Biblical references
Text: World English Bible (public domain). The ESV and NKJV are the preferred study translations and are referenced, not reproduced.
28 This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, three thousand twenty-three Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty-two persons; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty-five people. All the people numbered four thousand six hundred.
The list; this event is the third entry.
Biblical account
Layer: Biblical text
A closing list numbers those Nebuchadnezzar carried away: 3,023 Jews in his seventh year, 832 persons from Jerusalem in his eighteenth, and 745 Jews taken by Nebuzaradan in his twenty-third — 4,600 persons in all.
Historical overview
Layer: Historical reconstruction · Period: Nebuchadnezzar's 23rd year (582/581 BC on the Babylonian count)
Josephus reports that in Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year, the fifth after the destruction, he campaigned in Coele-Syria against Ammon and Moab and then Egypt, and took Jews captive to Babylon. No Babylonian chronicle survives for these years.[1, 2]
- Nebuchadnezzar II: King of Babylon[1]
Kingdoms: Neo-Babylonian Empire, Kingdom of Judah
Date and chronology derivation
Ranges are computed by the project's deterministic chronology engine from the biblical statements and each model's reign anchors. They are reconstructions, not independent dates.
582 BC – 581 BC
Model-independent (applies under every chronology model) · precision: regnal year
How this range was derived
Earliest bound
- “in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar” — The deportation of Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year (Jer 52:30) in regnal year reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (year 23) [reckoned accession, nisan new year] (Jeremiah 52:30)[3, 4]Assumption: Jer 52:28–30 counts Nebuchadnezzar's years Babylonian-style (its "seventh year" = the 597 capture, ABC 5); year 23 = Nisan 582 – Nisan 581 (Parker & Dubberstein).
Latest bound
- “in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar” — The deportation of Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year (Jer 52:30) in regnal year reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (year 23) [reckoned accession, nisan new year] (Jeremiah 52:30)[3, 4]Assumption: Jer 52:28–30 counts Nebuchadnezzar's years Babylonian-style (its "seventh year" = the 597 capture, ABC 5); year 23 = Nisan 582 – Nisan 581 (Parker & Dubberstein).
What else was happening? (model-independent)
- Daniel's refusal of the king's food and the ten-day test (Dan 1:8–16): 606 BC – ?
- Nebuchadnezzar II (reign): 605 BC – 562 BC
- Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7): 603 BC – ?
- Nebuchadnezzar's decree honouring the God of the three Judeans (Dan 3:28–30): 603 BC – ?
- The refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace (Dan 3:8–27): 603 BC – ?
- Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great tree and Daniel's interpretation (Dan 4:4–27): 605 BC – 563 BC
- Nebuchadnezzar's boast, madness and restoration (Dan 4:28–37): 604 BC – 562 BC
- Daniel's night vision of the four beasts and its interpretation (Dan 7): ? – 539 BC
- Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat at Susa (Dan 8): ? – 539 BC
- Gedaliah governs from Mizpah and is assassinated (2 Kgs 25:22–26): 589 BC – ?
Ancient and modern geography
Location confidence assumes the event as described. Whether it occurred is assessed in the claims below.
| Place | Connection to this event | Location identification |
|---|---|---|
| JerusalemJerusalem (Old City / City of David) | Judah (place not stated)Location confidence: proposed — possible | Pleiades representative point: certain[5] |
Claims, evidence and classifications
Each claim is classified on its own. A classification describes the evidence for that specific claim, not for the event as a whole.
Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in Coele-Syria, Ammon and Moab in his twenty-third year and deported Jews.
Josephus describes the campaign and deportation in that year; Jer 52:30 gives 745 Jews deported by Nebuzaradan. Josephus may depend on Jeremiah for the Jewish captives; no Babylonian source survives for these years.
Supporting
- Campaign in the 23rd year against Coele-Syria, Ammon, Moab and Egypt; Jews taken to Babylon.[1]Strength: direct·Ant. 10.9.7·Claim checked
Limitations of this classification: No Babylonian chronicle for 594–557.
Research date 2026-10-13
Jeremiah 52:28–30 counts Nebuchadnezzar's years with an accession year, one less than 2 Kings.
Its seventh year matches the chronicle's capture of Jerusalem (ABC 5, year 7) where Kings has the eighth; its eighteenth matches Kings' nineteenth (Cundall via Guzik; Young).
