Rab-Saris

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

RAB-SARIS . 1 . The title of an Assyr. [Note: Assyrian.] official who was sent by Sennacherib to Hezekiah to demand the surrender of Jerusalem ( 2 Kings 18:17 ). 2 . The title borne by two Bab. [Note: Babylonian.] officials, one of whom is recorded to have been present at the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, while the other is mentioned among the officials who ordered the release of Jeremiah after the capture of the city ( Jeremiah 39:3; Jeremiah 39:13 ). Rabsaris is the transcription, both in Heb. and Aram. [Note: Aramaic.] , of the Assyr. [Note: Assyrian.] and Bab. [Note: Babylonian.] title rabû (or rubû ) -sha-rçshu , borne by a high court-official, who may perhaps have been the ‘chief eunuch,’ though his office cannot be determined with absolute certainty.

L. W. King.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

An officer sent with Rabshakeh and Tartan, to summon Hezekiah, 2 Kings 18:17 Jeremiah 39:3 . It signifies "the chief of the eunuchs." Such officers, high in honor and in trust, are found on the mural tablets of Nineveh so wonderfully preserved to this day; and in the Ottoman Porte of our own times the Kislar Aga, or chief of the black eunuchs, is one of the highest dignitaries. See SHALMANEZER.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. רִבאּסָריס, Rab-Saris), a name applied to two foreigners, but probably rather the designation of an office than of an individual, the word signifying chief eunzuch; in Daniel 1:3, Ashpenaz is entitled the master of the eunuchs (Rab-sarisim). Luther translates the word, in the three places where it occurs, as a name of office, the arch-chamberlain (der Erzkammerer, der oberste Kammerer). Josephus (Ant. 10:8, 2) takes them as the A. V. does, as proper names. The chief officers of the court were present attending on the king; and the instance of the eunuch Narses would show that it was not impossible for the Rab-saris to possess some of the qualities fitting him for a military command. In 2 Kings 25:19, a eunuch (סִריס, Saris, in the text of the A. V. "officer," in the margin "eunuch") is spoken of as set over the men of war; and in the sculptures at Nineveh "eunuchs are represented as comnmanding in war; fighting both on chariots and on horseback, and receiving the prisoners and the heads of the slain after battle "(Layardc Nineveh, ii, 325). But whether his office was really that which the title imports, or some other great court office, has been questioned. The chief of the eunuchs is an officer of high rank and dignity in the Oriental courts; and his cares are not confined to the harem, but many high public functions devolve upon him. In the Ottoman Porte the Kislar Aga, or chief of the black eunuuchs, is one of the principal personages in the empire, and in an official paper of great solemnity is styled by the sultan the most illustrious of the officers who approach his august person, and worthy of the confidence of monarchs and of sovereigns (D'Ohsson, Tab. Gen. iii, 308). It is, therefore, by no means improbable that such an office should be associated with a military commission; perhaps not for directly military duties, but to take chlarge of the treasure, and to select from the female captives such as might seem worthy of the royal harem. (See Eunuch).

1. (Sept. ῾Ραβσαρείς v. r. ῾Ραφίς ) An officer of the king of Assyria sent up with Tartan and Rab-shakeh against Jerusalem in the time of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:17). B.C. 713.

2. (Sept. Ναβουσαρείς v. r. Ναβουζαρίς .) One of the princes of Nebuchadnezzar, who was present at the capture of Jerusalem, B.C. 588, when Zedekiah, after endeavoring to escape, was taken and blinded and sent in chains to Babylon (Jeremiah 39:3). Rab-saris is mentioned afterwards (Jeremiah 39:13) among the other princes who at the command of the king were sent to deliver Jeremiah out of the prison. It is not improbable that we have not only the title of this Rab-saris given, but his name also, either Sarsechim (Jeremiah 39:3) or (Jeremiah 39:13) Nebushasban (worshipper of Nebo, Isaiah 46:1), in the same way as Nergal-sharezer is given in the same passages as the name of the Rab-mag.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

rab´sa - ris ( רב־סריס , rabh - ṣārı̄ṣ ): As with Rab-mag, which is not regarded as a name, but a title, so this is to be regarded as a descriptive title for the person whose name precedes it (see Rab-Mag ). The first part, rabh , signifies "great" or "chief," the second, ṣārı̄ṣ , is the title for eunuch or chamberlain. The translation then would be chief eunuch or the chief of the eunuchs (or chamberlains).

The oriental custom was for the king to surround himself with a number of eunuchs, who performed varied kinds of services, both menial and dignified. They usually had charge of his harem; sometimes they occupied court positions. Frequently they superintended the education of the youth. The term itself was sometimes used to designate persons in places of trust who were not emasculated. The above title describes the highest or chief in rank of these eunuchs. See Eunuch .

The full title is used 3 times, once in connection with the titles of other important officers who were sent by the king of Assyria with a large army to demand the surrender of Jerusalem. The passage would be translated properly, ‛A nd the king of Assyria sent the Tartan and the Rab-saris (the chief eunuch) and the Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah' ( 2 Kings 18:17 ). Again, it refers to a Babylonian whose real name was Sarsechim, who with the other Babylonian princes sat in the middle gate during the capture of Jerusalem. This event is described as having occurred in the 11th year of Zedekiah, king of Judah (Jeremiah 39:3 ). The third use is in connection with the name Nebushazban, who, with the other chief officers of the king of Babylon, sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard and committed him to Gedaliah, who was to take him home to dwell with his own people (Jeremiah 39:13 ).

Thus, it is seen that based upon this accepted theory the three titles would be in their connections as follows: (1) simply "the chief eunuch," (2) Sarsechim, the Rab-saris (or chief eunuch), and (3) Nebushazban, the Rab-saris (or chief eunuch). See also Assyria , X.