Judeans at the Court of Nebuchadnezzar II and the Fate of the Prophets Ahab and Zedekiah

Jer. 29 opens with the well-known letter of Jeremiah to the Judean exiles in Babylonia telling them that their hopes of a short exile will not materialize. This is followed by a prophecy concerning two individuals: Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah. Jeremiah accused them of prophesying falsely, and promised that God was “going to deliver them into the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall kill them before your eyes” (Jer. 29:21). The promise that Nebuchadnezzar will personally punish the Judean false prophets suggests that they enjoyed a social standing high enough to make the king of Babylon cognizant of their activities and threatened by them.

My lecture will survey Babylonian documents from the 6^th century BCE, which mention the king’s involvement in punishing individuals whose actions he considered a crime. It will be argued that the relevant individuals indeed enjoyed a high social standing. In addition, I will present evidence for a Judean alphabetic scribe employed at the court of Nebuchadnezzar II. I will argue that Ahab and Zedekiah could also be employed in some high administrative function, which would cause their prophecies to be perceived by Nebuchadnezzar II as a special threat.