שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּר
𐤔𐤔𐤁𐤑𐤓
Sheshebatsar
H8339 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Sheshbazzar, a personal name referring to an official of Babylonian or Persian administration and associated with the early return from Babylonian exile; Sheshbazzar is named as an Israelite leader appointed governor over Yehud by Cyrus and credited with the bringing of temple vessels to Jerusalem and initiating temple reconstruction. The meaning of the name itself is not recoverable from Hebrew; it is treated as a foreign (likely Akkadian or Persian) name.
Semantic Range
a proper name for an exilic Israelite leader, governor appointed by Persian authority, not a common noun; may refer to the same individual as Zerubbabel in some traditions but kept distinct in biblical text
Root / Etymology
The root is uncertain; the name is of foreign derivation, likely Akkadian or possibly Persian. Some have proposed an Akkadian origin such as šašu (joy, brightness, or possibly 'Sin [the moon god] protects the father'), or include references to the Babylonian deity Sin, but scholarly consensus is lacking. No connection to a Hebrew root is evident. "Sheshbazzar" is preserved in the biblical text as a phonetic rendering of a non-Hebrew name.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Sheshbazzar appears in Ezra 1:8, 1:11, 5:14, and 5:16 as an appointed official entrusted by Cyrus king of Persia with the implements from the Jerusalem temple and associated with the initial attempts at temple rebuilding in the mid-to-late 6th century BCE. He is identified as the 'prince of Judah,' which most likely denotes an Israelite from the exilic leadership class, but does not define him as a monarch. The name's foreign (Babylonian/Persian) origin highlights the multi-ethnic, imperial context of early Persian rule over Yehud. Sheshbazzar is sometimes identified with Zerubbabel, but the biblical texts treat them as distinct individuals; the name "Sheshbazzar" itself is not related etymologically to "Zerubbabel" (which is West Semitic). English translations transliterate the name directly as "Sheshbazzar." Later interpretive traditions sometimes merge the identity of Sheshbazzar with that of Zerubbabel, but the Hebrew Bible distinguishes them in the restoration narratives. The term does not refer to ethnic or religious identity but to a specific historical individual, and is not a term for later groups such as Judeans or practitioners of Judaism.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
of foreign derivation; Sheshbatstsar, Zerubbabel's Persian name; Sheshbazzar.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
uncertain (foreign name) (uncertain) — personal name of foreign origin, uncertain meaning
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8339-02 |
שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּ֗ר | sheshebatsar | HNp |
Sheshbazzar | Sheshbazzar | 1 |
H8339-01 |
לְ/שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּ֔ר | lesheshebatsar | HR/Np |
to Sheshbazzar | to Sheshbazzar | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences