To avoid the destruction of Jerusalem, King Jehoiakim of Judah, in his third year, changed his allegiance from Egypt to Babylon. He paid tribute from the treasury in Jerusalem, some temple artifacts and some of the royal family and nobility as hostages. In 601 BC, during the fourth year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar unsuccessfully attempted to invade Egypt and was repulsed with heavy losses. The failure led to numerous rebellions among the states of the Levant which owed allegiance to Babylon, including Judah, where King Jehoiakim stopped paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar and took a pro-Egyptian position.
There are a large number of stories about Nebuchadnezzar in the Bible, notably the book of Daniel, where Daniel interprets his dreams, and the king recognizes the power of Yahweh and has a period of madness. Scholars regard Daniel as historical fiction. For instance, the period of madness appears to be a conflation of something that happened to the last king of the Neo-Babylonian empire, Nabonidus, during his stay in Tayma. Fortunately, we don't have to rely on Daniel for the history, as there are a staggering numer of cuneiform clay tablets that have been retrived over the years, including the Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle.
Anyway, Nebuchadnezzar soon dealt with the rebellions. According to the Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle, he laid siege to Jerusalem, which eventually fell in 597 BC. The Chronicle states:
"In the seventh year [of Nebuchadnezzar, 598 BC] in the month Chislev [November/December] the king of Babylon assembled his army, and after he had invaded the land of Hatti (Syria/Palestine) he laid siege to the city of Judah. On the second day of the month of Adar [16 March -- Hey! That's today!] he conquered the city and took the king [Jeconiah] prisoner. He installed in his place a king [Zedekiah] of his own choice, and after he had received rich tribute, he sent forth to Babylon."
Jehoiakim died during the siege, possibly on December 10, 598 BC, or during the months of Kislev, or Tevet. Nebuchadnezzar pillaged the city and its Temple, and the new king Jeconiah, who was either 8 or 18 (Yahweh seems to have been confused on a lot of this sort of thing when he divinely inspired the Old Testament), and his court and other prominent citizens and craftsmen, were deported to Babylon. The deportation occurred prior to Nisan of 597 BC, and dates in the Book of Ezekiel are counted from that event.
Interestingly, in Ezekial and parts of Jeremiah (that confusion thing again), he is referred to as Nebuchadrezzar. This is actally more consistent with the original Akkadian language, and some scholars believe that the more familiar Nebuchadnezzar ay have been a pun created from some long vanished, anonymous Israelite standup comedian. Allow me to overexplain.
The original Akkadian name is Nabû-kudurri-uṣur. It is thought to derive from the words Nabu, the Mesopotamian god of wisdom and scribes; kudurri, an Elamite word meaning 'heir, or first born' and is found in the names ot other, Elamite, kings mentioned in the Bible; and uṣur, the imperative of the Akkadian naṣāru 'to guard, preserve.' So the meaning of his name would be something like 'Nabu, protect my first born,' a not entirely unlikely name for a kingly father to choose.
But if you substitute the Akkadian 'kudani' in place of 'kuduri,' you get a joke. Kudani is the word for donkey, so Nebuchadnezzar would mean something like 'Nabu, protect my ass.' Sort of like that Hairy Pooper kid, or whatever his name is.
Here is a portion of the Nebuchadnezzart Chronicle.
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