Nergal-Sharezer

In Bible versions:

Nergal-Sharezer: NET AVS NIV TEV
Nergal-sharezer: NRSV
Rabmag: NRSV TEV
Nergal-sar-ezer: NASB
Rab-mag: NASB

a high official of the king of Babylon
a high official (NASB margin)

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treasurer of Nergal
who overthrows or destroys a multitude

Hebrew

Strongs #05371: ruarv lgrn Nergal Shar'etser

Nergal-sharezer = "prince of fire"

1) chief soothsayer and a ruler in the army of Nebuchadnezzar

5371 Nergal Shar'etser nare-gal' shar-eh'-tser

from 5370 and 8272; Nergal-Sharetser, the name of two
Babylonians:-Nergal-sharezer.
see HEBREW for 05370
see HEBREW for 08272

Strongs #07248: gm-br Rab-Mag

1) soothsayer, magician, chief soothsayer
1a) Rab-mag, chief soothsayer, or chief of princes, an official
of Babylonia

7248 Rab-Mag rab-mawg'

from 7227 and a foreign word for a Magian; chief Magian;
Rab-Mag, a Bab. official:-Rab-mag.
see HEBREW for 07227

Nergal-sharezer [EBD]

Nergal, protect the king! (1.) One of the "princes of the king of Babylon who accompanied him in his last expedition against Jerusalem" (Jer. 39:3, 13).

(2.) Another of the "princes," who bore the title of "Rabmag." He was one of those who were sent to release Jeremiah from prison (Jer. 39:13) by "the captain of the guard." He was a Babylonian grandee of high rank. From profane history and the inscriptions, we are led to conclude that he was the Neriglissar who murdered Evil-merodach, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, and succeeded him on the throne of Babylon (B.C. 559-556). He was married to a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. The ruins of a palace, the only one on the right bank of the Euphrates, bear inscriptions denoting that it was built by this king. He was succeeded by his son, a mere boy, who was murdered after a reign of some nine months by a conspiracy of the nobles, one of whom, Nabonadius, ascended the vacant throne, and reigned for a period of seventeen years (B.C. 555-538), at the close of which period Babylon was taken by Cyrus. Belshazzar, who comes into notice in connection with the taking of Babylon, was by some supposed to have been the same as Nabonadius, who was called Nebuchadnezzar's son (Dan. 5:11, 18, 22), because he had married his daughter. But it is known from the inscriptions that Nabonadius had a son called Belshazzar, who may have been his father's associate on the throne at the time of the fall of Babylon, and who therefore would be the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. The Jews had only one word, usually rendered "father," to represent also such a relationship as that of "grandfather" or "great-grandfather."

Rabmag [EBD]

Assyrian Rab-mugi, "chief physician," "who was attached to the king (Jer. 39:3, 13), the title of one of Sennacherib's officers sent with messages to Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:17-19:13; Isa. 36:12-37:13) demanding the surrender of the city. He was accompanied by a "great army;" but his mission was unsuccessful.

Nergal-sharezer [NAVE]

NERGAL-SHAREZER, the name of princes of Babylon, Jer. 39:3, 13.

Rab-mag [NAVE]

RAB-MAG, an Assyrian prince, or, possibly, a second name given to Nergal-sharezer, Jer. 39:3, 13.

RABMAG [SMITH]

(Jeremiah 39:3,13) a title borne by Nergal-sharezer, probably identical with the king called by the Greeks Neriglissar. [NERGAL-SHAREZER] (it probably means chief of the magi ; at all events it was "an office of great power and dignity at the Babylonian court, and probably gave its possessor special facilities for gaining the throne.")

NERGAL-SHAREZER [ISBE]

NERGAL-SHAREZER - nur-gal-sha-re'-zar (nereghal-shar'etser, Hebrew form of Assyrian Nergal-sar-usur, "O Nergal, defend the prince"): A Babylonian officer, the "Rab-mag," associated with Nebushazban in the care of Jeremiah after the fall of Jerusalem (Jer 39:3,13). According to Hommel (article "Babylon," Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (five volumes)) and Sayce (Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, under the word), Nergal-sharezer is to be identified with Neriglissar who succeeded Evil-merodach on the throne of Babylon (compare Cheyne and Johns, Encyclopedia Biblica, under the word).

RAB-MAG [ISBE]

RAB-MAG - rab'-mag (rabh-magh;. Septuagint has it as a proper noun, Rhabamath): The name of one of the Babylonian princes who were present at the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, during the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah (Jer 39:3,13). The word is a compound, the two parts seemingly being in apposition and signifying tautologically the same thing. The last syllable or section of the word, magh, was the designation among the Medes, Persians and Babylonians for priests and wise men. Its original significance was "great" or "powerful"; Greek megas, Latin magis, magnus. The first syllable, rabh, expresses practically the same idea, that of greatness, or abundance in size, quantity, or power. Thus it might be interpreted the "allwise" or "all-powerful" prince, the chief magician or physician. It is, therefore, a title and not a name, and is accordingly put in appositive relations to the proper name just preceding, as "Nergal-sharezer, the Rab-mag," translated fully, "Nergal-sharezer the chief prince or magician."

See NERGAL-SHAREZER.

In harmony with the commonly accepted view, the proper rendering of the text should be, "All the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, to wit, Nergal-sharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, (the) Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, (the) Rab-mag" (Jer 39:3); and "so Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushazban, (the) Rab-saris, and Nergal-sharezer, (the) Rab-mag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon" (Jer 39:13).

Walter G. Clippinger