בֵּלְשַׁאצַּר
𐤁𐤋𐤔𐤀𐤑𐤓
Beleshatsar
H1112 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A Babylonian royal name, referring specifically to Belshazzar, the son of Nabonidus and crown prince of Babylon in the 6th century BCE. The name means 'Bel, protect the king' or 'Bel, protect the life of the king', combining the name of the Babylonian god Bel (Marduk) with an Akkadian element denoting protection or preservation of life. In the Hebrew Bible, it is used for the Babylonian prince encountered by the exile Daniel.
Semantic Range
Babylonian royal name, personal name for crown prince or king, name synonymous with foreign rule and empire, non-Hebrew title reflecting Mesopotamian influence
Root / Etymology
The name is a Hebrew representation of the Akkadian Bel-šar-uṣur or Balāṭ-šarri-uṣur, meaning 'Bel, protect the king' or 'Bel, protect the life of the king'. 'Bel' refers to the Babylonian deity Marduk; 'šaṭṣar' (from Akkadian 'šar', king, and 'uṣur', protect) means 'protect the king'. Root consonants are ב-ל-ש-צ-ר, but the immediate origin is not from a Hebrew root.
Historical & Contextual Notes
בֵּלְשַׁאצַּר appears exclusively in the book of Daniel (chiefly Daniel 5) as the name of the last Babylonian crown prince, who is depicted as king during the fall of Babylon. Historically, Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus (the last actual Babylonian ruler), but he did not hold the royal title formally; the biblical narrative reflects a later understanding or tradition by referring to him as 'king'. The name is not native to Hebrew but is a Babylonian royal title preserved in the exilic and later post-exilic Hebrew literature reflecting Mesopotamian influence. English translations often use the Hellenized rendering 'Belshazzar', but this does not reflect the original meaning or context. The biblical term should not be confused with the related name 'Belteshazzar' (בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר), Daniel’s Babylonian designation, which, although similar in sound, is distinct in Akkadian origin and meaning. The use of this name in Daniel reflects the exilic context, where Israelite/Judahite exiles interacted with Babylonian officials and royalty.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
or בֵּלְאשַׁצַּרlemma בֵּלְאשַׁצּר missing vowel, corrected to בֵּלְאשַׁצַּר; of foreign origin (compare בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר); Belshatstsar, a Babylonian king; Belshazzar.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
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בלשצר (b-l-š-ṣ-r) — Bel (deity), protect, guard, preserve; king
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1113 | בֵּלְשַׁאצַּר | to Bel-protect-the-king |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1112-01 |
בֵּלְאשַׁצַּ֣ר | beleshatsar | HNp |
Belshazzar | Bel-protect-the-king | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1112-01 |
Daniel 8:1 | בֵּלְאשַׁצַּ֣ר | beleshatsar | HNp |
Belshazzar | Bel-protect-the-king |