the Week of Proper 26 / Ordinary 31
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Bible Encyclopedias
Merodach-Baladan
The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia
or King of Babylon (712 B.C.), who sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, King of Judah, when the latter had recovered from his sickness. Hezekiah, delighted with the courtesy, shows the messengers all his treasures, withholding nothing from them. Whereupon the prophet Isaiah, hearing of the visit, comes to Hezekiah and reproves him for the display he has made of his riches. He foretells the destruction of Hezekiah's kingdom, and the Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 39). In the parallel account in 2 Kings 20:12-19 the name of this king is given as Berodachbaladan.
According to the Talmud, Baladan's face was changed to that of a dog, he being thereby compelled to abdicate the throne in favor of his son Merodach. Out of reverence, Merodach in all his edicts and ordinances added his name to that of his father in order to indicate that he really was only the representative of the latter (Sanh. 96b).
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Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Merodach-Baladan'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tje/m/merodach-baladan.html. 1901.
