Assyrian Conquests against Israel
This is a biblically based study of the historical account related to the Assyrian conquests against the land of Israel (Samaria) and the succeeding Babylonian conquests against the land of Judah.
Babylonian deities were created, adopted, or usurped and then worshiped. Such named gods/godessess such as Marduk, Ishtar, Tammuz were widely respected even though there very existence was never provable. Idols and temples were created instead to promote the vision of these false gods, so that the population could realize them in their mind. The imagery propelled many gods to be adored.
The chief god was Ashur, the ancient local god of the city that carried his name. He was depicted as a winged sun that protected and guided the king, his principal servant, but was worshiped also under the symbol of a tree representative of fertility. Since a monarch was especially guided by a god, he/she was thought to be rather infallible in the rule, thus the proliferation of gods was used to justify the natural forces of creation, and to the enduring greatness of each human king/queen.
The beginnings of the Assyrian heritage was that they were Akkadians, although the very name “Akkad” is of non-Akkadian origin.
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_Empire )
In Assyria, the king was neither a god, like Pharaoh in Egypt, or Caesar in Rome, nor the representative of a god, as in Sumer.
A sequential list of the Assyrian, Babylon, and Mede-Persia kingships that exist in history culminating in the advent of Alexander the Great who would conquer most all lands of the “known” world.
Assyria Kingships ::
| Earliest archaeological evidence from Assur | c. 2600 BC |
|---|---|
| Conquest by the Akkadian Empire, Sumerian Kish | c. 2300 BC |
| Conquest by the Third Dynasty of Sumerian Ur | c. 2100 BC |
| Independence under Puzur-Ashur I | c. 2025 BC |
- Tudiya, First known leader of tribal tent dwellers who began to
accumulate in proximity to each other. - Adamu,
- Yangi,
- Suhlamu,
- Harharu,
- Mandaru,
- Imsu,
- Harsu,
- Didanu,
- Hana,
- Zuabu,
- Nuabu,
- Abazu,
- Belu,
- Azarah,
- Ushpia,
- Apiashal, son of Ushpia, From here on, the practice of direct family
(father-son) succession is confirmed.
- Hale, son of Apiashal,
- Samani, son of Hale,
- Hayani, on of Samani,
- Ilu-Mer, son of Hayani,
- Yakmesi, son of Ilu-Mer,
- Yakmeni son of Yakmesi,
- Yazkur-el, son of Yakmeni,
- Ila-kabkabu, son of Yazkur-el,
- Aminu, son of Ila-kabkabu,
- Sulili, son of Aminu
- Kikkia,
- Akiya,
- Puzur-Ashur I (2025 to ???? BC), First independent ruler of Assur-Assyria.
- Shalim-ahum (???? to ???? BC),
- Ilu-shuma (2008 to 1975 BC),
- Erishum I (1974 to 1935 BC),
- Ikunum (1934 to 1921 BC),
- Sargon I (1920 to 1881 BC), named after Sargon of Akkad ?
- Puzur-Ashur II (1880 to 1873 BC),
- Naram-Sin (1872 to 1829 BC), Not same as “Naram-Sin” of Akkad,
grandson of Sargon of Akkad, - Erishum II (1818 to 1809 BC),
- Shamshi-Adad I (1808 to 1776 BC),
- Ishme-Dagan I (1775 to 1765 BC),
- Mut-Ashkur (not known, “nk”),
- Rimush (nk)
- Asinum (nk)
- Puzur-Sin (nk)
- Ashur-dugul (nk)
- Ashur-apla-idi (nk)
- Nasir-Sin (nk)
- Sin-namir (nk)
- Ipqi-Ishtar (nk)
- Adad-salulu (nk)
- Adasi () (nk)
- Bel-bani (1700 to 1691 BC),
- Libaya (1690 to 1674 BC),
- Sharma-Adad I (1673 to 1662 BC),
- Iptar-Sin (1661 to 1650 BC),
- Bazaya (1649 to 1622 BC),
- Lullaya (1621 to 1616 BC),
- Shu-Ninua (1615 to 1602 BC),
- Sharma-Adad II (1601 to 1599 BC),
- Erishum III (1598 to 1586 BC),
- Shamshi-Adad II (1585 to 1580 BC),
- Ishme-Dagan II (1579 to 1564 BC(),
- Shamshi-Adad III (1563 to 1548 BC),
- Ashur-nirari I (1547 to 1522 BC),
- Puzur-Ashur III (1521 to 1498 BC),
- Enlil-nasir I (1497 to 1485 BC),
- Nur-ili (1484 to 1473 BC),
- Ashur-shaduni (1473 BC),
- Ashur-rabi I (1472 to 1453 BC),
- Ashur-nadin-ahhe I (1452 to 1431 BC),
- Enlil-Nasir II (1430 to1425 BC),
- Ashur-nirari II (1424 to 1418 BC),
- Ashur-bel-nisheshu (1417 to 1409 BC),
- Ashur-rim-nisheshu (1408 to 1401 BC),
