ToES Diary March 2018

In Volume 4 – The Darkness Deepens, a vanguard of Babylonian soldiers ride horses chasing some Israelites on donkeys.

What is the difference in speed between these two animals?

From research on the web, I find that both horses and donkeys can gallop but that donkeys far prefer to trot and can trot for long distances.  Horses can generally gallop for a greater distance than donkeys.

Donkeys can gallop up to a maximum speed of about 65 km/hr (40 mph) depending on fitness and motivation.  Most donkeys will gallop somewhat slower, at about 40-55 km/hr (25-35 mph) over short distances.

The record speed for a horse over a short distance is 88 km/hr (55 mph).  Galloping horses vary a lot in speed depending on breed and individual characteristics, but an average gallop is said to be around 50km/hr (30 mph).

To sum up, if horses are galloping for a 1,000 metres or so while donkeys are galloping a short distances of 200-300 metres, horses are probably only slightly faster than donkeys.

When God is challenging Job to acknowledge God’s sovereignty, he describes his shaping of the world as being like clay shaped under a seal (Job 38:14).  Throughout the Bible we read of the use of damp clay to carry an impression which will be damaged if the document it seals is tampered with.  A cylindrical seal or signet ring was treated in much the same way as we now treat a signature or on-line password: only the actual person had their own seal or signet ring.  Later in Job, God describes the scales on Leviathan’s back as being shut up tightly as with a seal (Job 41:15), which makes it clear what a seal was meant to do.  Documents could be sealed and dispatched: if the seal was still intact when they arrived at their destination, the recipient could have confidence that the document had not been tampered with, and not even been read.  Isaiah depicts the same situation when he describes giving a sealed scroll to someone and asking them to read it.  The response is that they cannot because it is sealed (Isaiah 29:11).

Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal (1 Kings 21:8).  This description suggests that letters were “signed” – possibly just with a written name rather than some stylised or distinctive writing of a name as we would use where our signature is an attempt to produce a consistent indication of the true author of a letter.  Paul says that this was a mark of the letters he wrote (2 Thess 3:17).  A seal or signet ring made an impression that was a distinctive identifier showing who had sent the letter.

In the time of Nehemiah, a covenant was made by the people and their leaders’ names were written on the document which was then sealed so that it could not be altered.

In Esther, we read of the king having a signet ring which was given first to Haman (Esther 3:10-12) and later to Mordecai (Esther 8:8-10) and used to give official recognition to letters written “in the name of king Ahasuerus”.  As with the letter written by Jezebel, it appears that the king’s name was written on a letter or edict and that the impression of the king’s seal or signet ring was used to seal the document.

These examples show a king allowing others to write his letters and laws and then affix his official signature in the form of a seal.

Was this the normal way for people (especially kings) to operate?

Daniel 6 tells us of Darius using his signet ring to place a seal on the stone placed over the lions’ den after Daniel was placed inside.  His lords also used their signet rings to do the same.  Many witnesses were “signing” a statutory declaration that Daniel had been put into the den – and this also implied that he would not be able to get out without breaking the seals, otherwise they were useless.  The same idea was used when sealing the stone over Jesus’ tomb (Matthew 27:66).

In Esther 3:10 we read of Ahasuerus taking off his signet ring and giving it to Haman.  It appears that until he unwisely decided to trust Haman, he had kept his signet ring himself.

Ephesians 4:30 uses the picture of a seal also:

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

The expression “grieving the Holy Spirit of God” seems to be equivalent to breaking a seal early – before the day of redemption at Jesus’ return.  If we break the seal, the confidence, security and credibility of the promise of redemption are destroyed.  Maybe Hebrews 6:4-8 is describing the result.  A seal can only provide confidence while it is unbroken.

How were seals or signet rings carried?

In the unsavoury incident with Judah and Tamar, Tamar asked for Judah’s signet, cord and staff.  The signet was probably a signet ring worn on a finger.  Possibly the cord was used to carry the signet ring when its owner was doing something which might damage the signet ring, or which would be difficult to do while wearing the signet ring.  Alternatively, the cord may have held a cylindrical seal which could be used in conjunction with a signet ring or instead of the ring – possibly if the situation required a larger or smaller lump of clay to perform the task of sealing something.

