So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language …. The fascinating account on the cylinders-either translation-matches beautifully with the biblical record, found in Genesis 11:4, 6-9 (King James Version):Īnd they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven …. And, if indeed more accurate, it provides an even stronger link to the language “phenomenon” at the tower of Babel, stating that sometime during this original building project the people had “abandoned it without order expressing their words.” Was this, then, the reason that the tower was named Borsippa-because a great “Babel” of “unordered words” led to the abandonment of the project? And what caused such a linguistic phenomenon, that such a rich and luxurious tower would be built and then abandoned, with only its upper “head” left to finish? This fits squarely with the tower of Babel (Genesis 10:10 11:4). This translation calls this massive, unfinished tower the most ancient monument of Babylon. Since a remote time, people had abandoned it without order expressing their words …. … the most ancient monument of Babylon I built and finished it … A former king built it-they reckon 42 ages -but he did not complete its head. He translates a couple of lines slightly differently: This one comes from Rawlinson’s contemporary Assyriologist, Julius Oppert. There is another translation of this text that is even more direct in language. Surely a significant linguistic event must have happened in order for Borsippa to receive its unique name? The Bible-as well as early secular histories-provide the explanation. Borsippa literally means tongue tower, thus providing a link to language. (“Babylon” is interchangeable with Babel.) He describes this tower as an important ancient Babylonian edifice built by a “former king” that, for some reason or other, the workers stopped short in finishing-they “did not finish its head.” Why not? Some clue could be taken from the second name Nebuchadnezzar gives for this tower: the Tower of Borsippa. As it had been in ancient times, so I built up its structure ….Īs translated above, Nebuchadnezzar literally calls this monument the Tower of Babylon. I did not change its site, nor did I destroy its foundation platform but, in a fortunate month, and upon an auspicious day, I undertook the rebuilding … I set my hand to build it up, and to finish its summit. He had completed 42, but he did not finish its head from the lapse of time it had become ruined … the rain and wet had penetrated into the brickwork the casing of burnt brick had bulged out … Merodach, my great lord, inclined my heart to repair the building. I am Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon … my great lord has established me in strength, and has urged me to repair his buildings … the Tower of Babylon, I have made and finished … the Tower of Borsippa had been built by a former king. Rawlinson (known as the father of Assyriology) translated the inscriptions as follows: And the wall cylinders had an interesting story to tell. Bricks were found around the site, having been stamped with the name of the king. This tower-a type of the famous Mesopotamian religious ziggurats-had been heavily repaired during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. The cylinders, bearing parallel inscriptions, were found inserted into the walls of a massive, heavily damaged tower at the site. 600 b.c.e., discovered by Sir Henry Rawlinson during the mid-19th century at the Babylonian site of Borsippa. The Birs Cylinders are a series of clay cylinders dating to c. A small handful of artifacts, however, help show an interesting link between Nebuchadnezzar and the biblical colossus. One thing Nebuchadnezzar isn’t generally known for, though, is a link with the tower of Babel-the attempt by Nimrod to build a tower up to heaven, dashed by God’s confounding of the languages (Genesis 11). There is even a possible reference to the Prophet Daniel’s three friends on one of Nebuchadnezzar’s clay tablets (see here for more information). Proof of his exploits, as described in the Bible, has been evidenced heavily in archaeology: his role as king of Babylon, his defeat of the Egyptian army, his repeat sieges of Jerusalem, his installation of a puppet king (Zedekiah), and his final destruction of Jerusalem c. He is particularly known for the destruction of Jerusalem in the sixth century b.c.e., and for his relationship with the Prophet Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar ii is one of the most infamous kings of the Bible.
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