- Ashur-nadin-ahhe II (1400 to1391 BC),
- Eriba-Adad I (1390 to 1364 BC),
- Ashur-uballit I (1363 to 1328 BC),
- Enlil-nirari (1327 to 1318 BC),
- Arik-den-ili (1317 to 1306 BC),
- Adad-nirari I (1295 to 1263 BC),
- Shalmaneser I (1265 to 1244 BC),
- Tukulti-Ninurta I (1243 to 1207 BC),
- Ashur-nadin-apli (1206 to 1203 BC),
- Ashur-nirari III (1202 to 1197 BC),
- Enlil-kudurri-usur (1196 to 1192 BC),
- Ninurta-apal-Ekur (1192 to 1180 BC),
- Ashur-dan I (1178 to 1133 BC),
- Mutakkil-Nusku (1132 BC),
- Ashur-resh-ishi I (1132 to 1115 BC),
- Tiglath-Pileser I (1115 to 1076 BC) – self-declared “unrivalled king of the
universe, king of the four quarters, king of all princes, lord of lords”, but
many kings were self-described in these declared roles of power. - Asharid-apal-Ekur (1076 to 1074 BC),
- Ashur-bel-kala (1074 to 1056 BC),
- Eriba-Adad II (1055 to 1054 BC),
- Shamshi-Adad IV (1054 to 1050 BC),
- Ashurnasirpal I (1049 to 1031 BC),
- Shalmaneser II (1030 to 1019 BC),
- Ashur-nirari IV (1018 to 1013 BC),
- Ashur-rabi II (1012 to 972 BC),
- Ashur-resh-ishi II (971 to 967 BC),
- Tiglath-Pileser II (967 to 935 BC), Assyria fell into decline which may have
been caused by the incursions of the emerging
Arameans, - Ashur-dan II (934 to 912 BC),
- Adad-nirari II (911 to 891 BC),
- Tukulti-Ninurta II (890 to 884 BC),
- Ashurnasirpal II (883 to 859 BC),
- Shalmaneser III (859 to 824 BC), Reigned during the tenure of Israel’s
king Ahab, with wife Jezebel (a Sidonite) - Shamshi-Adad V (824 to 811 BC),
- Adad-nirari III (811 to 783 BC), His mother, Shammu-ramat, wife of
Shamshi-Adad V, is said to be possible source of
the goddess character “Semi-ramis” - Shalmaneser IV (783 to 773 BC), Jonah was sent by God during the reign
of Israel’s king Jeroboam II, who reigned from
793 BC to 753 B.C. - Ashur-dan III (773 to 755 BC),
- Ashur-nirari V (755 to 745 BC),
- Tiglath-Pileser III (745 to 727 BC), Meaning “my trust belongs to the son of
Esarra”. Esarra was a temple dedicated to the
god Ninurta. Ninurta became thought as the son of
the Assyrian god Assur. - Shalmaneser V (727 to 722 BC),
- Sargon II (722 to 705 BC),
- Sennacherib (705 to 681 BC),
- Esarhaddon (681 to 669 BC),
- Ashurbanipal (669 to 631 BC),
- Ashur-etil-ilani (631 to 627 BC), Reign of Babylon’s vassal king, Shamash-
shum-ukin from 668 to 648 BC.
This beginning new era of Babylonia is also known as
the “Chaldean” empire. - Sinsharishkun (627 to 612 BC), The first non-vassal king of the
Babylonia domain, Nabopolassar, reigns from 626
to 605 BC. - Ashur-uballit II (612 to 609 BC), The last ruler of Assyria.
In 614 BC, the city of Assur, once the capital and still the ideological and religious center of Assyria, was captured, plundered and sacked by the Medes under Cyaxares (founder of the Median empire), who were allies with Nabopolassar of Babylon. Nabopolassar would be succeeded by Nebuchadnezzar II (who reigned from 605 to 562 BC), Under his reign, Babylonia becomes the predominant power of the whole area, especially after the defeat of the Egyptian army in 605 BC. Also took captives from the Jerusalem siege and fall from their king Zedekiah who unfaithfully listened to the prophet Jeremiah’s council as he was directed from God.
Mede-Persia Kingships ::
Deioces (727 to 675 BC), First king “shah” and priest of the Median
empire, gained independence from Assyria under his rule,
Phraortes (675 to 653 BC),
Cyaxares (625 to 585 BC), aka “Cyaxares the Great”,
Astyages (564 to 550 BC), Succeeded by “Cyrus the Great”,
Cyrus the Great (559 to 530 BC),
Cambyses II (530 to 522 BC),
Bardiya ( 522 BC),
Darius the Great (522 to 486 BC),
Xerxes I (486 to 465 BC),
Artaxerxes I (465 to 424 BC),
Xerxes II (424 BC),
Sogdianus (424 to 423 BC),
Darius II (423 to 404 BC),
Artaxerxes II (404 to 359 BC),
Artaxerxes III (358 to 338 BC)
Arses (338 to 336 BC),
Darius III (336 to 330 BC), Last king of the Achaemenid empire,
conquered by the Macedonian Alexander III, aka
“Alexander the Great”.
