnezzar II. “The others are carved on cliff-faces in Lebanon at Wadi Brisa (which has two reliefs) and at Shir es-Sanam. All these outdoor monuments are in very poor condition,” he wrote. …. King Nebuchadnezzar himself talks about the amazing construction: “I made it the wonder of the people of the world, I raised its top to the heaven, made doors for the gates, and I covered it with bitumen and bricks,” the inscription reads in the translation by professor George. ….