Evil-merodach (Amel-Marduk, reigned 562–560 BC; older works give c. 561–560), Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor, ends the books of Kings and Jeremiah on a quiet, hopeful note: he freed Jehoiachin of Judah from the prison where he had sat for thirty-seven years, gave him new garments, and seated him above the other captive kings at the royal table (2 Kings 25:27–30; Jeremiah 52:31–34). The ISBE notes "an undesigned coincidence … worthy of mention", the first dated tablet of this reign was written on the 26th of the month Elul, and Jeremiah 52:31 dates Jehoiachin's release to the 25th of the same month. A convergence between the Bible and the Babylonian records, shown as a convergence. (Source: ISBE 1915, "Evil-merodach.")
Empires and rulers of the Old Testament world
Evil-merodach: kindness to a captive king
RulerBabylon
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- 2 Kings 25:27bsb
On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison.
- Jeremiah 52:31bsb
On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil-merodach king of Babylon, he pardoned Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison.
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