Bible Explorer · Event · 597 BC
Eighteen-year-old King Jehoiachin surrenders Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar along with the queen mother, royal officials, and ten thousand craftsmen and warriors; after thirty-seven years of imprisonment in Babylon, the new Babylonian monarch Evil-merodach shows him mercy in the year he ascends the throne, speaking kindly, releasing him from prison garments, and giving him a regular allowance and an honored seat at the royal table for the rest of his days.
Date: 597 BC · Note: Spans Jehoiachin’s initial deportation in 597 BC during the closing years of the kingdom of Judah down to his royal elevation in Babylon.
2 Kings 24:8-16, 2 Kings 25:27-30, Jeremiah 52:31-34