نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی

نویسنده

دانشیار گروه باستان‌شناسی و گردشگری، دانشکدۀ علوم اجتماعی، دانشگاه مؤته، الکرک، اردن.

10.22059/jarcs.2025.394675.143348

چکیده

شخصیت نبوکدنصر دوم همچنان پژوهشگران را مجذوب خود می‌کند، درست به دلیل تضاد چشمگیری که در چگونگی یادکرد او در منابع مختلف وجود دارد. در حالی که اسناد بابلی او را پادشاهی دیندار و سازنده‌ای برجسته معرفی می‌کنند، متون کتاب مقدس، گاه او را به عنوان ابزار داوری خداوند و گاه به عنوان نماد غرور استبدادی به تصویر می‌کشند. هدف این پژوهش، گشودن گره این روایت‌های متعارض است؛ با بررسی این‌که چگونه آسیب روانی ناشی از تبعید، حافظه جمعی یهودیان را شکل داده و چگونه دغدغه‌های الهیاتی بر روایت‌های تاریخی اثر گذاشته است. این مطالعه، به جای صرفاً فهرست کردن دیدگاه‌های متفاوت، استدلال می‌کند که درک نبوکدنصر مستلزم آن است که تبعید بابلی به عنوان نقطه عطفی شناخته شود که به شکلی بنیادین هویت یهودی را دگرگون ساخت. ویرانی معبد اول صرفاً یک فاجعه سیاسی نبود، بلکه ملتی را واداشت تا رابطه خود با امر الهی را از نو بازاندیشی کنند. چهره نبوکدنصر، چه در قالب یک عامل الهی و چه به شکل یک ستمگر مغرور، پاسخی بود به نیازهای جوامع مختلف برای معنا بخشیدن به این دگرگونی بزرگ. از طریق تحلیل دقیق اسناد اداری بابلی، متون کتاب مقدس و منابع متأخر اسلامی، این پژوهش نشان می‌دهد که چگونه حافظه تاریخی در فرهنگ‌های گوناگون ساخته و بازساخته می‌شود. «تبدیل دینی» نبوکدنصر که در کتاب دانیال روایت شده است، به باور نویسنده، بیش از آنکه بازتاب‌دهنده یک تحول معنوی واقعی در پادشاه بابل باشد، بازتابی از کشمکش‌های الهیاتی یهودیان تبعیدی است.

کلیدواژه‌ها

موضوعات

عنوان مقاله [English]

Nebuchadnezzar II and the Jews: A Critical Reassessment of Archaeological, Historical, and Religious Narratives

نویسنده [English]

  • Musallam Al-Rawahneh

Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology and Tourism, College of Social Sciences, Mutah University, Karak, Jordan.

چکیده [English]

The figure of Nebuchadnezzar II continues to fascinate scholars precisely because of the striking contradictions in how different sources remember him. While Babylonian records celebrate a pious king and master builder, biblical texts cast him alternately as God’s instrument of judgment and a symbol of tyrannical pride. This study aims to unravel these competing narratives, examining how the trauma of exile has shaped Jewish memory and how theological concerns have influenced historical accounts. Rather than simply cataloging different perspectives, I argue that understanding Nebuchadnezzar requires recognizing how the Babylonian exile became a defining moment that fundamentally transformed Jewish identity. The destruction of the First Temple was not merely a political catastrophe—it forced an entire people to reimagine their relationship with the divine. The figure of Nebuchadnezzar, whether depicted as a divine agent or an arrogant tyrant, served the needs of different communities to make sense of this upheaval. Through careful analysis of Babylonian administrative records, biblical literature, and the later Islamic sources, this research reveals how historical memory gets constructed and reconstructed across cultures. The supposed “religious conversion” of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel, I contend, tells us more about the theological struggles of the exiled Jews than about any genuine spiritual transformation of the Babylonian king.

کلیدواژه‌ها [English]

  • Nebuchadnezzar II
  • Babylonian Exile
  • Jewish Identity
  • Historical Memory
  • Religious Transformation
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