“In the third year
Of the reign
Of King Jehoiakim
In Judah,
King Nebuchadnezzar
Of Babylon
Came to Jerusalem.
He besieged it.
The Lord let
King Jehoiakim
Of Judah
Fall into his power,
As well as some of the vessels
Of the house of God.
Then he brought them
To the land of Shinar,
He placed
The vessels
In the treasury
Of his gods.”
This Book of Daniel starts out on a dire note, the capture of Jerusalem. However, unlike the Book of Ezekiel, there is only a vague date for the siege of Jerusalem, the 3rd year of King Jehoiakim, which would have been 606 BCE. However, there is no other indication of a siege at that time. Perhaps, this meant 598 BCE when King Jehoiakim was deposed. It is not clear who the author of this work was. However, the Judaean king fell under the power of King Nebuchadnezzar, because the Lord let it happen. Yahweh is not the term used for God in this post-exilic work. Rather the Greek Kyrios was used. The Babylonian king took some of the Temple vessels and treasures with him to Babylon, or Shinar as it is called here. He brought them to the treasury of his gods, which would have been Marduk and Nebo.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 