Sheshbazzar

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

SHESHBAZZAR . This name is of Bab. [Note: Babylonian.] origin, and appears in LXX [Note: Septuagint.] in several forms, some of which point to the sun-god Samas , others ( e.g. Sanabassar ) to the moon-god Sin as the derivation, the meaning being ‘O sun-god [or moon-god], protect the lord [or the son].’ The person Sheshbazzar is described as ‘the prince of Judah,’ and is said to have received from Cyrus the sacred Temple vessels and to have taken them to Jerusalem (  Ezra 1:8;   Ezra 1:11 , cf.   Esther 2:12  Esther 2:12; 1E  Esther 2:16 ). The same fact is stated in   Ezra 5:14;   Ezra 5:16 , where Sheshbazzar is designated ‘the governor’ ( pechâh ), and is also said to have laid the foundations of the Temple (cf. 1Es 6:18; 1Es 6:20 ). It is probable that the Persian title ‘Tirshatha’ in   Ezra 2:63 ,   Nehemiah 7:65;   Nehemiah 7:70 refers to Sheshbazzar.

Some have identified Sheshbazzar with Zerubbabel on the ground that the laying of the foundation of the Temple is in   Ezra 3:8 ascribed to Zerubbabel and in   Ezra 5:16 to Sheshbazzar, while instances of men bearing two different names occur not infrequently ( e.g.   2 Kings 23:34;   2 Kings 24:17 ,   Daniel 1:7 ). But, when we compare   Ezra 3:8;   Ezra 5:16 , it does not seem necessary to assume that the two men are identical. Both may have returned from Babylon at the same time, and while Sheshbazzar was the ruling official, Zerubbabel may in all likelihood have been the moving spirit in building the Temple.   Ezra 3:8 gives the Chronicler’s own account of the work, while   Ezra 5:1-17 purports to be an official report, and would naturally mention the official head of the community as the person responsible for what occurred during his term of office. Then the possibility of the one person bearing two names, while not impossible, seems unlikely here, because (1) both names are of foreign origin, unlike the double names Daniel and Belteshazzar , where the one is Hebrew and the other foreign; and (2) as a rule the Chronicler is careful to note the identification e.g. ‘Daniel whose name was Belteshazzar.’

If, then, Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel were two different men, was Sheshbazzar a Jew or a foreigner? In all probability he was a Jew. It was quite in accordance with the policy of the Persians to appoint a Jew to act as governor in Jerusalem, while the name Sheshbazzar , being of Bab. [Note: Babylonian.] origin, would not likely be borne by a Persian. It has been conjectured that Sheshbazzar is identical with the Shenazzar of   1 Chronicles 3:18 , a son of Jehoiachin and uncle of Zerubbabel; and this would justify the title ‘prince of Judah’ given to him in   Ezra 1:8 . Then, further, it is not unlikely that the younger man, Zerubbabel, took the leading part in the work of restoration, and as a result his uncle’s memory would fall into the background. This theory is made more probable by the fact that Zerubbabel succeeded to the governorship as early as the reign of Darius Hystaspis, b.c. 520 (cf.   Haggai 1:1;   Haggai 1:14;   Haggai 2:2 ).

W. F. Boyd.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Zerubbabel's Persian or Babylonian name ( Ezra 1:8;  Ezra 1:11;  Ezra 5:14;  Ezra 5:16). (See Zerubbabel .) "Prince" ( Ha-Nasi , The Jewish Term For Head Of The Tribe) and "governor" ( Pechah , the Persian Cyrus appointing him) of Judah. "Sheshbazzar laid the foundation of the house of God in Jerusalem" as Zechariah ( Zechariah 4:9) foretold that Zerubbabel should do (Compare  Ezra 1:11 With  Ezra 2:1-2 ) .

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Sheshbazzar. (Worshipper Of Fire). The Chaldaic or Persian nam, e given to Zerubbabel in  Ezra 1:8;  Ezra 1:11;  Ezra 6:14;  Ezra 6:18. See Zerubbabel .

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

A prince of Judah. ( Ezra 1:8) The name seems to be compounded of Shush, joy—Beth, the preposition in-and Tzarar, tribulation; perhaps alluding to the faithful in Babylon still rejoicing in the Lord in the midst of tribulation.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Ezra 1:8,11 Ezra 2:2 Haggai 1:12,14 Zechariah 4:6,10

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Apparently the Chaldean or Persian name given to ZERUBBABEL,  Ezra 1:8,11;  Ezra 5:14,16 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Ezra 1:8 Ezra 5:16 1 Chronicles 3:17

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

See ZERUBBABEL.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

shesh - baz´ar ( שׁשׁבּצּר , sheshbaccar or שׁשׁבּצּר , shēshbaccar ): Sheshbazzar is the Hebrew or Aramaic form of the Babylonian Shamash - aba - uṣur , or Shamash - bana - uṣur  : "Oh Shamash, protect the father." It is possible that the full name was Shamash - ban - zeri - Babili - uṣur , "Oh Shamash, protect the father (builder) of the seed of Babylon." (See Zerubbabel, and Compare the Babylonian names Ashur - bana - uṣur , Ban - ziri , Nabu - ban - ziri , Shamash - ban - apli , Shamash - apil - uṣur , Shamash - ban - aḥi , and others in Tallquist's Neubabylonisches Namenbuch , and the Aramaic names on   Numbers 35,44 ,  36 , and 45 of Clay's Aramaic Dockets .) If this latter was the full name, there would be little doubt that Sheshbazzar may have been the same person as Zerubbabel, since the former is called in   Ezra 5:14 the governor of Judah, and the latter is called by the same title in   Haggai 1:1 ,  Haggai 1:14;  Haggai 2:2 ,  Haggai 2:21 . It is more probable, however, that Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel were different persons, and that Sheshbazzar was governor of Judah in the time of Cyrus and Zerubbabel in that of Darius. It is possible that Sheshbazzar came to Jerusalem in the time of Cyrus and laid the foundations, and that Zerubbabel came later in the time of Darius Hystaspis and completed the building of the temple (compare  Ezra 2:68;  Ezra 4:2;  Haggai 1:14 ).

According to  Ezra 1:8 Sheshbazzar was the prince (Hannasi) of Judah into whose hands Cyrus put the vessels of the house of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem and had put in the house of his gods. It is further said in   Ezra 1:11 that Sheshbazzar brought these vessels with them of the captivity which he brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem. In   Ezra 5:14 f it is said that these vessels had been delivered by Cyrus unto one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor ( peḥāh ), and that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God which was in Jerusalem. See Sanabassar .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Sheshbaz´zar [ZERUBBABEL]