The Babylonian Chronicle and 597 BC

The Babylonian Chronicle for Nebuchadnezzar's early years (British Museum BM 21946) records that in his seventh year he besieged "the city of Judah," took it on the second of Adar, captured the king, appointed a king of his choice, and took heavy tribute to Babylon. This dates the event to 16 March 597 BC. The chronicle does not cover the destruction of 587/586 BC.

Capture of 597 BC: documented · Date: 2 Adar (March 16) 597 BC

1 What Scripture says

"And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon… and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign" (2 Kings 24:12).

2 What evidence we might expect

A Babylonian record of Jerusalem's surrender and a change of king.

3 What ancient sources survive

Babylonian Chronicle 5 (ABC 5)

Language: Akkadian
Composed: Covers 605–594 BC; tablet is a later copy
Oldest surviving copy: British Museum BM 21946
Status: Not scripture

"He encamped against the city of Judah, and on the second day of Adar he seized the city and captured the king."

4 What discoveries exist

Published by D. J. Wiseman in 1956. The same chronicle records the battle of Carchemish (605 BC).

5 How interpretations compare

Scholarly reconstruction

Seventh or eighth year

Kings' "eighth year" and the chronicle's "seventh" reflect different regnal-year counting.

6 The strongest supported reconstruction

Jerusalem surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar on 16 March 597 BC; Jehoiachin was deported and Zedekiah installed.

7 What remains possible or unknown

What the evidence shows

Independently documentedThe chronicle records the capture of Jerusalem in 597 BC.
Source: British Museum, Babylonian Chronicle (BM 21946) ↗; COJS, Babylonian Chronicle 5: Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem, 597 BCE ↗
Conflicts with current evidenceThe chronicle describes the temple's destruction.