Babylonian Kingships ::
Nabopolassar (626 to 605 BC), First king of the neo-Babylonia (Chaldean)
domain.
Nebuchadnezzar II (605 to 562 BC),
Amel-Marduk (562 to 560 BC), AKA “Evil-Merodach”,
Neriglissar (560 to 556 BC),
Labashi-Marduk (2 months of 556 BC),
Nabonidus (556 to 539 BC), The last of Babylonia’s Chaldean kings,
conquered by Cyrus the Great in 539 BC.
Cyrus the Great (559 to 530 BC),
Cambyses II (530 to 522 BC),
Bardiya (522 BC), During 522 BC, Nebuchadnezzar III, claiming to be
a descendent of Nabonidus (real name “Nidintu-Bel”)
attempts to rebel against the ruling Bardiya. After
some initial success, he is captured by Darius I and
executed.
Darius I (522 to 486 BC), aka “Darius the Great”,
Xerxes I (486 to 465 BC),
Artaxerxes I (465 to 424 BC),
Xerxes II (424 BC),
Sogdianus (424 to 423 BC),
Darius II (423 to 404 BC),
Artaxerxes II (404 to 359 BC),
Artaxerxes III (358 to 338 BC)
Arses (338 to 336 BC),
Darius III (336 to 330 BC), Last king of the Achaemenid empire,
conquered by the Macedonian Alexander III, aka
“Alexander the Great”.
Alexander the Great (336 to 323 BC), Upon his death, this empire splits into 4
territories that are centered as Egypt, Macedonia, Asia,
and Persia.
Given the lists of the kinships above, we can relate tot he named kings that are found in the Holy scriptures who accomplished certain actions in particular regard to the people of Israel.
During the long history of Assyrian kingship, there were continuing battles for the acquisition of conquered territories, fighting against revolts, fighting enemy incursions, etc. Even though usually successful in these endeavors, true peace and consequential prosperity was tenuous.
Many difficulties and rebellious attempts to usurp power were occurring over the course of centuries of ongoing rule to subordinate provinces and cities led to revolts. Around 745 B.C., a particularly strong leader called in the Hebrew language as “Tiglath-Pileser III”, would assume power as a new Assyrian king.
The first Assyrian king to conquer a part of the northern Israelite tribes’ land is Tiglath-pileser III. This began a series of conquests of Israel’s territory and peoples over the next 20 years, even while under different
succeeding Assyrian kings.
The northern and eastern parts of Israel and the coastal area of Palestine were conquered by the Assyrians.
Samaria, Israel’s capital, was left with the southern part of the Samarian kingdom as a semi-independent vassal state.
Tiglath-Pileser III’s name in Babylonia (which he would reconquer was “Pul”.)
Shalmaneser V’s name in Baybolnia was “Ululai”.
Sennacherib captured the city in 689 B.C., he did what none of his predecessors had dared to do.
He destroyed the Babylonian metropolis thoroughly and systematically, throwing the debris of temples and palaces into the river, so forcing it to change its course. Minor gods were smashed and the major ones taken to Assyria. This deed the Babylonian neither forgave nor forgot, and for it they took a terrible revenge about 77 years later, when they in turn, destroyed the Assyrian city of Nineveh.
The Assyrian kings –
king Tiglath-Pileser III (ruled 745 BC to 727BC) was the father of
king Shalmaneser V (ruled 727 BC to 722 BC), who was the father of
king Sargon II (ruled 722 BC to 705 BC), who was the father of
king Sennacherib (ruled 705 BC to 681 BC).
II Kings [15:29] “In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Jonoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtili, and carried them captive to Assyria.”
[ed: Some of the northern Israelite tribe members are taken captive and led away. Now a successor will also continue the conquest of the northern tribes.]
II Kings [17:3] “Against him came up Shalmaneser (son of Tiglath-pileser) king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.”
II Kings [17:6] “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria (Shalmaneser) took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.”
II Kings [17:18] “Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only”
[ed: The only tribes left were of the land of Judah, namely Judah and Benjamin.]
II Kings [18:9] “And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.”
[ed: Even though the siege was started by Shalmaneser, he would die before the 3 year siege was over, and it was his son Sargon II who would continue the siege and become the king who would complete the scattering of the northern tribes far into what is now northern Iran and Iraq.
The Israelites would never regain their identity as former Israelites by their original names, but rather became known by the names that other peoples would call them.
Forsaking the true God YHVH had caused them to lose their identity and His blessings.]
II Kings [18:10] “And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken.”
II Kings [18:11] “And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes:”
[ed: The Medes lived in what is today northwestern Iran. Hezekiah, the king of northern Israel, did not properly rely on God for protection, as God (through the prophet Isaiah) had promised He would do if Israel would abide in Him, but Hezekiah instead tried to appease the Assyrian king, then also tried to rely on other kings (notably Egypt) to assist making a stand against an Assyrian invasion. ]
II Kings [17:24] “And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sapharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.”
[ed: Babylonians from Babylon and Cuthah, and Syrians from Hamath and Sepharvaim were transplanted from their native lands into the largely vacant Samarian land to repopulate. This tactic is thought to a more sure way to subjugate the land for future by preventing revolts from among the conquered people, for they have been removed altogether.]
