Bible Word Study
שַׁרְאֶצֶר
Sharʼetser · Sharetser, the name of an Assyrian and an Israelite
שַׁרְאֶצֶר
Sharetser, the name of an Assyrian and an Israelite
Definition
Sharetser is a proper name given to two distinct individuals in the Old Testament. In 2 Kings 19:37 and Isaiah 37:38, Sharetser is an Assyrian prince, the son of King Sennacherib, who participated in the assassination of his father after the failed siege of Jerusalem. In Zechariah 7:2, Sharetser is an Israelite man sent with a delegation to inquire of the priests and prophets in Jerusalem regarding fasting practices during the post-exilic period. The name itself is of foreign, likely Akkadian, origin, meaning 'protect the king' or similar, reflecting its royal Assyrian background.
Biblical Usage
The name Sharetser is used only three times in the Old Testament, in two distinct contexts. It first appears in historical and prophetic books recounting Assyrian history (2 Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38), identifying a regicidal prince. Its final appearance is in a post-exilic prophetic book (Zechariah 7:2), where it identifies a member of a Jewish delegation. This shows the name was used by both foreign (Assyrian) and Israelite individuals, likely entering Hebrew usage through cultural contact.
Etymology
The name Sharetser (שַׁרְאֶצֶר) is of foreign derivation, not from a Hebrew root. It is widely accepted as a Hebrew transliteration of the Akkadian name 'Šar-uṣur,' meaning 'protect the king' (from 'šarru' = king, and 'uṣur' = protect). This etymology fits its first biblical bearer, an Assyrian prince. The name was then adopted by Israelites, possibly after the exile, losing its original royal connotation for the bearer in Zechariah's time.
Semantic Range
The dual appearance of Sharetser highlights God's sovereignty over all nations. The Assyrian Sharetser is an instrument of divine judgment against the arrogant King Sennacherib (Isaiah 37:29). The Israelite Sharetser represents the restored community seeking God's will post-exile (Zechariah 7:2-3). The name's journey from an Assyrian royal court to a Jewish delegation illustrates God's overarching plan, weaving even foreign names and people into His redemptive story. As an Akkadian name meaning 'protect the king,' its use for an Assyrian prince reflects the royal and militaristic culture of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. For an Israelite to bear this name after the exile indicates the profound cultural interchange and assimilation that occurred during the Babylonian and Persian periods. It shows that Jews in the diaspora sometimes adopted foreign names, which they or their descendants brought back to Judah. Sennacherib (Sanchērîb, H5576) — The father of the Assyrian Sharetser, another Akkadian-derived name. Regem-Melek (Reḡem-meleḵ, H7278) — The other named member of the delegation with the Israelite Sharetser in Zechariah 7:2.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]