Chapter 1 Daniel Is Established At The Court of Babylon.
‘In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to Jerusalem and besieged it.'
Here the dating is based on the Babylonian system of dating by which the opening part-year after a king's accession was thought of as ‘the year of accession' (compare 2 Kings 25:27), and the first full year of the reign (and therefore the second year of his reign in Israelite eyes) was called the first year. To someone established at the court of Babylon this would be natural after a comparatively short time. Thus elsewhere in Scripture reference is made to this same year as the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, using the Israelite system of reckoning Jeremiah 25:1; Jeremiah 25:8-14; Jeremiah 46:2). The date was 605 BC.
‘Came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to Jerusalem and besieged it.' Strictly Nebuchadnezzar was not king at the time of his besieging of Jerusalem. He became king later in the year when his father Nabopolassar died. But the description is read back so as to identify clearly who was being spoken about. Note also that it is said that ‘he besieged it' not that he took it. A long siege would have been necessary to take this strong city and Nebuchadnezzar was interrupted by news of his father's death, which necessitated his return to Babylon to establish his position. The city was never taken at the time, although terms were agreed.
Ezekiel calls him Nebuchadrezzar, which is in fact closer to the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur, while Nebuchadnezzar is closer to the Greek form Nabochodonosor and is a variant form. His early career is described in the Babylonian records known as ‘the Babylonian Chronicle' which give us valuable information for dating various events.