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A story is told of King Zedkiah who found King Nebuchadnezzar eating a live rabbit. Nebuchadnezzar had King Zedkiah swear an oath, shavuah, that he would not tell anyone of this transgression. Later, when he was physically suffering, Zedkiah asked the judges of the Sanhedrin to dissolve his oath, and they did so, allowing Zedkiah to share what he saw. Nebuchadnezzar learned that people were treating him with less respect and he demanded to know why Zedkiah was permitted to dissolve his oath without the subject of the oath in his presence. Realizing their errors, the judges all moved from sitting on cushions to sitting on the floor, demonstrating acknowledgement of their halachic breach. We explore this relationship from historical and archaeological perspectives.