Baladan בַּלְאֲדָן
Father of Babylonian king Merodach-baladan (or 'Berodach-baladan').
Biography
Baladan is mentioned in 2Ki.20.12 and Isa.39.1 as the father of Merodach-baladan (also known as Berodach-baladan), who was the king of Babylon. Merodach-baladan sent letters and a present to King Hezekiah of Judah after hearing of his illness and recovery. This diplomatic gesture led to Hezekiah showing the Babylonian envoys all his treasures, which the prophet Isaiah warned would one day be carried off to Babylon. Baladan is not mentioned in any other context, and no further information is provided about his life or role in Babylonian history. He is known only as the father of the king who initiated contact with Hezekiah. Merodach-baladan is likely the Babylonian king known outside the Bible as Marduk-apla-iddina II, who ruled Babylon in the late 8th century BC.
Family
In Scripture
2 biblical books ; 1 with study content2 Kings 1 verse
- 2 Kings 20:12
"At that time Berodach Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick."
Isaiah 1 verse
- Isaiah 39:1
"At that time, Merodach Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he heard that he had been sick, and had recovered."
Study Isaiah →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | בַּלְאֲדָן | H1081 |
Baladan
dach)-Baladan, king of Babylon. Some have thought that the Biblical. writer was wrong here, inasmuch as it is said in the inscriptions of Sargon (Annals, 228, 315; Pt., 122), that Merodach-Baladan was the son of Yakin. It is evident, however, from the analogy of Jehu, who is called by the Assyrian kings the son of Omri, that Yakin is to be looked upon as the founder of the dynasty or kingdom, rather than as the father of Merodach-Baladan. The Bith Yakin, over which Merodach-Baladan is said to have been king, corresponds exactly to the phrase Bith Khumria, or House of Omri, over which Jehu is said to have ruled. There is no reason, then, for supposing that there is an error in either case. There is, however, good reason for believing that the Merodach-Baladan of the Book of Kings was the son of another king of the same name. That only the latter part of the father's name is here mentioned may be compared with the Shalman of Ho 10:14 for the more fully-written Shalmaneser of 2Ki 17:3; and with the Jareb of Ho 5:13 and Ho 10:6, probably for Sennacherib. Such abbreviation of proper names was usual among the Assyrians and Babylonians. See Tallquist, Namenbuch, xiv- xix.
R. Dick Wilson
ba'la balah; Bola: A place, unidentified, in the territory of Simeon (Jos 19:3), called Bilhah in 1Ch 4:29. It may be identical with Baalah in Ju