November 24, 2022
Marduk-apla-iddina II, a minor Babylonian king, appears briefly in the Bible. He was a sufficiently strong enough leader to rule the independent city-state of Babylon in opposition to Assyria, the superpower of the day.
He seized control of Babylon in 722 or 721 BC when Sargon II, the third of three Assyrian kings who wiped out the Kingdom of Israel (northern tribes), had just ascended the throne. Many historians suspect that Sargon had himself seized the throne, so it was, perhaps, this temporary power vacuum that gave Marduk-apla-iddina the opportunity to take over Babylon.
He remained a thorn in the side of Assyria until 710 BC, when Sargon finally forced him to flee. He waited for the next Assyrian king, Sennacherib, to take the throne in 705 BC, before retaking Babylon in 703 BC.
Unfortunately for him, his rule would last only nine months before Sennacherib forced him out in 702 BC. He lived in exile in the neighboring country of Elam for a few more years before dying around 694 BC.
Marduk-apla-iddina’s Biblical name varies among translations as Berodach-baladan (NASB, KJV), Marduk-Baladan (NIV) and Merodach-baladan (ESV). Not much is known about him, probably due to his rogue and rebellious behavior, which would not lend itself to being favorably preserved in the historical records.
Like numerous kings in ancient times, “Marduk-apla-iddina” includes the name of a major deity, in this case, Marduk. Marduk was an ancient Mesopotamian deity and patron deity of the city of Babylon. As Babylon rose in influence and power, so did Marduk. By the time of Marduk-apla-iddina, Marduk was the head of the Babylonian pantheon.
Marduk-apla-iddina means “Marduk has given an heir”.
It was during Marduk-apla-iddina’s second shorter reign that he diplomatically crossed paths with King Hezekiah of the Kingdom of Judah (southern tribes).
The Bible includes a brief passage (2 Kings 20, Isaiah 39) that details a visit by Marduk-apla-iddina’s envoys to Hezekiah after Hezekiah’s miraculous recovery from a terminal illness. Hezekiah shows the envoys everything in the palace, including the treasures, which earns him a rebuke from the prophet Isaiah for such an ostentatious display of wealth.
This visit resulted in two tragic consequences:
Marduk-apla-iddina likely sought and received Hezekiah’s support in opposition to Assyria, which would then bring the Assyrian war machine to conquer 46 of the fortified cities of the Kingdom of Judah except for Jerusalem
Word of Hezekiah’s wealth became known to the Assyrians, who would subsequently demand and receive a large payment for not attacking Jerusalem
King Hezekiah is described in the Bible as one of the most righteous kings but this did not prevent him from making foolish decisions.
This clay tablet, written in the Akkadian language using the cuneiform script, lists a number of plants in Marduk-apla-iddina’s garden.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1881-0706-688
These plants include: onions, garlic, leeks, lettuce, cucumbers and turnips, as well as herbs such as mint, cress, thyme and coriander. Also, a strangely-named “bird dung” plant.
A complete list can be found here:
The museum notes in the artifact display’s description that the “slave-girl buttock plant” remains unidentified.
Note: In the Bible, the account of Marduk-apla-iddina’s visit follows Sennacherib’s attack but it makes better sense if the visit preceded it. This better explains the reason for the attack and that Hezekiah would have a lot of treasures to give to Sennacherib. It is not known with certainty why the account follows the attack in the narration.