In Egypt, after Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams of corn and cattle, Pharaoh took the signet ring off his finger and put it on Joseph’s hand (Genesis 41:42).

In the time of Jeremiah, God says that even if Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin was God’s own signet ring, even so he would tear him off and get rid of him (Jeremiah 22:24).  For this comparison to convey its message effectively, a signet ring must have been considered very important – probably something that a king would never be without.

This prophecy refers to events at just the right time in the story of Jeremiah to suggest a way for people to identify the body of King Jehoiakim.  Volume 4 – “The Darkness Deepens” will use it in that way.

Jeremiah also used a seal when he bought a field in Anathoth from his cousin Hanamel (Jeremiah 32:9-15).  He describes a process where an agreement is made and written down with the names of the buyer and witnesses.  There is no mention of the seller’s name being included on the document, but I presume it was there also.  Multiple copies were made and one was sealed and kept as an “original” record.  While it remained sealed, everyone could be confident that what it contained was a true record of what had been agreed.  If anyone questioned the unsealed copy or said it had been altered, the sealed copy could be opened and compared with the open copy to see if any changes had been made.  After verification, the sealed copy could be sealed all over again with witnesses to ensure that everything was above board.  Obviously, the safe-keeping of the sealed copy was paramount in maintaining trust.  If the sealed copy was ever found to have been opened without the witnesses present, there could no longer be any certainty that it had not been modified by unscrupulous cheats.  Baruch was given the task of make sure the document would be kept safely for a long time.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this document was to be found in an excavation sometime?

Terror on Every Side! Volume 4 – The Darkness Deepens has a siege of Jerusalem.  An article was also promised in the newsletter, so here is a list of verses about sieges collected and examined over the last few days.

