Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Lee R. Martin" <lmartin AT vol.com>]

Article from HAL (cut and pasted)


, n.m., Ezr 18.11 514.16; variant Av]v,A. Sept. Sasabasar with many
variants, including Sept.B for Ezr 18 Sabanasar, which can probably be taken
as an incorrect writing of Sanabasar (so Kittel Gesch. 3/2: 3462); on the
Vrss. see the list in E. Meyer Die Entstehung des Judentums 76; also Torrey
Ezra (1910; 1970) 136ff; cf. further Rudolph Esr.-Neh. 4; BHS; Josephus
Sanaba"(")aro" (Schalit Namenwb. 106); the personal name is Babylonian with
a theophoric element, and an object, and a verbal form; the verbal form
corresponds, as do the underlying forms especially in Sept., to the form
us\ur (Stamm Namengebung 358a) as the impv. of nas\aµru to keep, protect
(AHw. 755f; CAD N/2, 33) which commonly occurs in Akk. personal names; see
also the Arm. transcription rxbalb
 of the Assyrian or Neo-Babylonian personal name Beµl-ab-us\ur (Babylonian
Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania 10: 42), cited from Tallqvist
Names 54a.
As for the theophoric element both dSéÆn (so e.g. KBL) and dSðamasû are to
be taken into consideration. But because of differences in the sibilants
dSéÆn comes less into the question, even though there is in EgArm. the
Assyrian-Neo Babylonian personal name Sðn<b<s\r, equivalent to Sin-aba-us\ur
(Kornfeld Onomastica 75); the same name was already mentioned in Lidzbarski
Eph. 3: 128, and subsequently in KBL, in the form ?rÀxaban
. Nevertheless dSðamasû must be regarded as more probable, and especially in
its less common form Sðasû(sûu); on this see especially Berger ZA 64 (1975)
22564; also Kraeling Arm. Pap. 175 (see below 2b). On vv
 as equivalent to Sðamasû see Tell Fekherye, where the Assyrian name
dsûamasûnuµréµ (p. 15, line 9) corresponds to the Arm. ssnwry (see p. 23,
line 7); on this see further Dion ZAW 95 (1983) 111f; see also yv'v;As for
the object of the verb there are three that have to be considered: a) aplu
heir, as in dSðamasû-apla-us\ur; b) abu father, as in dSðamasû-aba-us\ur; c)
beµlu master, as in dSðamasû-beµla-us\ur. For heir see e.g. Noth Gesch.
Isr.6 279; also Herrmann Geschichte 342; cf. also already Gesenius-Buhl
Handw. For father see especially Berger loc. cit.; also Kraeling Arm. Pap.
175, who accepts that the original form of the personal name was rxb–a„–w„
. For master see e.g. Rudolph Esr.-Neh 4; also Gunneweg KAT 19/1: 47; both
maintain that heir is also a possibility. Deciding between these three
possibilities is not easy; for the third (master) in particular it should be
said that in later periods (Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian) it was a
preferred personal name; see Tallqvist Names 209f; but against both aplu and
beµlu is the fact that an l is never attested among the consonants in the
Hebrew form of the name. This means to say that probably abu father is the
most likely solution; but the question remains of whether the Arm. n.m.
?rÀxaban
, which according to Lidzbarski is equivalent to Sin-ab-us\ur, should be
cited, as it was in KBL from Lidzbarski Eph. 3: 128, as being connected with
the name.
B. 1) the origin of rX'B'v]ve
 remains uncertain, for the name of his father is not mentioned either in
Ezr 18 or in 514.16. It would be different if he could be identified with
rX'a'nÒv,
, one of the sons of Jehoiachim (Jechoniah) in 1C 318, which has often been
taken to be the case, following E. Meyer Die Entstehung des Judentums 75ff;
and it could be regarded, even if with a little hesitancy, as a substitute
(so Gunneweg KAT 19/1: 492); however that idea has no secure basis (see Noth
Gesch. Isr.6 280) and there are linguistic arguments against it, on which
see Berger ZAW 83 (1971) 98-100; also ® rX'a'nÒve—2. according to Ezr 18
rX'B'v]ve
 was ayciN:h' hd;Whyli
 the prince of Judah (NRSV), or ruler of Judah (REB); and according to 516
he was appointed by Cyrus as hj;P,
 governor (NRSV and REB); the precise official meaning of these two
designations cannot be described with certainty, on which see Noth Gesch.
Isr.6 279, but in any case he had the responsibility as the representative
of the king of supervising the return of the precious vessels of the temple;
so Antonius H.J. Gunneweg Geschichte Israels bis Bar Kochba (1972) 126; see
also Gunneweg in KAT 19/1: 48-50; cf. Alt Kl. Schr. 2: 333f; see further
Reicke-Rost Hw. 1778. †

Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Richardson, M.E.J. (tr.), The Hebrew &
Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, CD-ROM Edition, (Leiden, The
Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, NV) 1994-2000.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Goldsmith [mailto:iangoldsmith1969 AT yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 6:21 AM
To: Biblical Hebrew
Subject: Sheshbazzar.


Any insight into the meaning, of the name of the
enigmatic Sheshbazzar?

Gesenius and others seem to make him one and the same
as Zurrubabel, but this seems inconsistent with the
narrative use of the name.

He appears to be a kind of treasurer and in as much
could his name not have this connection with gold -
btzr?
The shsh - white etc?
I'd be interested to know what the Rabbinic
interpretation of the name is if anyone has it.

Many thanks


=====
Ian Goldsmith.
England.

Dibrah Torah kilshone bnei-adam
'The Torah spoke in the language of ordinary men.'
Berakot 31b

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