“Meanwhile the army of Pharaoh
Had come out of Egypt.
When the Chaldeans,
Who were besieging Jerusalem,
Heard news of them,
They withdrew from Jerusalem.”
The army of Pharaoh, King Hophra or Apries (590-571 BCE), had come out of Egypt to do battle with the Babylonians, probably around 588 BCE. When the Chaldean Babylonian soldiers heard this, they stopped their siege of Jerusalem. Did King Zedekiah have some sort of agreement with the Egyptian king? Did the Chaldeans fight against the Egyptians? Anyway, things looked good for Jerusalem at least for the time being.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 