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Nebuchadrezzar II

Nebuchadrezzar II

9.9
The king of Babylon who conquered Jerusalem and sent the Israelites to Babylonia
  • proper noun
  • /ˌnɛbʊkəˈdrɛzər/
: Nabucodonosor II
  • Nebuchadrezzar II ruled over Babylon from approximately 605 to 562 BC.

Examples

  • Nebuchadrezzar II was responsible for the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem.

  • King Nebuchadrezzar II ruled Babylon for 43 years.

  • Historians study the reign of Nebuchadrezzar II to understand the history of ancient Babylonia.

  • The story of Nebuchadrezzar II is recounted in many books of the Old Testament.

  • Did Nebuchadrezzar II really destroy Jerusalem?

  • Nebuchadrezzar II was known for his campaigns that included the conquest of Jerusalem.

  • During his reign, Nebuchadrezzar II exiled many Israelites to Babylonia.

Synonyms

Nebuchadnezzar
vsNebuchadrezzar II
8 9.9

A king of ancient Babylon who destroyed Jerusalem and sent the Israelites to live in Babylonia in the 600s BC

is the same historical figure but with a variant spelling in the name
Nebuchadrezzar
vsNebuchadrezzar II
1 9.9

A king of Babylon who destroys Jerusalem and sends the Israelites into exile

is the neutral historical form rather than the Old Testament label
Nebuchadnezzar II
vsNebuchadrezzar II
1 9.9

A Babylonian king around 600 BC who destroyed Jerusalem and sent many Israelites to Babylon

has identical meaning but uses slightly different wording in its description

Surface Forms

Morphology

Nebuchadrezzar + II

This is a proper name composed of the personal name 'Nebuchadrezzar' plus the ordinal 'II'; a B1 learner who knows the name and the Roman numeral will understand it denotes the second ruler with that name. The construction is fully compositional and follows common cross-linguistic naming conventions (name + ordinal), so the meaning is transparent.

Etymology

Nebuchadrezzar II is a name from old Babylon that includes the god Nabu, and one popular meaning is 'Nabu, protect my son'. So the name was a royal prayer and now it names the powerful king who destroyed Jerusalem and sent the Israelites away to Babylonia.