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NabonidusInsight on the Scriptures, Volume 2
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In a number of prisms Nabonidus associates his firstborn son, Belshazzar, with himself in his prayers to the moon-god. (Documents From Old Testament Times, edited by D. W. Thomas, 1962, p. 73) An inscription shows that in his third year, prior to going out on a campaign that resulted in the conquest of Tema in Arabia, Nabonidus appointed Belshazzar to kingship in Babylon. The same text indicates that Nabonidus offended the people of his empire by concentrating worship on the moon-god and by failing to be in Babylon to celebrate the New Year’s festival. The document known as the Nabonidus Chronicle states that in the 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th years of his reign Nabonidus was in the city of Tema, and in each case the statement is made: “The king did not come to Babylon [for the ceremonies of the month of Nisanu]; the (image of the) god Nebo did not come to Babylon, the (image of the) god Bel did not go out (of Esagila in procession), the fest[ival of the New Year was omitted].” (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 306) Due to the mutilated condition of the text, the record of the other years is incomplete.
Of the oasis city of Tema it is elsewhere recorded: “He made the town beautiful, built (there) [his palace] like the palace in Su·an·na (Babylon).” (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 313) Nabonidus appears to have established his royal residence in Tema, and other texts show that camel caravans carried provisions there from Babylonia. While not relinquishing his position as king of the empire, Nabonidus entrusted the administration of the government of Babylon to Belshazzar. Since Tema was a junction city on the ancient caravan routes along which gold and spices were transported through Arabia, Nabonidus’ interest in it may have been motivated by economic reasons or may have been based on factors of military strategy. The suggestion is also advanced that he considered it politically advisable to administer Babylonian affairs through his son. Other factors, such as the healthful climate of Tema and the prominence of moon worship in Arabia, have likewise been noted as possible motives for Nabonidus’ apparent preference for Tema.
There is no available information as to Nabonidus’ activities between his 12th year and his final year. Anticipating aggression from the Medes and Persians under Cyrus the Great, Nabonidus had entered into an alliance with the Lydian Empire and Egypt. The Nabonidus Chronicle shows Nabonidus back in Babylon in the year of the Medo-Persian assault, with the New Year’s festival being celebrated and the various gods of Babylonia being brought into the city. Regarding Cyrus’ advance, the Chronicle states that, following a victory at Opis, he captured Sippar (c. 60 km [37 mi] N of Babylon) and “Nabonidus fled.” Then follows the account of the Medo-Persian conquest of Babylon, and it is stated that upon Nabonidus’ return there he was taken prisoner. (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 306) The writings of Berossus, Babylonian priest of the third century B.C.E., relate that Nabonidus had gone out to engage Cyrus’ forces in battle but was defeated. They further tell that Nabonidus took refuge in Borsippa (SSW of Babylon) and that, after Babylon fell, Nabonidus surrendered to Cyrus and was thereafter deported to Carmania (in southern Persia). This account would coincide with the Biblical record at Daniel chapter 5, which shows that Belshazzar was the acting king in Babylon at the time of its overthrow.
As to the absence of any direct mention of Nabonidus in chapter 5 of Daniel, it may be noted that Daniel’s description deals with only a very few events prior to the fall of Babylon, and the actual collapse of the empire is set forth in but a few words. However, his rulership is apparently indicated at Daniel 5:7, 16, 29, where Belshazzar offers to make Daniel the third ruler in the kingdom, implying that Nabonidus was the first and Belshazzar the second. Thus, Professor Dougherty comments: “The fifth chapter of Daniel may be regarded as comporting with fact in not giving any place to Nabonidus in the narrative, for he seems to have had no share in the events which transpired when Gobryas [at the head of Cyrus’ army] entered the city.”—Nabonidus and Belshazzar, pp. 195, 196; see also pp. 73, 170, 181; see Da 5:1, ftn.
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NabonidusInsight on the Scriptures, Volume 2
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Also of interest are the evident references to Belshazzar in the Chronicle. Although Belshazzar is not specifically named, in the light of later portions of the Chronicle (col. II, lines 5, 10, 19, 23), column 1, line 8, is construed by Sidney Smith, in his Babylonian Historical Texts: Relating to the Capture and Downfall of Babylon (London, 1924, p. 100), as showing that Nabonidus entrusted kingship to Belshazzar, making him coregent. Repeatedly the Chronicle states that the ‘crown prince was in Akkad [Babylonia]’ while Nabonidus himself was at Tema (in Arabia). However, the fact that Belshazzar is not mentioned by name nor is his death referred to in the Nabonidus Chronicle in no way brings into question the accuracy of the inspired book of Daniel, where the name Belshazzar appears eight times and his death concludes the graphic account of Babylon’s overthrow narrated in chapter 5. Quite to the contrary, cuneiform experts admit that the Nabonidus Chronicle is extremely brief, and in addition, as shown above, they are of the opinion that it was written to defame Nabonidus, not to give a detailed history. Indeed, as R. P. Dougherty says in his work Nabonidus and Belshazzar (p. 200): “The Scriptural account may be interpreted as excelling because it employs the name Belshazzar.”—Italics ours.
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