שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּר
𐤔𐤔𐤁𐤑𐤓
Sheshebatsar
H8340 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Sheshbazzar, a personal name used in the late exilic and early postexilic periods, most notably designating a leading figure among the exiled Israelites entrusted with the initial return to Jerusalem and with oversight of the rebuilding of the temple. Within its biblical contexts, the term functions solely as a proper noun, applied to a high-ranking appointee, likely of Israelite descent, acting under Persian imperial authority.
Semantic Range
a personal name, leader of returnees from exile, Persian-appointed official, 'prince of Judah'
Root / Etymology
Etymology uncertain. The name appears to be of foreign (non-Semitic) origin, possibly derived from Akkadian or Persian sources, but its precise etymology and meaning remain unclear. The Hebrew spelling שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּר is a direct transliteration of a foreign name, not morphologically related to any identifiable Hebrew root. Some proposals connect the name to Akkadian or Elamite elements, but without consensus.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Sheshbazzar is mentioned in Ezra 1:8, 1:11, 5:14, and 5:16, identified as 'the prince (נָשִׂיא) of Judah' appointed by Cyrus of Persia to lead the first cohort of returnees and oversee the restoration of temple vessels to Jerusalem. The identity of Sheshbazzar in relation to Zerubbabel has been much debated: some traditions equate the two, while others maintain they were distinct individuals. No native Israelite meaning is attributed to the name; it is treated as a foreign, Persian-era official’s name. English translations, as well as rabbinic and patristic traditions, offer no additional lexical nuance, uniformly rendering it as an opaque proper noun. Its function as a 'Persian name' for an Israelite official underscores the integration of exilic Judean leadership into the new imperial structures of the Achaemenid period. The word occurs only in postexilic texts and is absent from pre-exilic sources.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
(Aramaic) corresponding to שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּר; {Sheshbatstsar, Zerubbabel's Persian name}; Sheshbazzar.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
uncertain (Baleadan) — uncertain
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1002 | בִּירָה | the citadel |
| H105 | אֲגַרְטָל | bowls of |
| H1081 | בַּלְאֲדָן | Baladan |
| H1085 | בִּלְדַּד | Bildad |
| H1095 | בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר | Belteshatsar |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8340-01 |
לְ/שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּ֣ר | lesheshebatsar | AR/Np |
to Sheshbazzar | to Sheshbazzar | to Sheshebatsar | 1 |
H8340-02 |
שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּ֣ר | sheshebatsar | ANp |
Sheshbazzar | Sheshbazzar | Sheshebatsar | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 occurrences