Jeremiah 43:8-13
8 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
9 Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;
10 And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.
11 And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.
12 And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.
13 He shall break also the imagesa of Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.
How can these verses talk about the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar when there is no evidence that it ever happened?
PROBLEM: According to this prophecy of Jeremiah, Nebuchadnezzar would attack and devastate Egypt. However, the Greek historians made no mention of this event, and there does not seem to be sufficient historical evidence to substantiate the claim that there ever was such an invasion. Is this an error in the biblical record of history?
SOLUTION: No, there is no historical error. Until recently, the only testimony from ancient historians was the record of Josephus, the Jewish historian. Modern scholars rejected Josephus’ testimony as a fabrication to support the Hebrew Scriptures. However, a small fragment of a Babylonian chronicle from about 567 B.C. confirms both the record of Josephus and the biblical record concerning Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Egypt. There is also confirmation from an inscription on the statue of Nes-hor, governor of southern Egypt under Hophra. Nebuchadnezzar did indeed invade and devastate Egypt as Jeremiah had prophesied.