SHAREZER shə re’ zər (שַׂרְאֶ֤צֶר, Heb. Isa A שַׂרְאﯴצֶר). 1. The name of a son of Sennacherib of Assyria, who with his brother Adrammelech murdered his father in 681 b.c. (2 Kings 19:37; Isa 37:38). Probably an abbreviation of the common Akkad. name form šar-uṩūr, “(He) has protected the king.” This type of personal name is normally prefixed by a divine name. Since Abydenus calls this brother Nergilus in his account of the event, it has been thought that the full name was Nergal-šar-uṩūr (Nergal-sharezer). It could equally well be a rendering of S̆ar-eṭir-Aššur, the name of a known son of Sennacherib.

2. A person (some argue a deity) sent with Regem-melech by the men of Bethel to inquire concerning the propriety of keeping the anniversary feast which commemorated the destruction of Jerusalem (Zech 7:2). The text is difficult and it has been suggested that “the people of Bethel” could indicate that the full name was Bēl-šar-uṩur (Belshazzar).