[227] The manner in which the maintainers of the genuineness get over this difficulty is surely an instance of such special pleading as can convince no unbiassed inquirer. They conjecture (1) that Nebuchadrezzar had been associated with his father, and received the title of king before he really became king; (2) that by "_came to_ Jerusalem and besieged it" is meant "_set out towards_ Jerusalem, so that (ultimately) he besieged it"; (3) and that a vague and undated allusion in the Book of Chronicles, and a vague, unsupported, and evidently erroneous assertion in Berossus--quoted by Josephus, _Antt._, X. xi. 1; _c. Ap._, I. 19, who lived some two and a half centuries after these events, and who does not mention any siege of Jerusalem--can be so interpreted as to outweigh the fact that neither contemporary histories nor contemporary records know anything of this supposed deportation. Jeremiah (xxv. 1) says correctly that "the _fourth_ year of Jehoiakim" was "the first year of Nebuchadrezzar"; and had Jerusalem been already captured and plundered, it is impossible that he should not have alluded to the fact in that chapter. An older subterfuge for "explaining" the error is that of Saadia the Gaon, Abn Ezra, Rashi, etc., who interpret "the third year of Jehoiakim" to mean "_the third year after his rebellion_ from Nebuchadrezzar," which is not only impossible in itself, but also contradicts Dan. ii. 1. [228] Shinar is an archaism, supposed by Schrader to be a corruption of Sumir, or Northern Chaldea (_Keilinschr._, p. 34); but see Hommel, _Gesch. Bab. u. Assyr._, 220; F. Delitzsch, _Assyr. Gram._, 115. The more common name in the exilic period was Babel (Jer. li. 9, etc.) or Eretz Kasdim (Ezek. xii. 13). [229] On this god--Marduk or Maruduk (Jer. l. 2)--comp. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 7. See Schrader, _K. A. T._, pp. 273, 276; and Riehm, _Handwörterb._, ii. 982. [230] This seems to be a Persian word, _fratama_, "first." It is only found in Esther. Josephus says that the four boys were connected with Zedekiah (_Antt._, X. x. 1). Comp. Jer. xli. 1. [231] Dan. i. 3; LXX., Ἀβιεσδρί. The name is of quite uncertain derivation. Lenormant connects it with Abai-Istar, "astronomer of the goddess Istar" (_La Divination_, p. 182). Hitzig sees in this strange rendering Abiesdri the meaning "eunuch." A eunuch could have no son to help him, so that his father is his help (_'ezer_). Ephræm Syrus, in his Commentary, preserves both names (Schleusner, _Thesaurus_, _s.v._ Ἀβιέσερ). We find the name Ash_k_enaz in Gen. x. 3. Theodot. has Ἀσφανέζ. Among other guesses Lenormant makes Ashpenaz = Assa-ibni-zir. Dr. Joel (_Notizen zum Buche Daniel_, p. 17) says that since the Vulgate reads Ab_r_iesri, "ob nicht der Wort von rechts zu links gelesen müsste?" [232] Called in i. 7-11 the Sar-hassarîsîm (comp. Jer. xxxix. 3; Gen. xxxvii. 36, _marg._; 2 Kings xviii. 17; Esther ii. 3). This officer now bears the title of _Gyzlar Agha_. [233] Isa. xxxix. 6, 7.