Josephus, Antiquities 10.180–82, Jeremiah, and Nebuchadnezzar

Abstract

Scholars have long pointed to Josephus, Ant. 10.180–182 as evidence that Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in the Levant in his twenty-third year (582 B.C.E.), but have not determined the viability of this passage as a historical source. Extant Greek sources do not provide the details visible in Josephus’ text and it is thus unlikely that they were his source. The details of the campaign are, however, available from Jeremiah or by inference from it. As such, the study argues that Ant. 10.180–182 is not an independent historical source of information for a campaign of Nebuchadnezzar in 582 B.C.E.