Merodach-baladan בְּרֹאדַךְ בַּלְאֲדָן
King of Babylon who sent envoys to Hezekiah.
Who is Merodach-baladan in the Bible?
Merodach-baladan was the king of Babylon who sent envoys with letters and a gift to Hezekiah, king of Judah, after learning of Hezekiah's miraculous recovery from illness (2 Kings 20:12; Isaiah 39:1). When Hezekiah received the Babylonian delegation, he proudly displayed his royal treasures, including silver, gold, spices, precious oils, weapons, and storehouses. The prophet Isaiah condemned this display of wealth and warned Hezekiah that a time would come when all these treasures and some of his descendants would be carried away to Babylon (2 Kings 20:13-18; Isaiah 39:2-7). This encounter between Merodach-baladan and Hezekiah is significant because it foreshadowed the future Babylonian conquest of Judah and the exile of the nation.
Biography
Merodach-baladan was the king of Babylon who sent envoys with letters and a gift to Hezekiah, king of Judah, after hearing of Hezekiah's illness and recovery (2Ki.20.12; Isa.39.1). Hezekiah welcomed the envoys and showed them all his treasures, including silver, gold, spices, and precious oils, as well as his armory and everything in his storehouses. The prophet Isaiah then came to Hezekiah and prophesied that a time would come when all these treasures and even some of Hezekiah's descendants would be carried off to Babylon (2Ki.20.13-18; Isa.39.2-7). This event foreshadowed the future Babylonian conquest of Judah.
Family
In Scripture
2 biblical books ; 1 with study content2 Kings 1 verse
- 2 Kings 20:12
"At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness."
Isaiah 1 verse
- Isaiah 39:1
"At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness and recovery."
Study Isaiah →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | בְּרֹאדַךְ בַּלְאֲדָן | — | — |
| Spelled | Hebrew | מְרֹדַךְ בַּלְאֲדָן | mĕrōʾdakĕ balĕʾādān | Merodak-Baladan , a Babylonian king |
Merodach-baladan
ekiah, 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.
R. Dick Wilson
me'-rom (me-merom; hudor Marron or hudor Merron): The place which was the scene of Joshua's victory over Jabin and his confederates (Jos 11:7), commonly identified with La