[ed: Here in the Apocrypha book of 2 Esdras we see another narrative describing the conquest of Samaria.]
II Esdras [13:40] “these are the nine tribes (referring to the 10 Northern tribes minus Simeon which was absorbed into the Southern tribe of Judah) that were taken away from their own land into exile in the days of King Hoshea, whom Shalmaneser, king of the Assyrians, made captives; he took them across the river, and they were taken into another land.”
II Esdras [13:41] “But they formed this plan for themselves, that they would
leave the multitude of the nations and go to a more distant region, where no human beings had ever lived,”
II Esdras [13:42] “so that there at least they might keep their statutes that they had not kept in their own land.”
II Esdras [13:43] “And they went in by the narrow passages of the Euphrates river.”
II Esdras [13:44] “For at that time the Most High performed signs for them, and stopped the channels of the river until they had crossed over.”
II Esdras [13:45] “Through that region there was a long way to go, a journey of a year and a half; and that country is called Arzareth.* (Hebrew meaning “other land”).”
II Kings [18:13] “Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.”
[ed: Now another king, the son of Sargon II whose name was Sennacherib, would begin to lay a siege against the other 2 remaking southern tribes (Judah, Benjamin) referred to collectively as Judah whose capital is Jerusalem. Sargon II would not be very successful in this initial attempted conquest, and the end result that he gained was some smaller amount of coastal land of Judah.
Hezekiah who had previously opposed any paid tribute for the Assyrian king, reversed his policy and now began sending tribute to Sennacherib at Lachish. Sennacherib was not impressed and demanded the surrender of Jerusalem. Sennacherib did not take Jerusalem after all, and king Hezekiah knew of prophet Isaiah’s foretelling prophecy that Jerusalem would not fall to the Assyrians if they would rely of God only.
About 10 years had passed since the last Jerusalem siege ended, but Sennacherib was back and wanting another try to take Jerusalem city.]
[ed: Despite attempts by the Assyrians to break the will of king Hezekiah and the defenders of the city, Hezekiah is beginning to rectify his unwillingness to rely on God for this whole matter, and begins to seek advice from God through the prophet Isaiah. Hezekiah makes a prayerful plea to God as well, admitting his failure to abide and trust God.]
II Kings [19:5] “So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.”
II Kings [19:6] “And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master,
`Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.’ “
II Kings [19:7] “Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’ “
[ed: God is telling his will through the prophet Isaiah that Jerusalem would be saved against the Assyrian.]
II Kings [19:32] “Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, `He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.”
II Kings [19:35] “And it came to pass that night, that the Angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred four score and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.”
II Kings [19:36] “So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.”
II Kings [19:37] “And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adram-melech and Sharezer his sons, smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.”
[ed: Sennacherib was killed by 2 of his own sons who fled away, leaving another son to assume the kingship. Esarhaddon (ruled 681 BC to 669 BC), would become the Assyrian king who will rebuild the city of Babylon, and also in his time, conquer Ethiopia first and then Egypt.
Esarhaddon’s son Ashurbanipal (ruled 668 BC to 631 BC), followed by Ashurbanipal’s son Ashur-etil-ilani (meaning “Ashur is the lord of the gods” and ruled 631 BC to 627 BC), would then appoint a man named Nebopolazzar
to be the commander for the north Babylonian territory and this man in turn would lead a rebellion against Ashur-etil-ilani to seize control of the Assyrian land.]
[ed: For almost a century and a half after Tiglath-Pileser III’s death, Assyria was pressed back to its home country on the Tigris and played the role of a secondary power, while the Aramaeans pressed their conquest of Syria and northern Mesopotamia and founded numerous city states.
The Aramaean tribes of the south Mesopotamia, better known as Chaldeans, in the meantime took over Babylonia and formed a new dynasty which, though frequently interrupted by the Assyrians during the centuries that followed, nevertheless remained unbroken until the middle of the 6th century B.C. by the Persian conquest over Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar’s 4th succeeding king, named Nabonidus .]
[ed: Nineveh was destroyed by the the leadership of Cyaxares of the Medes and by Nebopolazzar of Babylonians in 612 B.C.]
[ed: Nebopolazzar’s son Nebuchadnezzar II (ruled 605 BC to 562 BC). Nebuchadnezzar would then lay another seige against Judah/Jerusalem and these Judites would be removed and taken far off to Babylon for a 70 year exile.]
[ed: Over a long period of history, the Assyrian king line was used to correct against the ungodly practices of the 12 tribes of Israel. Their deliberate worship of false idolic gods and their turning away from the true God YHVH and his bestowed blessings that were provided if Israel would follow in His ways.
With understanding and discipline, they could have prevented much of the ensuing chaos, but their poor choices led the, to destruction. Despite warnings from God’s prophets, these leaders and peoples would not adhere to living with God, and instead took up ways against Him.
