{
  "id": "dict_003964",
  "term": "Nergal-sharezer",
  "slug": "nergal-sharezer",
  "letter": "N",
  "entry_type": "biblical_person",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Nergal-sharezer is a Babylonian official named in Jeremiah’s account of Jerusalem’s fall.",
  "simple_one_line": "A Babylonian official mentioned in Jeremiah 39 in connection with the capture of Jerusalem.",
  "tooltip_text": "Proper name of a Babylonian official associated with the fall of Jerusalem; the historical identification is not fully certain.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Babylon",
    "Jeremiah",
    "Nebuchadnezzar",
    "Jerusalem",
    "Zedekiah"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Babylon",
    "Jeremiah 39",
    "Jeremiah 52",
    "Nebuchadnezzar"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Nergal-sharezer is a Babylonian proper name appearing in Jeremiah 39 in the historical setting of Jerusalem’s destruction. The name identifies an official or officials involved in Babylon’s administration, but Scripture does not present it as a theological term.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "Babylonian official named in Jeremiah’s account of Jerusalem’s fall.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Proper name, not a doctrine term",
    "appears in Jeremiah 39",
    "tied to the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem",
    "identification details are historically uncertain."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Nergal-sharezer is a Babylonian proper name found in Jeremiah 39 in connection with Jerusalem’s fall. The name likely refers to a historical official or officials involved in the event, though the exact identification is debated. Because it is a proper name rather than a theological concept, it is better classified as a biblical person/name entry.",
  "description_academic_full": "Nergal-sharezer is a Babylonian proper name appearing in Jeremiah 39 among the officials associated with the capture of Jerusalem. The biblical text places the name within the historical judgment on Judah and the fall of the city to Babylon. Interpreters differ on whether the references point to one person or more than one official with the same name, and some proposals connect the name with other known Babylonian figures; however, such identifications should be held cautiously. Scripture uses the name as part of the historical narrative, not as a theological category, so the entry belongs more naturally under biblical person/name than theological term.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Jeremiah 39 records the capture of Jerusalem and names Babylonian officials in that setting. Nergal-sharezer appears there as part of the historical account surrounding Judah’s defeat and exile.",
  "background_historical_context": "The name belongs to the Neo-Babylonian period and reflects the world of Babylonian court and military officials. Historical attempts to identify the person behind the name are possible but not certain, so the safest approach is to treat the biblical data as primary.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Jeremiah presents the fall of Jerusalem as a real historical judgment within the life of the nation. Ancient readers would have understood the name as one more marker that the prophecy was fulfilled in ordinary political and military history.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Jeremiah 39:3, 13"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Jeremiah 52:25-27"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "A transliterated Babylonian name preserved in Hebrew form in Jeremiah. The exact historical reconstruction is debated, so the name should be handled cautiously.",
  "theological_significance": "Nergal-sharezer has indirect theological value because it appears in the account of God’s judgment on Judah through Babylon. It helps anchor Jeremiah’s prophecy in concrete history.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "This entry illustrates how Scripture uses real names and events, not abstract ideas alone, to communicate divine truth. Historical particulars matter because revelation is given in history.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not treat Nergal-sharezer as a theological concept. The same name may refer to more than one Babylonian official, and later historical identifications are not certain.",
  "major_views_note": "Most discussion concerns historical identification: one official or multiple officials with the same name, and whether the biblical figure can be linked with a known Babylonian ruler or officer. The text itself does not require a definitive reconstruction.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This entry should remain a proper-name entry. It should not be expanded into speculation about chronology, hidden symbolism, or doctrinal claims beyond the historical setting of Jeremiah 39.",
  "practical_significance": "The entry reminds readers that biblical prophecy addresses real history and named people. It also encourages humility when later historical identifications are uncertain.",
  "meta_description": "Nergal-sharezer in Jeremiah 39: a Babylonian official connected with the fall of Jerusalem.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/nergal-sharezer/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/nergal-sharezer.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}