e of Nebuchadrezzar's
long sojourn at Riblah, which gave him sufficient time for
the engraving of the stelse on Lebanon: the bas-reliefs of
Wady. Brissa could have been cut before the taking of
Jerusalem, for no allusion to the war against the Jews is
found in them. The enemy mentioned in the opening lines is
perhaps Apries, whose fleet was scouring the Phoenician
coasts.

The other force bore down upon Zedekiah, and made war upon him
ruthlessly. It burnt the villages and unwalled towns, gave the rural
districts over as a prey to the Philistines and the Edomites, surrounded
the two fortresses of Lachish and Azekah, and only after completely
exhausting the provinces, appeared before the walls of the capital.
Jerusalem was closely beset when the news reached the Chaldaeans that
Apries was approaching Gaza; Zedekiah, in his distress, appealed to him
for help, and the promised succour at length came upon the scene. The
Chaldaeans at once raised the siege with the object of arresting the
advancing enemy, and the popular party, reckoning already on a Chaldean
defeat, gave way to insolent rejoicing over the prophets of evil.
Jeremiah, however, had no hope of final success. "Deceive not
yourselves, saying, The Chaldaeans shall surely depart from us; for
they shall not depart. For though ye had smitten the whole army of the
Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men
among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this
city with fire." What actually took place is not known; according to one
account, Apries accepted battle and was defeated; according to another,
he refused to be drawn into an engagement, and returned haughtily to
Egypt.*

* That, at least, is what Jeremiah seems to say (xxxvii. 7):
"Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you,
shall return to Egypt into their own land." There is no hint
here of defeat or even of a battle.

His fleet probably made some effective raiding on the Phoenician coast.
It is easy to believe that the sight of the Chaldoan camp inspired him
with prudence, and that he thought twice before compromising the effects
of his naval campaign and risking the loss of his fine army--the only
one which Egypt possessed--in a conflict in which his own safety was
not directly concerned. Nebuchadrezzar, on his side, was not anxious to
pursue so strongly equipped an adversary too hotly, and de