BALADAN

(Balʹa·dan) [he has given a son].

The father of Merodach-baladan (Isa. 39:1; “Berodach-baladan” at 2 Kings 20:12). Baladan’s son Merodach-baladan was king of Babylon during at least part of the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah (745-716 B.C.E.).

In the past, some viewed this mention of Baladan as in error, since the Assyrian inscriptions of King Sargon II refer to Merodach-baladan as the son of “Yakin.” However, in the inscriptions of Assyrian King Shalmaneser III, King Jehu of Israel is called the “son of Omri,” whereas Jehu was actually the son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. (2 Ki. 9:2) Though Omri’s dynasty ended with the death of Jehoram (2 Ki. 9:24), the Assyrians continued to refer to the kingdom of Israel as “Bit Humri” (House of Omri, or, Omri-land) and, correspondingly, the land of Merodach-baladan is referred to as “Bit Yakin.” So it appears that Merodach-baladan was the “son of Yakin” primarily in the sense of successor to his throne or dynasty.

Some consider “Baladan” to be an abbreviation of a fuller name, suggesting that Merodach-baladan’s father bore the same name as his son. Such abbreviation of names is not unusual in the Biblical record (as, for example, the abbreviation of “Jehoahaz” to “Ahaz”), nor is it unusual in the Assyrian and Babylonian texts.