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Secondary sourceBook1664

The Life and Death of Nebuchadnezzar the Great

Samuel Clarke · 1664

A 1664 English book telling the life, pride, and downfall of Nebuchadnezzar as a moral and religious example.

A 17th-century moral biography devoted entirely to Nebuchadnezzar's rise, pride, and fall.

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The Life and Death of Nebuchadnezzar the Great
Samuel Clarke, The Life and Death of Nebuchadnezzar the Great, London, 1664.

About this source

What it is

Written by Samuel Clarke and printed in London in 1664, this book gives a full account of Nebuchadnezzar's life and death, framed as part of a larger history of ancient empires described in the Bible.

It was printed for William Miller in St Paul's Churchyard and survives today as a scanned early printed book.

Why it matters

Written many centuries after Nebuchadnezzar's reign, this book shows how people in 17th-century England understood and moralized about ancient history, often through a biblical lens. It reveals more about the beliefs of its author's time than about the king himself.

Look closer

  • What does the title page's focus on pride and downfall suggest about the author's purpose?
  • How might a book written nearly two thousand years after Nebuchadnezzar's death differ from an inscription he commissioned himself?
  • Why might a 17th-century writer connect ancient Babylon to biblical prophecy?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Nebuchadnezzar II on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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