Bible Dictionary
Samgar-nebo
Samgar-nebo was a Babylonian official or prince present at the capture of Jerusalem, according to Jeremiah 39:3. The spelling and identification of the name are uncertain because the ancient textual witnesses differ.
Definition
Samgar-nebo is the name of a Babylonian officer or prince connected with the capture of Jerusalem. The name and its grammatical position are uncertain because the ancient textual witnesses preserve variant readings.
Biblical Usage
Samgar-nebo is mentioned among the officials who took their places at the middle gate of Jerusalem after the Chaldean army captured the city.
Historical Background
The name has been understood as a Babylonian expression meaning “be gracious, Nebo.” Some interpreters regard the text as corrupt and relate the name to titles such as Rab-mag.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Be gracious, O Nebo! or a cup-bearer of Nebo, probably the title of Nergal-sharezer, one of the princes of Babylon (Jer. 39:3).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>sam-gar-ne'-bo (camgar nebho, a Babylonian name): An officer of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who, according to the Massoretic Text of Jer 39:3, took his seat with other nobles in the middle gate of Jerusalem after the Chaldean army had taken the city. Schrader (COT, ii, 109) holds that the name is a Hebraized form of the Assyrian Sumgirnabu ("be gracious, Nebo"), but Giesebrecht (Comm., 211) conjectures for Samgar a corruption of Sar-mag (Sar-magh), equivalent to Rab-mag (rab-magh), which implies virtual dittography. The number of variant readings exhibited by the Septuagint seems to confirm the belief that the text is corrupt. Nebo (nabu) is there joined with the following Sarsechim to agree with Nebushazban of Jer 39:13. If the name Samgar-nebo is correct, the first Nergal-sharezer "should perhaps be dropped; we would then read: "Samgar-nebo the Sarsechim, Nebushazban the Rab-saris (compare 39:13) and Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag" (Sayce).</p><p>See RAB-MAG; RAB-SARIS.</p><p>Horace J. Wolf</p>