Belteshazzar

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BELTESHAZZAR

BELTESHAZZAR (Heb. and Aram. ???????????????; ???????????????; lxx, ????????; Vulg., Baltassar), name given to *Daniel in Babylonia (Dan. 1:7). Foreigners introduced into court life were often given native names; e.g., in Egypt *Joseph became known as Zaphenath-Paneah (Gen. 41:45). Popular etymology related the name Belteshazzar to Bel (Dan. 4:5) but it probably derived from Bala?-šarri-u?ur ("Protect the life of the king").

bibliography:

J.A. Montgomery, The Book of Daniel (icc, 19492), 123; W. Baumgartner, Hebraeisches und aramaeisches Lexikon zum Alten Testament (1967), 127.

[Bezalel Porten]

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