Ithobaal III

King of Tyre during Nebuchadnezzar II period

Ithobaal III (Latin Ithobalus, Hebrew Ethbaal) was recorded by Josephus as the king on the list of kings of Tyre reigning 591/0–573/2 BCE at the time of the first fall of Jerusalem, and therefore the subject of Ezekiel's cherub in Eden.^[1] During his time, Josephus also wrote that Nebuchadnezzar II besieged Tyre for 13 years (Siege of Tyre (586–573 BC)), which probably covered 585 to 573 BC.^[2] The precise year it began is difficult to pinpoint with scholars divided as to whether it started in 598, the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, or 585, which was Ithobaal III's seventh year as king.^[3] There are even those who proposed an earlier date - around 603-590 - citing that the Babylonians would have attacked it first before launching a campaign against Egypt.^[3] The city, according to the oracles of Ezekiel, was not captured.^[2] Ithobaal himself survived the siege with the prophet acknowledging that "King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre... yet neither he nor his army got anything".^[4]

References

^ Nebuchadrezzar and Babylon p27 Donald John Wiseman - 1991 188 Though the precise dates for the reign of Ethbaal III of Tyre are disputed, these are currently taken to be 591/0–573/2 BC Since Josephus says that 'in the seventh year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, he began to besiege ...
^ a b Barton, John (2004). The Biblical World. Oxon: Taylor & Francis. p. 503. ISBN 0415350905.
^ a b Elayi, Josette (2018). The History of Phoenicia. Atlanta, GA: Lockwood Press. p. 199. ISBN 9781937040819.
^ Litwa, M. David (2016). Desiring Divinity: Self-deification in Early Jewish and Christian Mythmaking. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 14. ISBN 9780190467166.

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[1] Nebuchadrezzar and Babylon p27 Donald John Wiseman - 1991 188 Though the precise dates for the reign of Ethbaal III of Tyre are disputed, these are currently taken to be 591/0–573/2 BC Since Josephus says that 'in the seventh year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, he began to besiege ...

[:0-2] Barton, John (2004). The Biblical World. Oxon: Taylor & Francis. p. 503. ISBN 0415350905.

[:1-3] Elayi, Josette (2018). The History of Phoenicia. Atlanta, GA: Lockwood Press. p. 199. ISBN 9781937040819.

[4] Litwa, M. David (2016). Desiring Divinity: Self-deification in Early Jewish and Christian Mythmaking. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 14. ISBN 9780190467166.