Comment:

In Jer. 51:27 it says that Ararat,Minni and Ashkenaz will attack Babylon. But the kingdom of Ararat(Urartu) was conquered by the Medes in 612-590. The Minni (Mannaeans) were conquered by the Medes in 612 and Ashkenaz is the ancestor of Germanic people they never attacked Bablyon. J

Response:

Do you have a question? What God is saying in this passage, through Jeremiah, is that the "barbarians" from the North will be involved in destroying the Babylonian Empire. In this case, it was the Persians and the Medes who led the armies (as prophesied by Jeremiah) As for Ashkenaz, this almost certainly is the Hebrew for the people known to the Assyrians as the Ishkuza and to the Greeks as the Scythians. They lived in the steppes immediately North of the Black Sea and were tributary soldiers for the Medes. The Minni and Ararat were tributary groups form the Caucusus area in Eastern Turkey, Western Iran and Armenia today. You are right that the Medians conquered the Minni, and Urartu which explains why Jeremiah lists them among the nations which were involved in the conquest of Babylon. We can assume that troops from all these tribes were in the Median army which attacked Babylon, overcoming the empire in 538 BC. I believe that you are not correct in claiming that the Scythians/Ashkenazi were the ancestors of the Germanic people. Anyway, you did not ask a question, so I will assume that you are asking me to explain the inclusion of these people among those God used to bring vengance on Babylon.

John Oakes