merodach Summary and Overview

death; slaughter, the name of a Babylonian god, probably the planet Mars (Jer. 50:2), or it may be another name of Bel, the guardian divinity of Babylon. This name frequently occurs as a surname to the kings of Assyria and Babylon.

(death), #Jer 50:2| identical with the famous Babylonian Bel or Belus, the word being probably at first a mere epithet of the god, which by degrees superseded his proper appellation.

MERO'DACH (death, slaughter), the name of an idol-god of the Babylonians; Belus, and represented by the planet Jupiter, and often applied as a surname to the Babylonish monarchs. Isa 39:1; Jer 50:2.

Jeremiah 50:2. ("death" (Gesenius) or "little lord".) Epithet of Bel the Babylonian Jupiter, termed "the senior of the gods," "the judge," and by Nebuchadnezzar in inscriptions "the great lord, the most ancient," and by Neriglissar "the firstborn of gods, the layer up of treasures." Merodach became a distinct phase of Bel. It forms part of some kings' names, as Merodach Baladan, Evil Merodach; it is so used as early as 1650 B.C. Zurbanit (from banit, "productive mother") was Merodach's wife. Another Bel was named Niprut, ("hunter"), or Nimrod; worshipped at Nipur (Calneh; Rawlinson's Ancient Monarchies).