Hebrew Bible and

Ancient Israel
1 Nebuchadnezzar: History, Archaeology,
and Memory
Volume 7
2018 Yoram Cohen
Editorial
Jonathan Ben-Dov
Nebuchadnezzar: Seeing Twice Double
in Babylonia and the Levant
Rocío Da Riva
Neo-Babylonian Rock-cut Monuments and Ritual
Performance. The Rock Reliefs of Nebuchadnezzar II
in Brisa Revisited
Michael Jursa and Shai Gordin
The Ousting of the Nūr-Sîns. Micro-historical Evidence for
State-Building at the Neo-Babylonian Empire’s “Augustan
Threshold” during the Reign of Nebuchadnezzar
Dan’el Kahn
Nebuchadnezzar and Egypt: An Update on the Egyptian
Monuments
Daniel M. Master
Nebuchadnezzar at Ashkelon
David S. Vanderhooft
“Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, My Servant”:
Contrasting Prophetic Images of the Great King
Ran Zadok
People from Countries West and North of Babylonia
in Babylon during the Reign of Nebuchadnezzar II

Mohr Siebeck
 Editorial

Yoram Cohen

Nebuchadnezzar: History, Archaeology

and Memory

This issue of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel edited by Yoram Cohen, as
guest-editor, is dedicated to the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (602–
562 b.c.e). It contains seven papers that deal with the man and his deeds as
documented in contemporaneous records, monuments, inscriptions and
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archaeological remains, and as reflected in later sources. The papers are

concerned with the actuality and the aftermath of Nebuchadnezzar’s cam-
paigns to the West and the political, social and ideological structuring of the
Copyright Mohr Siebeck

Neo-Babylonian Empire. The following introductory paragraphs highlight

Delivered by Ingenta

some of their shared issues.

Ran Zadok brings forth evidence regarding foreigners in the Neo-Baby-
lonian Empire, dealing with diverse population groups, such as the Assyr-
ians in the southern alluvium and deportees from the Phoenician cities. He
­illuminates the role of each community in the imperial economy.
Michael Jursa and Shai Gordin complement Zadok’s paper by offering us
a micro-historical study of a priestly family in Uruk. They demonstrate the
steps undertaken by the imperial administration in order to consolidate and
strengthen the Neo-Babylonian Empire once its borders were established.
Two studies focus on the military activities of Nebuchadnezzar along
the Southern Levantine coast and his interaction with the Egyptians. Dan
Master reconstructs the economic and social status of the mercantile city of
Ashkelon prior to its destruction by the Babylonians. Dan’el Kahn interprets
a variety of Egyptian and other sources to clarify several issues regarding the
military maneuvers of the Babylonians and the Egyptians.
Rocío Da Riva revisits the monuments of Nebuchadnezzar in Lebanon
and offers a novel analysis of their function by looking closely at the way
they were produced: The execution of the monuments involved not only
material aspects, but also ritual procedures that endowed them with special
significance.
Jonathan Ben-Dov argues for an afterlife and reinterpretation of the image
of Nebuchadnezzar  – including its plastic representation in the Lebanon

HeBAI 7 (2018), 1–2 DOI 10.1628/hebai-2018-0001

ISSN 2192-2276 © 2018 Mohr Siebeck
 2 Yoram Cohen

monuments – as propagated throughout the empire. Ben-Dov engages not

only with Neo-Babylonian and later cuneiform texts about the king and his
dynasty, but also with Aramaic and Hebrew sources.
David Vanderhooft likewise considers the image of the Babylonian king,
addressing how it was reflected in the Hebrew Bible. He demonstrates how,
in quite different ways, Jeremiah and Habakkuk viewed the role of Nebu-
chadnezzar as the executioner of God’s intentions.
Each paper of this issue treats one or several aspects of Nebuchadnez-
zar’s impact on the ancient Near East from the beginning of his reign and
beyond. When considered together they are to be viewed as a substantial
contribution to our understanding of a watershed event in the history of
ancient Israel and a renewed appreciation of one of the momentous periods
in the ancient Near East.
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These papers were delivered at a symposium entitled, “Nebuchadnezzar:

History, Archaeology and Memory,” held at Tel Aviv University on 27 April
2017, under the auspices of the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archae-
Copyright Mohr Siebeck

ology and the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient

Delivered by Ingenta

Near Eastern Cultures.

The symposium was organized by Yoram Cohen and Oded Lipschits. We
wish to thank the Thyssen Foundation, the Office of the Rector, Tel Aviv
University, and the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology for
their generous support, which enabled us to host our international guests
at Tel Aviv.
I sincerely thank the editorial board for accepting the papers for publica-
tion in Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel. The assistance and devoted care
of Phillip Michael Lasater during the production of the issue is greatly ap-
preciated.