Bible Dictionary
Merodach-baladan
Merodach-baladan was a king of Babylon who sent ambassadors to Hezekiah after hearing of his recovery from illness. He was a prominent Chaldean opponent of Assyrian rule.
Definition
Merodach-baladan, “Merodach has given a son,” was a king of Babylon and of the Chaldeans. He belonged to the house of Yakin and became a determined opponent of Assyrian rule, contesting Babylon and its surrounding provinces with Sargon and Sennacherib.
Biblical Usage
After Hezekiah recovered from illness, Merodach-baladan sent an embassy to him, apparently to congratulate him and form an alliance. He is also called Berodach-baladan in Kings and Chronicles.
Historical Background
He appears to have seized Babylon after Shalmaneser’s death in 721 BC, but Sargon later expelled him. His Chaldean family continued resisting Assyria, and his son was eventually captured.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Merodach has given a son, (Isa. 39:1), “the hereditary chief of the Chaldeans, a small tribe at that time settled in the marshes at the mouth of the Euphrates, but in consequence of his conquest of Babylon afterwards, they became the dominant caste in Babylonia itself.” One bearing this name sent ambassadors to Hezekiah (B.C. 721). He is also called Berodach-baladan (2 Kings 20:12; 2 Chr. 20:31). (See HEZEKIAH.)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>me-ro'-dak-bal'-a-dan, mer'-o-dak-b. (mero'dhakh bal'adhan; Marodach Baladan): The son of Baladan, is mentioned in Isa 39:1, as a king of Babylon who sent an embassy to Hezekiah, king of Judah, apparently shortly after the latter's illness, in order to congratulate him on his recovery of health, and to make with him an offensive and defensive alliance. This Merodach-baladan was a king of the Chaldeans of the house of Yakin, and was the most dangerous and inveterate foe of Sargon and his son Sennacherib, kings of Assyria, with whom he long and bitterly contested the possession of Babylon and the surrounding provinces. Merodach-Baladan seems to have seized Babylon immediately after the death of Shalmaneser in 721 BC; and it was not till the 12th year of his reign that Sargon succeeded in ousting him. From that time down to the 8th campaign of Sennacherib, Sargon and his son pursued with relentless animosity Merodach-Baladan and his family until at last his son Nabushumishkun was captured and the whole family of Merodach-Baladan was apparently destroyed. According to the monuments, therefore, it was from a worldly point of view good politics for Hezekiah and his western allies to come to an understanding with Merodach-Baladan and the Arameans, Elamites, and others, who were confederated with him. From a strategical point of view, the weakness of the allied powers consisted in the fact that the Arabian desert lay between the eastern and western members of the confederacy, so that the Assyrian kings were able to attack their enemies when they pleased and to defeat them in detail.</p><p>R. Dick Wilson</p>