Kepler:
but this cannot be regarded as sufficient proof that the Babylonians set foot in the Nile valley
Thanks for the reply. The above is why I was being tentative. I wasn't sure if there might be some mitigating info.
Searching for "Amasis" in the Insight Volumes resulted in these returns:
*** it-1 p. 1140 Hophra ***
After the Jews fled to Egypt in 607 B.C.E., Jehovah said by the mouth of Jeremiah: "Here I am giving Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those seeking for his soul." (Jer 44:1, 26, 30) This was to be a sign of imminent calamity to come over the Jews dwelling in Egypt. (Jer 44:29) According to Herodotus (II, 161-169), Hophra (Apries) undertook a disastrous expedition to Cyrene to help the Libyans against the Greeks in the sixth century B.C.E. Hophra's troops revolted against him and set up Ahmose II (Amasis) as rival king. Even then, Hophra was so arrogant that he "supposed that not even a god could depose him from his throne." However, he was taken prisoner and finally was killed by being strangled.
*** it-1 p. 698 Egypt, Egyptian ***
At Ezekiel 29:1-16 a desolation of Egypt is foretold, due to last 40 years. This may have come after Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Egypt. While some commentaries refer to the reign of Amasis (Ahmose) II, the successor of Hophra, as exceedingly prosperous during more than 40 years, they do so primarily on the testimony of Herodotus, who visited Egypt over a hundred years later. But as the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1959, Vol. 8, p. 62) comments on Herodotus' history of this period (the "Saitic Period"): "His statements prove not entirely reliable when they can be checked by the scanty native evidence." The Bible Commentary by F. C. Cook, after noting that Herodotus even fails to mention Nebuchadnezzar's attack on Egypt, says: "It is notorious that Herodotus, while he faithfully recorded all that he heard and saw in Egypt, was indebted for his information on past history to the Egyptian priests, whose tales he adopted with blind credulity. . . . The whole story [by Herodotus] of Apries [Hophra] and Amasis is mixed with so much that is inconsistent and legendary that we may very well hesitate to adopt it as authentic history. It is by no means strange that the priests should endeavour to disguise the national dishonour of having been subjected to a foreign yoke." (Note B., p. 132) Hence, while secular history provides no clear evidence of the prophecy's fulfillment, we may be confident of the accuracy of the Bible record.
One of the noteworthy things about these two quotes is the lack of any date other than 607. Also in the 2nd quote there seems to be an effort to discredit what Herodotus says about Egypt. Whether deserved or not, I don't know. I've come to distrust WT literature to the point where I never take their word alone for any conclusion. Interesting in the Insight quotes above is how in the 1st quote Herodotus is taken at his word, but in the 2nd, anything he says is written off as unreliable.
Thanks for your reply. I'm hoping that more info might show up to shed more light on this.
Take Care
Edited to add:
The paragraph just prior to the 2nd quote says:
*** it-1 p. 698 Egypt, Egyptian ***
One Babylonian text, dated to Nebuchadnezzar's 37th year (588 B.C.E.), has been found that mentions a campaign against Egypt. Whether it relates to the original conquest or merely to a subsequent military action cannot be said. At any rate, Nebuchadnezzar received Egypt's wealth as his pay for military service rendered in Jehovah's execution of judgment against Tyre, an opposer of God's people.-Eze 29:18-20; 30:10-12.
The "(588 B.C.E.)" is WT inserted calculation based on their 607 dating. Its all so curious - the emphatic-ness that it was fulfilled, but the sure-ness that the scant evidence that might exist is unreliable.