Corrections were needed and so deserved against the Israelites. The Assyrian enemies would help to achieve this goal, and with Jesus Christ, the people can once again be reconciled with God, and choose a true God-like life keeping ahold of the 2 Great Commandments, along with the blessing of salvation.]
Babylonian Conquest –
[ed: The Assyrians would be conquered by the Babylonians, the demise of their kingdom mentioned by their capital city, Nineveh, is even foretold in the Bible. Nineveh was visited by Jonah and many were witness to his beach arrival from the mouth of that special fish, teaching of God’s true Word.
Nahum would write this scripture not long after Jonah. Remember, Jonah tried to flee away from God’s order to visit Nineveh because he thought by doing so would help to prevent the Assyrian capture of the 10 northern tribes of Israel.
During Jonah’s attempt to sail away, a storm shook the boat and the crew believed the cause of their calamity of capsizing was due to Jonah’s disobedience to God, so the crew through Jonah overboard into the sea, where after 3 days inside that fish, he reached shore and spoke to the Dagan believers about YVHVH.]
Nahum [3:1] “Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;”
Nahum [3:7] “And It shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan he? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?
Nahum [3:18] “Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.”
Nahum [3:19] “There is no healing of thy bruise: thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit (noise) of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually? “
As stated at the beginning of this study:
king Sennacherib (705 BC to 681 BC) was the son of
king Sargon II (722 BC to 705 BC), who was the son of
king Shalmaneser V (727 BC to 722 BC), who was the son of
king Tiglath-Pileser III (745 BC to 727BC).
The Assyrian king Sennacherib who would take captive, the last of the remaining 10 northern tribes, was then in turn conquered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (lived 630 BC to 561 BC).
Nebuchadnezzar II (ruled 605 BC to 562 BC) would then take ahold the land of Judah, destroying Jerusalem city along with the first Temple thereof in 586 BC.
The land of Judah had a king named Jehoiachin, who reigned only three months (598/597 B.C.). Upon Jehoiachin’s accession to become king, Nebuchadnezzar arrived at Jerusalem to take this new king as a captive. Jehoiachin surrendered himself, his mother, and his staff. Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon as hostage and made Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, the new king of Judah.
When Nebuchadnezzar put Zedekiah on the throne of Judah, he changed his previous name of “Mattaniah” ( meaning “gift of YHVH,” ) to Zedekiah (meaning “righteousness of YHVH”).
Later on, being under the constant pressure of his subjects, particularly the princes, who urged him to seek the aid of Egypt against Babylon, Zedekiah made an alliance with the Egyptians (see Jeremiah 37:6-10; 38:14-28).
When Nebuchadnezzar learned of this attempt by his previously devout Vassal king Zedekiah, he decided that he would not allow such rebellion to begin and marched to Jerusalem.
The siege of Jerusalem began in earnest on January 15, 588 B.C. (2 Kings 25:1), and lasted until July 19, 586 B.C. (2 Kings 25:2; Jeremiah 39:2), when the Chaldean army finally broke through the walls into the city.
Upon the capture of the fleeing Zedekiah and the liquidation of the city, a new governor was appointed named Gedaliah. Nebuchadnezzar released the prisoner Jeremiah who then traveled to Mizpah and met up with Gedaliah.
A relative of Zedekiah named Ishmael killed Gedaliah, his staff, and the Chaldean garrison of Mizpah, and tried to join the Ammonites. This plan was thwarted by Johanan, another general of Zedekiah, who intercepted Ishmael and was able to free the captives that Ishmael carried. However, Ishmael escaped with eight men to the Ammonites. Johanan and his men that were with him, fearing Nebuchadnezzar, went to Egypt and forced Jeremiah and Baruch to join them.
[ed: Here is God’s order to Jeremiah to go and tell the king to surrender peacefully to this Babylonian conqueror, Nebuchadnezzar. God is going to punish Judah for their continued transgressions against his ways. He knows that the captives taken away will be treated well in Babylon during their temporary 70 year stay.
At the end of the 70 year captivity, Cyrus, a Persian conqueror would overthrow the Babylon kingdom, and that he will release the captives to return to their original land in Judah if they so wish to.]
Jeremiah [34:2] “Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:”
Jeremiah [34:3] “And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou
shalt go to Babylon.”
Jeremiah [34:4] “Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:”
[ed: Zedekiah is stubborn to stay in Jerusalem and stands against God’s demand to surrender peacefully. Nebuchadnezzar lays siege against Jerusalem.]
II Kings [25:1] “And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all the his hosts, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.”
II Chronicles [36:19] “And they (Babylonians) burnt the house of God, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.”
II Chronicles [36:20] “And them that had escaped from the sword carried he (Nebuchadnezzar) away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: “
[ed: Jerusalem falls, and king Zedekiah is going to make a run for freedom, but will be caught and then endure a very painful lesson.]
II Kings [25:4] “And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.”
II Kings [25:5] “And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.”
II Kings [25:6] “So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.”
II Kings [25:7] “And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.”
II Kings [25:10] “And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.”
[ed: Jerusalem’s people are removed to Babylon for a 70 years exile. The city, the walls and 1st Temple is not just taken captive for 70 years, but utterly dismantled – just as God said through the prophet Jeremiah even before the battle began.]
