Bible Dictionaries
Sheshbazzar

Holman Bible Dictionary

(sshehssh' baz zuhr) Babylonian name probably meaning, “may Shamash (sun god) protect the father.” Jewish leader who accompanied the first group of Exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem in 538 BC (Ezra 1:8 ). King Cyrus of Persia apparently appointed Sheshbazzar governor of restored Judah and supplied his company of people with provisions and many of the treasures which the Babylonians had taken from Jerusalem. He attempted to rebuild the Temple (Ezra 5:16 ), but got no farther than the foundation when he was replaced by Zerubbabel. His genealogy is not clear, but some believe the Shenazar of 1 Chronicles 3:17 may be Sheshbazzar. If so, he was a son of Jehoiachin and uncle of Zerubbabel.