Verses about sieges

Deuteronomy 20:19-20 Don’t cut down fruit trees to build siegeworks, but other trees can be cut down.
Sieges of Israelite cities threatened in Deuteronomy 28:53, 55, 57 “in the siege and in the distress”.
Sieges when entering the land under Joshua:
Joshua 10:31 Lachish besieged by Israel.
Joshua 10:34 Eglon besieged by Israel.
1 Samuel 11:1-2 Nahash the Ammonite besieged Jabesh-gilead and offered treaty only if they would let him gouge out the right of each of them.
1 Samuel 23:8 Saul besieged Keilah.
2 Samuel 11:1; 1 Chronicles 20:1 Joab besieged Rabbah.
2 Samuel 11:16 Put Uriah where valiant men were.
2 Samuel 20:16 Joab besieging Abel of Beth-maacah.  Cast up a mound against the city and it stood against rampart.  Battering the wall to throw it down.
1 Kings 15:27 Israel was besieging Gibbethon.
1 Kings 16:17 Omri besieged Tirzah to get rid of Zimri as king.  Very short siege.
2 Kings 6:24-31 Ben-hadad king of Syria besieged Samaria.  Great famine so that people ate children.
2 Kings 16:5 Rezin king of Syria and Pekah king of Israel besieged Jerusalem, but could not conquer Ahaz.
2 Kings 17:5-6; 2 Kings 18:9-11 King of Assyria besieged Samaria for 3 years and eventually captured it.
2 Kings 19:32; Isaiah 37:33 Siege mound would not be used by Assyria.  Sennacherib called his army’s attendance a siege (2 Chronicles 32:10).
2 Kings 24:10-17 Nebuchadnezzar’s army besieging Jerusalem when Jehoiachin was king.  Nebuchadnezzar came and Jehoiachin surrendered.  Took lots of captives, replaced Jehoiachin with Zedekiah.
2 Kings 25:1-12 Siege and destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.  Nebuchadnezzar built siegeworks all around Jerusalem (Jeremiah 52:4-9; Ezekiel 24:1-2).
2 Chronicles 26:14-15 Uzziah equipped his army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging.  In Jerusalem he made machines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones.
2 Chronicles 32:9 Sennacherib besieged Lachish.
Job 19:12 Job says that God’s troops cast up a siege mound against him and encamp around his tent.
Psalm 31:21 God looked after me when I was in a besieged city.
Ecclesiastes 9:14-15 Small city, great king besieged it with great siegeworks.  Wise man saved the city, but was forgotten.
Isaiah 1:8 Zion left like… a besieged city.
Isaiah 21:2 Elam and Media to besiege Babylon.
Isaiah 23:13 Land of Chaldeans attacked by Assyria: erected siege towers, made her a ruin
Isaiah 29:3 God will encamp against Jerusalem, besiege with towers, raise siegeworks against Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 4:16 Besiegers come from a distant land.
Jeremiah 6:6 Let Jerusalem be punished.  Cut down her trees and build up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 10:17 Gather bundle from ground, you who live under siege.
Jeremiah 19:9 Eat flesh of sons and daughters and neighbours in siege and distress.
Jeremiah 21:4 To Zedekiah: Turn back weapons of war in hands used to fight against king of Babylon and bring them into city.
Jeremiah 21:8 To Zedekiah: Those who surrender to besieging Chaldeans will live, but others will die by sword, famine and pestilence.
Jeremiah 32:2-5 Nebuchadnezzar besieging Jerusalem, Jeremiah locked up in the court of the guard.  City will be given up.
Jeremiah 32:24 Siege mounds have come up to Jerusalem to take it.  Because of sword, famine and pestilence the city is given into the hand of the Babylonians who are fighting against it.
Jeremiah 33:4 Houses were torn down to make a defence against the siege mounds and the sword.
Jeremiah 37:5 Egypt went out of Egypt and besieging Chaldeans left Jerusalem for a time.
Lamentations 3:5. He has besieged and enveloped me.
Ezekiel 4:1-17 Ezekiel acts out siege of Jerusalem probably starting in 4th month of 5th year.  Iron griddle, siegeworks, siege wall.  Mound.  Camps.  Battering rams.  Siege rations.  Rot away because of punishment.  390+40 days = 430 days.
Ezekiel 17:17 Pharaoh won’t help Zedekiah, he will die in Babylon.  Mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives.
Ezekiel 21:22 Battering rams against gates.  Cast up mounds, build siege towers.
Ezekiel 26:8-9 Attacking Tyre: siege wall, mound, roof of shields.  Battering rams against walls, axes to break down towers.
Daniel 1:1 Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem when Jehoiakim is king.  Daniel and others taken to captivity.
Nahum 2:5 Siege tower is set up.
Nahum 3:14 Draw water for the siege.
Hebrews 11:30 Jericho encircled for 7 days.

Sundry other verses

Micah 5:1
Zechariah 12:2

References

See http://classic.net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=SIEGE
For a list of passages from the KJV using “siege”, see: https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/siege/

Jehoiachin was 8 or 18 years old (probably 18) when he became king.  He was an evil king (2 Kings 24:9; 2 Chronicles 36:9).

His father was King Jehoiakim, who was evil (2 Kings 23:37; 2 Chronicles 36:5).

His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:8).  We have no indication of whether she was righteous or evil.  Jehoiakim’s father Josiah may have had something to do with the choosing of a wife for his son and may have chosen someone he thought would be righteous, but we don’t know.

Passages that mention her are:

• 2 Kings 24:12  Jeconiah surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar along with his mother and others.
• Jeremiah 13:18  The king and the queen mother were to take a lowly seat because they had lost their crowns.  We cannot be sure that this applies to King Jehoiachin and his mother, but having three other passages that talk about him and his mother make it more likely to refer to him than to refer to any of the other kings in Jeremiah’s time who have no passages which definitely connect them with their mothers in this way.
• Jeremiah 22:26  Jeconiah (called ‘Coniah’ in this passage (v24 & 26) and his mother were to be thrown into another country where they would die.
• Jeremiah 29:2  A letter was sent to those in captivity after Jeconiah, his mother and others were taken into captivity.

The study of history is difficult.  Archaeology can only depend on what is found, and this will normally be an incomplete picture.

Some people say that the Babylonians did not have bows (eg. https://www.reference.com/history/weapons-did-babylonians-use-93f45ca4a202aa7d), yet the Bible has a few references to arrows in relation to the Babylonians:

Jeremiah 5:16 Their quiver is like an open grave
Ezekiel 21:21 The king of Babylon using divination, shaking the arrows, etc.

