Chronicles II 36:20

20 And he carried away the remnant to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the kingdom of the Medes.

Chronicles II 36:20 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 36:20

And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away
captive
The king of Babylon, or his general by his orders, excepting some poor persons left to till the land, see ( Jeremiah 52:15 Jeremiah 52:16 ) ,

where they were servants to him and his sons;
his son Evilmerodach, and his grandson Belshazzar, (See Gill on Jeremiah 27:7):

until the reign of the kingdom of Persia;
until that monarchy began, as it did upon the taking of Babylon by Cyrus king of Persia. This is the first place we meet with this name of Persia in Scripture. The Arabic writers differ about the origin of it; some derive it from Pars the son of Arsham (Arphaxad), the son of Shem; others from Pars the son of Amur, the son of Japheth; and others say Pars was the son of Elam, the son of Shem, the son of Noah F1; but Bochart F2, seems to be most correct in the derivation of the word, who observes, from Xenophon F3, horses were very rare in this country; and very few could ride them before the times of Cyrus, who taught his foot soldiers to ride horses; and hence it became common, so that none of the best men of the land cared to be seen on foot; yea, he made a law, that it should be reckoned infamous if any of those he had taught the art of riding were seen to go on foot, though ever so little a way; from this sudden change made in his time the people were called Persians, and the country Persia; in the Arabic language, "pharas" signifying a horse, and "pharis" a horseman; and the same writer observes, that hence it is that no mention is made of this country, in the name of Persia, by Isaiah and Jeremiah; but by Ezekiel and Daniel, who were contemporary with Cyrus; and in this book and the following historical ones, which were wrote after the Babylonish captivity, as their history shows; and that this book was, is clear from the preceding clause, as well as from the three last verses.


FOOTNOTES:

F1 Hyde, Hist. Relig. Vet. Pers. c. 35. p. 418, 419.
F2 Phaleg. l. 4. c. 10. col. 224.
F3 Cyropaedia, l. 1. c. 11. & l. 4. c. 17, 18.

Chronicles II 36:20 In-Context

18 And all the vessels of the house of God, the great and the small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and all the treasures of the king and the great men; he brought all to Babylon.
19 And he burnt the house of the Lord, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt its palaces with fire, and every beautiful vessel.
20 And he carried away the remnant to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the kingdom of the Medes.
21 That the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias might be fulfilled, until the land should enjoy its sabbaths in resting sabbath keeping all the days of its desolation, till the accomplishment of seventy years.
22 In the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, after the fulfillment of the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of the Persians, and told him to make proclamation in writing throughout all his kingdom, saying,

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.