Merodach

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

MERODACH. The name of the city-god of Babylon, worshipped, after the establishment of Babylon as capital of the Babylonian Empire, as chief god of Babylonia. The Babylonian name was Marduk , older form Maruduk . He gradually absorbed the attributes of other gods once supreme through the influence of their city seats of worship, particularly Ellil the old Bçl , or lord supreme of Nippur. Hence he was in later times the Bçl of Babylonia. Merodach is a Hebraized form occurring only in   Jeremiah 50:2 , but the Bçl of the Apocryphal Bçl and the Dragon (  Isaiah 46:1 ,   Jeremiah 51:44 ) is the same deity. Nebuchadnezzar was specially devoted to his worship, but the Assyrians reverenced him no less; and even Cyrus, on his conquest of Babylon, treated him with the deepest respect. The name occurs in many Babylonian proper names, and appears in the Bible in Merodach-baladan and Evil-merodach , and probably in Mordecai .

C. H. W. Johns.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

 Jeremiah 50:2. ("death" (Gesenius) or "little lord".) Epithet of Bel the Babylonian Jupiter, termed "the senior of the gods," "the judge," and by Nebuchadnezzar in inscriptions "the great lord, the most ancient," and by Neriglissar "the firstborn of gods, the layer up of treasures." Merodach became a distinct phase of Bel. It forms part of some kings' names, as Merodach Baladan, Evil Merodach; it is so used as early as 1650 B.C. Zurbanit (from Banit , "productive mother") was Merodach's wife. Another Bel was named Niprut, ("hunter"), or Nimrod; worshipped at Nipur (Calneh; Rawlinson's Ancient Monarchies).

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Jeremiah 50:2 2 Kings 20:12 Isaiah 39:1 2 Kings 25:27 Jeremiah 52:31 Esther 2:5Pagan Gods

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

An idol of the Babylonians, representing probably the planet Mars,  Jeremiah 50:2 . The names of Babylonish kings were also sometimes compounded with this name, as Evil-Merodach and Merodach-Baladan,  Isaiah 39:1 , who is also called Berodach-Baladan in  2 Kings 20:12 .

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Merodach ( Me-Rô'Dak, or Mĕr'O-Dak ), Death,  Jeremiah 50:2, identical with the Babylonian Bel or Belus the term being probably at first a mere epithet of the god.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Mero'dach. (Death).  Jeremiah 50:2. Identical with the famous Babylonian, Bel or Belus, the word being, probably, at first, a mere epithet of the god, which, by degrees, superseded his proper appellation.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

An idol of Babylon.  Jeremiah 50:2 . It is MARDUK on the monuments.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Jeremiah 50:2

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Hebrews Merodak', מְרֹדִךְ , apparently a syncopated form of מְראֹדִךְ ; Sept. Μαιρωδάχ v. r. Μεωδάχ and Μαιωδάχ ; Vulg. Merodach ) occurs in  Jeremiah 50:2, in such connection with idols as to leave no doubt that it is the name of a Babylonian god. In conformity with the general character of Babylonian idolatry, Merodach is supposed to be the name of a planet; and, as one of the Tsabian and Arabic names for Mars is Mirrich, "arrow" (the latter of which Gesenius thinks may be for Mirdich, which is very nearly. the same as Merodach), there is some presumption that it may be Mars, but in other respects he more closely resembles Jupiter. As for etymologies of the word, Hitzig has suggested (Comment. on  Isaiah 39:1) that it is the Persian mardak, the diminutive of mard, "man," used as a term of endearment; but more probably it is from the Persian and Indo- Germanic mord, or mort (which' means death, and is so far in harmony with the conception of Mars, as the lesser star of evil omen), and the affix och, which is found in many Assyrian names, as Nisroch, etc. (Gesenius, Thes. Hebrews p. 818). The bloody rites with which Mars was worshipped by the ancient Arabs are described in Norberg's Onomast. Codicis Nasar. p. 107. Of the worship of this idol by, the Assyrians and Babylonians, besides the passages in  Isaiah 39:1; Jeremiah 1, 2, we have testimony in the proper names of the kings of Assyria and Babylonia, which are often compounded with this name, as Evil-Merodach, and Merodach-Baladan, who is also called BerodachBaladan (see Gesenius, Comment. Zu Jesa . 1:281). In the above passage of Jeremiah, "Bel and Merodach are coupled together, and threatened with destruction in the fall of Babylon. It has commonly been concluded from this passage that Bel and Merodach were separate gods; but from the Assyrian and Babylonian inscriptions it appears that this was not exactly the case. Merodach was really identical with the famous Babylonian Bel or Belus, the word being probably at first a mere epithet of the god, which by degrees superseded ‘ his proper appellation. Still a certain distinction appears to have been maintained between the names. The golden image in the great temple at Babylon seems to have been worshipped distinctly as Bel rather than Merodach, while other idols of the god may have represented him as Merodach rather than Bel. It is not known what the word Merodach means, or what the special aspect of the god was, when worshipped under that title. In a general way Bel- Merodach may be said to correspond to the Greek Jupiter. He is the old man of the gods; ‘ the judge,' and as the gates of heaven under his especial charge. Nebuchadnezzar calls him ‘ the great lord, the senior of the gods, the most ancient, and Neriglissar ‘ the first-born of the gods, the ‘ layer-up of treasures.' In the earlier period of Babylonian history ‘ he seems to share with several other deities (as Nebo, Nergal, Bel-Nimrod, Anu, etc.) the worship of the people, but in the later times he is regarded as the source of all power and blessings, and thus concentrates in his own person the greater part of that homage and respect which had previously been divided anong the various gods of the Pantheon." See Rawlinson, Herodotus, 1:267 sq.; Ancient Monarchies, 1:169.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Mero´dach occurs in , in such connection with idols as to leave no doubt that it is the name of a Babylonian god. In conformity with the general character of Babylonian idolatry, Merodach is supposed to be the name of a planet; and, as the Tsabian and Arabic names for Mars are Nerig and Mirrich, 'arrow,' there is some presumption that it may be Mars. As for etymologies of the word, Gesenius has suggested that it is the Persian mardak, the diminutive of mard, 'man,' used as a term of endearment; or, rather, that it is from the Persian and Indo-Germanic mord, or mort (which means death, and is so far in harmony with the conception of Mars, as the lesser star of evil omen), and the affix och, which is found in many Assyrian names, as Nisroch, etc.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

mḗ - rō´dak , mer´ṓ - dak ( מרדך , merōdhākh ): The supreme deity of the Babylonians (  Jeremiah 50:2 ); the Nimrod of  Genesis 10:8-12; and among the constellations, Orion. See Astronomy , II., 11.; Babylonia And Assyria , Religion Of; Nimrod .