Jeremiah [25:11] “And this whole land (Judah) shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”
[ed: These verses below from Zephaniah were applicable to the days of the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, and the events then wil be a type for the future tense; for they will be applicable when the false king (satan) arrives
in the near future, pretending to be the Messiah. Satan will be adored by the world as he pretends to be the Messiah Jesus Christ, but he is really the anti-christ, the spurious messiah, the false prophet who heals the deadly would (see Revelation [13:3] .]
II Kings [25:18] “And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:”
[ed: Zephaniah is a direct witness to the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon, a contemporary of Jeremiah.]
Zephahiah [3:1] “Woe to her that is filthy [rebellious] and polluted, to the oppressing city!”
[ed: Speaking of Jerusalem here, then and towards the very end of the 6th Trump of the book of Revelation.]
Zephaniah [3:2] “She obeyed not the voice: she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.”
Zephaniah [3:3] “Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones [leaving nothing] till the morrow.”
Zephaniah [3:4] “Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.”
Zephaniah [3:8] “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.”
Zephaniah [3:20] “At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.”
Persia’s Conquest –
Jeremiah [25:12] “And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.”
[ed: Babylon will be in turn conquered and will never again exist as a nation. A Persian king named Cyrus (Persian “Kurus”, Hebrew “Koresh”) is going to be the one who will carry out this foreseen event.
As you can see in the scripture written by Isaiah below, Cyrus is foretold and explicitly named over 100 years before Cyrus would gain the kingship of Persia. He will be the man who would release the captive people removed from Judah/Jerusalem.]
[ed: King Cyrus the Great (lived 600 BC to 520 BC) decreed in 539 BC that these captives under Babylon should be free to return to their original land.]
[ed: Cyrus is referred to as the “annointed one” in Isaiah [45:1] over a hundred years before the acgtual rise of Cyrus in the land of the Medes/Persia.]
Isaiah [44:28] “That saith of Cyrus,
‘He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure’
even saying to Jerusalem, ‘Thou shalt be built;’
and to the temple, ` Thy foundation shall be laid.’ “
Isaiah [45:1] ” Thus saith the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and to loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and that the gates may not be shut:”
Isaiah [45:13] “I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says God Almighty.”
[ed: Cyrus’ edict for the exiled remnant of Judah is stated below.]
II Chronicles [36:23] “Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, `All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and He hath charged me to build Him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah, Who is there among you of all His People? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up’ “
II Chronicles [36:23] “Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD, the God of heaven given me; and He hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all His people – the LORD, his God, be with him – let him go there.”
[ed: Cyrus, the Persian leader, would then conquer the Babylonian kingdom and allow the Israel congregation of exiled Israelite tribes (mostly Judites) to return back to the land of Judah from their Babylonian location.
Note that the 10 Northern tribes, taken captive by the Assyrians before the conquest of Judah was attempted, were not living in Babylon, but were located out in the area of what is now the Lake Van region of northern Iran.]
Judah Returns –
Also it is quite important to remember that some certain traditions (teachings) from Babylon would accompany the people back to Jerusalem. By Ezra’s own account, there were no Levitical priests found by Ezra as he took a census account by the road back to Jerusalem. Each of the traveling people declared
which tribe affiliation hey belonged to and exactly how many were in their group. As a result of the lack of proper Levites, many of the temple priests and scribes would now have their natural affiliation attributed to men who were not even of Israel, let alone of the sons of Aaron, the Levites. See Ezra [2:1–2:42].
So instead, some of the duties of the priestly order would be assigned to non-Levitical men, and these were chiefly Kenites (descendants of Cain) and other foreigners not of Judah. See Ezra [2:43–2:62] for a list of non-Judah people
returning from Babylon towards Jerusalem.
[ed: If you notice the list of children’s names found in verses 43 through 62, you will see that the names are not Hebrew sourced.]
More basic background info on the Kenites can be found here –
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenites
[ed: The Nethinim are introduced in scripture in 1 Chronicles [9:2].]
I Chronicles [9:2] “Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites, the priests, Levites and the Nethinims.”
[ed: Ezra will document that the Nethinims cannot show to prove that their natural heritage is of any the 12 tribes of Israel nor of Levi. They are able because they simply are not Hebrew at all.]
Ezra [2:59] “And these were they which went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could not shew their father’s house, and their see, whether they were of Israel:”
Ezra [2:62] “These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.”
Ezra [2:64] “The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,”
[ed: Only 42, 360 souls returned to Judah from Babylon’s captivity, and about half were not of the 2 southern tribes of Judah or Benjamin, not of the natural Levitical lineage.]
[ed: Nonetheless, the non-Hebrew Nethinim would live among the people, and they would assume the roles of the priesthood because there are no true Levitical priests to be found anywhere about, see Ezra[ 8:15 ].]
Ezra [2:70] So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
[ed: Note that the word “Nethinim” is listed as Strongs #H541. These people are actually Kenites and other non-Levites for they are labeled according to their title and purpose, to be “given” to the Temple’s service under the authority of the Levitical priests. But then where are the Levites to manage these Nethinims — there are none to be found according to Ezra, see [8:15].]
