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Bible Dictionaries
Sheshbazzar
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or 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.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Sheshbazzar'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/s/sheshbazzar.html. 1909.
