2 Kings 19:37

37. Nisroch The rank and character of this god in the Assyrian pantheon is not yet determined. Gesenius suggests that the word comes from the Hebrew root נשׁר , eagle; and Layard proposes to identify Nisroch with the eagle-headed human figure, which is one of the most prominent on the earliest Assyrian monuments. Keil says, “the eagle was worshipped as a god by the Arabs, was regarded as sacred to Melkarth by the Phenicians, and according to a statement of Philo, (that Zoroaster taught that the supreme deity was represented with an eagle’s head,) was also a symbol of Ormuzd among the Persians; consequently Movers regards Nisroch as the supreme deity or the Assyrians. It is not improbable that it was also connected with the constellation of the eagle.” But all the above suppositions concerning the Assyrian deity are largely conjectural.

Adrammelech was the name of one of the gods of Sepharvaim, (see 2 Kings 17:31, note,) and Sharezer was doubtless the name of some other deity. It was a common and widespread custom in the East to name princes after the gods. The following summary of Rawlinson, gathered from the monuments and other sources, is the best commentary on this verse: “Our various sources of information make it clear that Sennacherib had a large family of sons. Adrammelech and Sharezer, anxious to obtain the throne for themselves, plotted against the life of their father, and having slain him in a temple as he was worshipping, proceeded further to remove their brother Nergilus, who claimed the crown and wore it for a brief space after Sennacherib’s death. Having murdered him, they expected to obtain the throne without further difficulty; but Esar-haddon, who at the time commanded the army which watched the Armenian frontier, now came forward, assumed the title of king, and prepared to march upon Nineveh. It was winter, and the inclemency of the weather precluded immediate movement. For some months, probably, the two assassins were recognised as monarchs at the capital, while the northern army regarded Esar-haddon as the rightful successor of his father. Thus died the great Sennacherib, a victim to the ambition of his sons. Esar-haddon’s inscriptions show that he was engaged for some time after his accession in a war with his half-brothers, who, at the head of a large body of troops, disputed his right to the crown. According to Abydenus, Adrammelech fell in the battle; but better authorities state that both he and his brother, Sharezer, escaped into Armenia, where they were kindly treated by the reigning monarch, who gave them lands, which long continued in the possession of their posterity.” Anc. Mon., vol. ii, pp. 185, ff.