Commentary on the Apocalypse and commentary on the Book of Daniel
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) in 1910
Zones 1-3:
Nebuchadnezzar: Siege of Jerusalem (Daniel 1:1) -- Army of soldiers, some helmeted, in coats of mail, some mounted, armed with bows and arrows, shields, swords and spears, two bannered, attacking city of Jerusalem on facing page(fol. 150r).
Zone 4:
Zedekiah blinded (II Kings 25:7, Vulg. IV Kings 25:7) -- Nimbed man with rod putting out eyes of Zedekiah, hands and feet fettered; Nebuchadnezzar crowned, holding spear and roll, seated on cushioned bench before architectural frame flanked by two helmeted soldiers in coats of mail, armed with spears and shields; man armed with sword decapitating one of two sons of Zedekiah, decapitated corpse of other son below.
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. (Dan. 1:1)
This miniature actually illustrates an earlier siege in which Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and, on the plain of Jericho, the escaping King Sedecias of Judah. At the bottom left sits the enthroned Nebuchadnezzar, flanked by guards in thirteenth-century armor; he directs the blinding of Sedecias and the killing of his sons (4 Kings 25:1–7). On the opposite page, Jeremiah, seated outside the city, laments the fall of Jerusalem and defeat of the Israelites.