Ezra [8:15] “And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the People and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.”
[ed: While some of Judah did go back to the land of tribal Judah/Benjamin, the other 9 Northern tribes who were earlier conquered by the Assyrian kings, did not rejoin back to the Samaria, but has instead began a migration beyond Parthia and Anatolia. They went forth towards the plains north of the Black and Caspian seas. and eventually reaching into southern Scythia (now Ukraine) and what was then called Sarmatia/Lydia/ Phrygia/Galatia.
The bulk of the North tribes did not return to the homeland of from where they were remove by the conquering Assyrians, but the Apostles would be commissioned to take the Gospel of Christ to them so that they would have the opportunity to be reconciled with the Living God once again. Christ’s salvation does that for us all.]
A study about the 12 Apostles’ commission is here: https://www.ourgoodshepherd.org/apostles/
Nahum 3
Nahum [3:4] “Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.”
Nahum [3:5] “Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.”
Nahum [3:7] “And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?”
Nahum [3:12] “All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.”
Nahum [3:13] “Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.”
Nahum [3:16] “Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away.”
Nahum [3:17] “Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.”
Nahum [3:18] “Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.”
Nahum [3:19] “There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually? “
Jeremiah 25 –
Jeremiah [25:9] “Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.”
Jeremiah [25:10] “Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.”
Jeremiah [25:11] “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”
Isaiah [46] –
Isaiah [46:1] “Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.”
Isaiah [46:9] “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,”
Isaiah [47:1] “Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.”
Isaiah [47:5] “Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.”
Isaiah [47:10] “For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.”
Isaiah [47:11] “Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.”
[ed: During those days of Babylon, when Cyrus who was anointed by God to take that kingdom away and release the captive Israelites, so will this once again occur in the end of days of this world when Jesus Christ appears and vanquishes the empire of satan, his angles, and all who follow according to that vile one.]
Isaiah [47:12] “Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.”
Isaiah [47:13] “Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.”
Isaiah [47:14] “Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.”
Isaiah [47:15] “Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.”
Cyrus –
He claimed to be an Achaemenian–that is a descendant of the semi-mythical Akhamanish (the Achaemenes of the Greeks).
Cyrus acknowledged as his overlord Astyages, king of the Medes. He revolted against Astyages, whom he defeated and took prisoner. Thereafter he was proclaimed King of the Medes and Persians, who were kindred peoples of Indo-European speech. The father of Astyages was Cyaxares, the ally of Nabopolassar of Babylon. When this powerful king captured Nineveh he entered into possession of the northern part of the Assyrian Empire, which extended westward into Asia Minor to the frontier of the Lydian kingdom; he also possessed himself of Urartu (Armenia). Lydia had, after the collapse
of the Cimmerian power, absorbed Phrygia, and its ambitious king, Alyattes, waged war against the Medes. At length, owing to the good offices of Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and Syennesis of Cilicia, the Medes and Lydians made peace in 585 B.C. Astyages then married a daughter of the Lydian ruler.
When Cyrus overthrew Cyaxares, king of the Medes, Croesus, king of Lydia, formed an alliance against him with Amasis, king of Egypt, and Nabonidus, king of Babylon. The latter was at first friendly to Cyrus, who had attacked Cyaxares when he was advancing on Babylon to dispute Nabonidus’s claim to the throne, and perhaps to win it for a descendant of Nebuchadrezzar, his father’s ally. It was after the fall of the Median Dynasty that Nabonidus undertook the restoration of the moon god’s temple at Haran.
Cyrus advanced westward against Croesus of Lydia before that monarch could receive assistance from the intriguing but pleasure-loving Amasis of Egypt; he defeated and overthrew him, and seized his kingdom (547-546 B.C.). Then, having established himself as supreme ruler in Asia Minor, he began to operate against Babylonia. In 539 B.C. Belshazzar was defeated near Opis. Sippar fell soon afterwards. Cyrus’s general, Gobryas, then advanced upon Babylon, where Belshazzar deemed himself safe.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16653/16653-h/16653-h.htm#fnrex1114
Daniel 5 – (Belshazzar)
On the 16th of Tammuz the investing army under Gobryas entered Babylon, the gates having been opened by friends within the city. Some think that the Jews favoured the cause of Cyrus. It is quite as possible, however, that the priests of Merodach had a secret understanding with the great Achaemenian, the “King of kings”.
A few days afterwards Cyrus arrived at Babylon. Belshazzar had been slain, but Nabonidus still lived, and he was deported to Carmania. Perfect order prevailed throughout the city, which was firmly policed by the Persian soldiers, and there was no looting. Cyrus was welcomed as a deliverer by the priesthood. He “took the hands” of Bel Merodach at E-sagila, and was proclaimed “King of the world, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, and King of the Four Quarters”.
Cyrus appointed his son Cambyses as governor of Babylon. Although a worshipper of Ahura-Mazda and Mithra, Cambyses appears to have conciliated the priesthood. When he became king, and swept through Egypt, he was remembered as the madman who in a fit of passion slew a sacred Apis bull. It is possible, however, that he performed what he considered to be a pious act: he may have sacrificed the bull to Mithra.
