Sheshach
Summary
A cryptic or symbolic name used by Jeremiah as a designation for Babylon, possibly formed using a cipher that substituted letters according to their reversed position in the Hebrew alphabet.
☩Usage in Jeremiah
Sheshach appears only twice in Scripture, both times in Jeremiah's prophecies against Babylon. In context, the name clearly refers to Babylon or Babylonia, appearing alongside judgments pronounced against other nations. The precise meaning and origin of the term has been debated for centuries, though it served Jeremiah's purpose of veiled reference to the empire that had conquered Judah.
☩Theories of Origin
The most famous explanation, known to Jewish interpreters and Jerome, uses a cipher called 'Athbash' where each letter is substituted by its counterpart counting backward through the alphabet—thus 'Babel' (B-B-L) becomes 'Sheshach' (Sh-Sh-Ch). Other scholars suggest connections to the Babylonian goddess Shach, whose festival (marked by five days of unbridled license during which Cyrus captured the city) may have given rise to the name. Still others propose links to Persian or Babylonian place names.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Sheshach," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Sheshach," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Sheshach," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).