Jeremiah talks about arrows being used to attack Babylon (Jeremiah 50:9; 50:14; 51:11), so maybe it is true that Babylon did not use archery as much as other nations.

(Note that all of these specific words are taken from the ESV)

Archer
2 Chronicles 35:23 Egyptian archers shot Josiah
Jeremiah 4:29 At the noise of horsemen and archers everyone runs away
Jeremiah 50:29 Summon archers against Babylon, those who bend the bow; this suggests they were not using crossbows
Jeremiah 51:3 Let not the archer bend his bow, apparently in defence of Babylon

Arrows
Jeremiah 9:8 tongue is a deadly arrow
Jeremiah 50:9, 14 Babylon will be defeated by a coalition with arrows, those who bend the bow should spare no arrows
Jeremiah 51:11 Medes will attack Babylon; sharpen the arrows
Lamentations 3:12-13 God has made me a target for his arrows, driven into my kidneys
Ezekiel 5:16 God will send deadly arrows of famine for destruction of Jerusalem
Ezekiel 21:21 King of Babylon divines by shaking the arrows
Ezekiel 39:3,9 God will work against Gog, etc. to make right hand drop arrows; those dwelling in the cities of Israel will burn weapons including arrows

Bows
Jeremiah 6:23 Babylon to attack Israel with bow and javelin
Jeremiah 9:3 They bend their tongue like a bow
Jeremiah 46:9 Egypt trying to overcome with men of Lud skilled in handling the bow
Jeremiah 49:35 The mainstay of Elam’s might is the bow
Jeremiah 50:14, 29 When attacking Babylon, those who bend the bow should spare no arrows and let no-one escape
Jeremiah 50:42 Those who attack Babylon are cruel and lay hold of bow and spear
Jeremiah 51:3 Let not the archer bend his bow, apparently in defence of Babylon
Jeremiah 51:56 God has broken Babylon’s bows
Lamentations 2:4 God has bent his bow like an enemy against Zion
Lamentations 3:12 God has bent his bow and made me a target for his arrows
Ezekiel 39:3, 9 God will work against Gog, striking left hand to make them drop the bow; those dwelling in the cities of Israel will burn weapons including bows

Back in the time of King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:15), Jerusalem had been defended with clever machines mounted on the towers and corners of the walls which could shoot arrows and great stones, but they are not mentioned again.  Quite possibly, the foreign kings who appointed Judah’s last few kings would not have allowed such advanced weapons to be maintained or created.  We don’t know, but it doesn’t sound as if Jerusalem was defended by high-tech weapons in Jeremiah’s time.

Slings, slingstones
Jeremiah 10:18 figurative – God is slinging out the people of the land.

Helmets
Jeremiah 46:4 Egyptian army: take stations with helmets
Ezekiel 23:24 Babylonians shall come with helmets
Ezekiel 27:10 Men of Persia, Lud and Put hung helmets in Tyre
Ezekiel 38:5 Men of Persia, Cush and Put with them with helmets

Weapons
Jeremiah 21:4; 22:7; 50:25; 51:20; Ezekiel 9:1-2; 32:27; 39:9-10

Swords – Many references (more than 60 in Jeremiah alone)

Spears
Jeremiah 46:4 Egyptian army: polish them
Jeremiah 50:42 People attacking Babylon
Ezekiel 39:9 Israelites burning weapons – shows they used wood as well as metal

Javelins
Jeremiah 6:23 kingdom from north attacking Judah

Armour
Jeremiah 46:4 Egyptian army put on armour fighting Babylon
Jeremiah 51:3 People attacking Babylon
Ezekiel 23:12 Judah wanted Assyrians who were dressed in full armour
Ezekiel 38:4 Gog etc wearing full armour

Horses / Stallions
Jeremiah 8:16 snorting of horses, neighing of stallions.
Jeremiah 46:4, 9 Egyptian army to harness and mount horses;  put on armour fighting Babylon
Jeremiah 47:3 the noise of the stamping of his stallions
Jeremiah 50:37, 42 A sword against Babylon’s horses and chariots, attackers ride on horses
Jeremiah 51:21, 27 With you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; bring up horses like locusts
Ezekiel 17:15 Zedekiah rebelled by sending ambassadors to Egypt to get horses and a large army; breaking covenant
Ezekiel 23:6, 12, 23 Desirable young men riding on horses; kingdoms from north attacking Judah riding horses
Ezekiel 26:7, 10, 11 Nebuchadnezzar will attack Tyre with horses and chariots and horsemen
Ezekiel 27:14; 38:4, 15; 39:20

Other words of warfare include:
Shields, bucklers, clubs (Ezekiel 39:9), spears (Jeremiah 46:4; 50:42; Ezekiel 39:9), warriors and soldiers (quite a few references – 15 + 8 in Jeremiah alone), chariots (and wagons).

Some passages list quite a few different methods and weapons, and these are probably the most useful for getting a picture of warfare.  More another time.

Some passages list quite a few different methods and weapons, and these are probably the most useful for getting a picture of warfare.

Examples are:

Egypt and Babylon in battle

A battle between Egypt and Babylon at Carchemish:

“Prepare buckler and shield, and advance for battle! Harness the horses; mount, O horsemen!  Take your stations with your helmets, polish your spears, put on your armor!”

Jeremiah 46:3-4

A buckler is a small shield.  These verses describe the preparation for battle with weapons for attack and items for protection.  A few verses later, we have more detail which lists many other items of offence and defence:

“Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots!  Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and Put who handle the shield, men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow. 10 That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes.  The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood.  For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.”

Jeremiah 46:9

The destruction of Nineveh

Nahum chapters 2 and 3 give graphic details of siege and defence, including the suffering of non-combatants as well.  Shields, uniforms, chariots, spears, siege towers, swords, horsemen, dead bodies and those wounded.

The destruction of Babylon

Jeremiah 50 predicts the destruction of Babylon when God repays them for what they have done in their cruelty, particularly to Israel.

Some of these passages give such vivid imagery that it is not hard to picture the chaos and terror of battle.

On Tuesday, 5 December 2017, I wrote about the kings after Jehoiakim and how they fulfilled the prophecies God had made.  In particular, Jeremiah 36:30 says of Jehoiakim that he would have no-one to sit (or “no-one sitting”) on the throne of David.  Jehoiakim died and his son Jehoiachin/Jeconiah/Coniah became king (2 Kings 24:6, 8; 2 Chronicles 36:8-9) for 3 months and 10 days, all spent under siege in Jerusalem.

One suggestion is that Jehoiakim died without a son appointed to replace him and reigning with him as king (as Solomon, Jotham and probably others did before their father died).  This is possible and Young’s Literal Translation could support this idea.

Another suggestion is that 3 months and 10 days is a very short time and doesn’t really count.  This seems unlikely to be right.

The suggestion I prefer is that David ruled over all of Israel for most of his reign (33 years).  Jeconiah never reigned like that.

For the first 7 1/2 years, David only ruled over Judah, but Jeconiah didn’t even do that.  His entire reign was spent under siege in Jerusalem while Nebuchadnezzar controlled all of the land outside (see Jeremiah 13:19-20).

Physically, Jeconiah probably sat on Solomon’s ivory throne, but he never sat on David’s throne ruling over Judah.  At best, he ruled over Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 22:29 says that Jehoiachin the son of Jehoiakim would have no children who would prosper as kings over Judah.

Ezekiel 19 seems to refer to Jehoahaz (taken to Egypt) and then Ezekiel 19:5-9 probably refers to Jeconiah since Jehoiakim was not chosen by Judah as its king but was appointed by Pharaoh Neco.  Ezekiel 19:7 is the main problem with this since it might apply to Jehoiakim, but is unlikely to apply to Jeconiah who doesn’t seem to have ever had any opportunity to lay cities waste.  I need to think more about this.  [Does anyone who reads this diary have any ideas?]

The prophecy of Jeremiah 22:29 would then be the one that finally terminated Jehoiakim’s ruling dynasty after Jehoiachin, but the ruling over Judah finished with Jehoiakim himself.