When Darius III, the last Persian emperor, was overthrown by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C., Babylon welcomed the Macedonian conqueror as it had welcomed Cyrus. Alexander was impressed by the wisdom and accomplishments of the astrologers and priests, who had become known as “Chaldaeans”.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16653/16653-h/16653-h.htm#fnrex1114
Isaiah 34
Isaiah [34:11] “But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.”
Isaiah [34:12] “They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.”
Isaiah [34:13] “And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.”
Isaiah [34:14] “The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.”
Zephaniah 2
Zephaniah [2:13] “And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.”
Zephaniah [2:14] “And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.”
Zephaniah [2:15] “This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.”
Detailed background Info on the Assyrian leaders and the gods they worshipped.
It will be observed that the Sumero-Babylonians are Cushites or Hamites, and therefore regarded as racially akin to the proto-Egyptians of the Mediterranean race–an interesting confirmation of recent ethnological conclusions.
Nimrod, the king of Babel (Babylon), in Shinar (Sumer), was, it would appear, a deified monarch who became ultimately identified with the national god of Babylonia. Professor Pinches has shown that his name is a
rendering of that of Merodach. In Sumerian Merodach was called Amaruduk or Amarudu, and in the Assyro-Babylonian language Marduk. By a process familiar to philologists the suffix “uk” was dropped and the rendering became Marad.
The Hebrews added “ni” = “ni-marad”, assimilating the name “to a certain extent to the ‘niphal forms’ of the Hebrew verbs and making a change”, says Pinches, “in conformity with the genius of the Hebrew language”.
Asshur, who went out of Nimrod’s country to build Nineveh, was a son of Shem–a Semite, and so far as is known it was after the Semites achieved political supremacy in Akkad that the Assyrian colonies were formed. Asshur may have been a subject ruler who was deified and became the god of the city of Asshur, which probably gave its name to Assyria.
According to Herodotus, Nineveh was founded by King Ninus and Queen Semiramis. This lady was reputed to be daughter of Derceto, the fish goddess, whom Pliny identified with Atargatis. Semiramis was actually an Assyrian
queen of revered memory. She was deified and took the place of a goddess, apparently Nina, the prototype of Derceto.
This Nina, perhaps a form of Damkina, wife of Ea, was the great mother of the Sumerian city of Nina, and there, and also at Lagash, received offerings of fish. She was one of the many goddesses of maternity absorbed by Ishtar. The
Greek Ninus is regarded as a male form of her name; like Atargatis, she may have become a bisexual deity, if she was not always accompanied by a shadowy male form. Nineveh (Ninua) was probably founded or conquered by colonists
from Nina or Lagash, and called after the fish goddess.
All the deities of Assyria were imported from old Babylonia except, as some hold, Ashur, the national god. The theory that Ashur was identical with the Aryo-Indian Asura and the Persian Ahura is not generally accepted. One theory is that he was an eponymous hero who became the city god of Asshur, although the early form of his name, Ashir, presents a difficulty in this connection. Asshur was the first capital of Assyria. Its city god may have become the national god on that account.
At an early period, perhaps a thousand years before Thothmes III battled with the Mitannians in northern Syria, an early wave of one of the peoples of Aryan speech may have occupied the Assyrian cities. Mr. Johns points out in this connection that the names of Ushpia, Kikia, and Adasi, who, according to Assyrian records, were early rulers in Asshur, “are neither Semitic nor Sumerian”. An ancient name of the goddess of Nineveh was Shaushka, which compares with Shaushkash, the consort of Teshup, the Hittite-Mitanni hammer god. As many of the Mitannian names “are”, according to Mr. Johns, “really Elamitic”, he suggests an ethnic connection between the early conquerors of Assyria and the people of Elam. Were the pre-Semitic Elamites originally speakers of an agglutinative language, like the Sumerians and present-day Basques, who were conquered in prehistoric times by a people of Aryan speech?
The possibility is urged by Mr. Johns’s suggestion that Assyria may have been dominated in pre-Semitic times by the congeners of the Aryan military aristocracy of Mitanni. As has been shown, it was Semitized by the Amoritic migration which, about 2000 B.C., brought into prominence the Hammurabi Dynasty of Babylon.
If the view is accepted that Ashur is Anshar, it can be urged that he was imported from Sumeria. “Out of that land (Shinar)”, according to the Biblical reference, “went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh.” Asshur, or Ashur (identical, Delitzsch and Jastrow believe, with Ashir), may have been an eponymous hero–a deified king like Etana, or Gilgamesh, who was regarded as an incarnation of an ancient god. As Anshar was an astral or early form of Anu, the Sumerian city of origin may have been Erech, where the worship of the mother goddess was also given prominence.
At Erech, the temple of the goddess Ishtar was E-anna, which connects her, as Nina or Ninni, with Anu, derived from “ana”, “heaven”. Ishtar was “Queen of heaven”.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16653/16653-h/16653-h.htm#fnrex1114
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