Carchemish in Near Eastern historiography and in the Old Testament

Abstract

The goal of this article is to show how the three Old Testament texts mentioning Carchemish (Isa 10:9; Jer 46:2; 2 Chr 35:20) treat and reflect the historical event of the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C.E. which totally changed the political landscape in the Ancient Near East. The article begins with a short introduction to the history of Carchemish in the last three millennia B.C.E. followed by a discussion of the three references to Carchemish in the Old Testament. The article concludes with some methodical reflections on Carchemish's textual attestation and how the Old Testament authors used, preserved and transformed historical facts and dates.