בְּרֹאדַךְ בַּלְאֲדָן
Berodak-Baladan, a Babylonian king
Definition
Berodak-Baladan (also known as Merodach-Baladan) was a king of Babylon who reigned in the late 8th century BC. He is mentioned in 2 Kings 20:12 and Isaiah 39:1 as the ruler who sent envoys with letters and a gift to King Hezekiah of Judah after hearing of his recovery from illness. This name is a variation of 'Merodach-Baladan,' which means 'Marduk (the chief Babylonian god) has given a son.' His actions in the biblical narrative are primarily diplomatic, seeking an alliance, but they lead to a prophetic rebuke from Isaiah concerning the future Babylonian exile.
Biblical Usage
This proper noun is used only once in the Masoretic Text of the Old Testament, in 2 Kings 20:12. A parallel account is found in Isaiah 39:1, where the name appears as 'Merodach-Baladan.' In both instances, the usage is historical and narrative, describing a specific political event where the Babylonian king initiates contact with King Hezekiah of Judah. The context is a pivotal moment that transitions the narrative focus toward the rising threat of Babylon.
Etymology
The name 'בְּרֹאדַךְ בַּלְאֲדָן' (Bᵉrôʼdak Balʼădân) is a Hebrew transliteration of a Babylonian name. It is a variation of 'מְרֹאדַךְ בַּלְאָדָן' (Merodach-Baladan, H4757), which combines the name of the Babylonian god Marduk (Merodach) with the Akkadian phrase 'balāṭu-u-iddin,' meaning 'he has given a son.' The 'B' variant in 2 Kings likely reflects a different dialectical pronunciation or a scribal variation encountered by the biblical authors.
Semantic Range
This name is theologically significant as it introduces the specific Babylonian ruler whose diplomatic overture becomes the catalyst for Isaiah's prophecy of the Babylonian exile (2 Kings 20:16-18, Isaiah 39:5-7). It marks a key moment where God reveals the future consequences of Judah's political alliances and pride. Understanding this figure enriches reading by connecting a specific historical actor to the broader biblical theme of God's sovereignty over nations and the fulfillment of prophetic judgment.
In its original setting, this name identified a real historical king known from Babylonian records as Marduk-apla-iddina II, who led a Chaldean tribe and seized the throne of Babylon. The biblical record accurately reflects his political activity of sending envoys to forge alliances against the dominant Assyrian empire. The variation in spelling between 'Berodak' and 'Merodach' shows how foreign names were adapted into Hebrew, and the gift-giving was a standard ancient Near Eastern practice for establishing diplomatic relations.
Merodach-Baladan (Mᵉrôʼdak Balʼădân, H4757) — The more common spelling of the same Babylonian king's name, used in Isaiah 39:1.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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