Clarifying Nergal-sharezer in Jeremiah 39:3

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Julius A. Bewer wrote for Union Theological Seminary, NY, in 1907:

Nergalsharezer Samgar in Jer. 39:3 on JSTOR

 

 

NERGALSHAREZER SAMGAR IN JER. 39:3

 

In the inscription of Nebuchadrezzar II, published by Eckhard Unger in the Theologische Literaturzeitung 50, No. 21 (Oct. 17, 1925), we find the name of the Babylonian general Nebuzaradan who carried the Jews into captivity in 586 B.C. (Jer. 39:9, 11, 40:1; II Kings 25:8, 10ff.) = Nabuzêriddinam with his title rab nuḫtimmu, “chief baker”, corresponding to רַב־ טַבָּחִ֛ים in the Bible at the head of the list of the high-court officials (mašennum). This is in itself an item of such historical importance that it makes the inscription very valuable for the Old Testament student.

There is, however, another name mentioned in the list which not only authenticates an Old Testament name but solves an old crux interpretum in Jer 39:3. Nergalšarriuṣur, one of the rabûti šar mât Akkadim, “the great ones of the land of Akkad”, is the same as the Nergalsharezer in Jer. 39:3 who is there described as  one of the שָׂרֵי מֶלֶךְ-בָּבֶל, “the princes of the king of Babylon”. After his name the Hebrew text reads סַמְגַּר-נְבוּ שַׂר-סְכִים רַב-סָרִיס. The first word סַמְגַּר has hitherto been quite unknown. Giesebrecht1 saw that it did not belong to the following name, which is to be corrected in accordance with Jer. 39:13 to נְבוּשַׁזְבָּן, but to the preceding נֵרְגַל שַׂרְאֶצֶר. He assumed that there was a textual corruption in סַמְגַּר and changed it to רַב-מָג, because he regarded Nergalsharezer rab mag, who follows immediately upon Nabushazban in Jer. 39:3 (as restored) and 39:13 as a parallel reading of Nergalsharezer samgar. We now know that סַמְגַּר is quite correct, it is Sinmagir, the name of the city of Akkad of which Nergalsharezer was governor, for the Nebuchadrezzar inscription has in the list of the rabûti šar mât Akkadim as the second official: Nergal-šarri-uṣur amêlu Sinmagir. סַמְגַּר is clearly the Hebrew equivalent of Sinmagir. The vowels are, of course, to be disregarded, because the later Jews did not know how to pronounce the name ….

Are Nergalsharezer of Sinmagir and Nergalsharezer rab mag the same or different persons? Since only one Nergalsharezer is mentioned in Jer. 39:13, it seems most reasonable to assume that there was originally only one in Jer. 39:3 also, i.e., Nergalsharezer of Sinmagir, who was rab mag at this time. The original reading was then נֵרְגַל שַׂרְאֶצֶר סַמְגַּר to which the parallel reading intended to attach the title רַב-מָג 

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