Supporting
Research date 2026-10-13
Evidence by type
The same evidence regrouped by kind of source. Each item names the claims it bears on.
Archaeological evidence
None recorded for this event.
Scientific findings
None recorded for this event.
Ancient documents
- Campaign in the 23rd year against Coele-Syria, Ammon, Moab and Egypt; Jews taken to Babylon.[1]Bears on: supporting — “Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in Coele-Syria, Ammon and Moab in his twenty…”
Modern news and announcements
None recorded for this event.
Reference works and summaries
- Kings uses non-accession years for Nebuchadnezzar; Jer 52 is excluded from Jeremiah's own usage.[3]Bears on: supporting — “Jeremiah 52:28–30 counts Nebuchadnezzar's years with an accession year…”
Historical disputes and competing reconstructions
Jer 52:28–30 counts with an accession year
Cundall (via Guzik); R. C. Young (2004)
Its 7th and 18th years are Kings' 8th and 19th; the 23rd year is 582/581.[3, 4]
The figures count adult males or a portion of the exiles
R. K. Harrison and C. L. Feinberg (via Guzik)
3,023 may be a head count of deported adult males; the total of exiles was much higher (cf. 2 Kgs 24:14, 16).[4]
Related passages and events
| From | Relationship | To | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| this event | Preceded byhigh · Biblical text | Nebuzaradan burns the Temple and Jerusalem (5th month of Nebuchadnezzar's 19th year) | The 18th-year deportation (Jer 52:29) is the one of the destruction; the 23rd-year deportation follows. |
| Capture of Jerusalem and deportation of Jehoiachin (March 597 BC) | Same eventmedium · Historical reconstruction | Jeremiah 52:28 | The seventh-year deportation of 3,023 is the 597 deportation, counted from Nebuchadnezzar's first full year.[3, 4] |
| Nebuzaradan burns the Temple and Jerusalem (5th month of Nebuchadnezzar's 19th year) | Same eventmedium · Historical reconstruction | Jeremiah 52:29 | The eighteenth-year deportation of 832 from Jerusalem belongs to the destruction (Kings' nineteenth year).[3, 4] |
Prophetic relationships
No prophecy or proposed-fulfillment relationships have been recorded for this event.
Commentary references
Layer: Interpretation. This is commentary, not historical evidence.
Guzik, citing Harrison and Feinberg, takes the 4,600 as a partial count of adult males and accepts Cundall's accession-year explanation of the year numbers.[4]
Unanswered questions and research gaps
- Josephus Ant. 10.9.7
- Enduring Word Jeremiah 52
- Young 2004
- Whether the 745 were taken from Judah or from Jews elsewhere (e.g. Egypt) is not stated.
Research process
1 logged searches
| Date | Query | Where | Useful |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-13 | Josephus Ant. 10.9.7 may depend on Jer 52; independent corroboration lacking. | local text / web fetch | 1 |
Sources
- 1.Josephus, Whiston, William (trans.). Josephus, Antiquities 10.9.7 (trans. W. Whiston). Project Gutenberg #2848. www.gutenberg.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textVerification log
- 2.Parker, Richard A., Dubberstein, Waldo H.. Babylonian Chronology 626 B.C.–A.D. 45 (SAOC 24). University of Chicago Press (Oriental Institute). archive.orgClaim checkedAcademic monographRead through the Internet Archive OCR text of the Oriental Institute PDF; OCR has digit errors (e.g. "589" for 539) checked against context. The 1956 revised edition was not consulted.Verification log
- 3.Young, Rodger C.. When Did Jerusalem Fall?. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 47/1 (2004) 21–38. etsjets.orgClaim checkedScholarly commentaryVerification log
- 4.Guzik, David. Jeremiah 52 — Enduring Word Bible Commentary. Enduring Word. enduringword.comClaim checkedTheological commentaryInterpretive resource — not historical corroboration.Verification log
- 5.Pleiades contributors. Ierusalem/Hierosolyma — Pleiades place 687928. Pleiades (pleiades.stoa.org). pleiades.stoa.orgClaim checkedInstitutional databaseRepresentative point read from the Pleiades JSON record: lon 35.234978, lat 31.7771895.Verification log