Hebrew word · H7249

רַב־סָרִיס

rav-

Rab-saris

From Assyrian rab ša rēši, 'chief of the ša rēši'. The phrase ša rēši literally means 'the one of the head', a class of royal attendants who were very probably eunuchs in Assyrian usage.

Appears 6 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at Jer.39.3

1) chief eunuch

2) Rab-saris, chief eunuch, a high ranking Babylonian official

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Kings 18:17

Range of meaning

From Assyrian rab ša rēši, 'chief of the ša rēši'. The phrase ša rēši literally means 'the one of the head', a class of royal attendants who were very probably eunuchs in Assyrian usage. In Hebrew, sārîs ranges from 'eunuch' to simply 'court official': Potiphar is called a sārîs in Genesis 37:36 and he was married.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'Rabsaris' (as a name); YLT 'the chief of the eunuchs'; NIV 'chief officer'. 'Chief officer' is accurate but flat. 'Chief of the eunuchs' is probably right for the Assyrian original but brings in assumptions about his duties.

Used elsewhere in the period

Assyrian texts show the rab ša rēši as a top official who could lead armies. A Babylonian Rab-saris appears at the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC (Jeremiah 39:3, 13). Daniel 1:3 has the Hebrew equivalent 'chief of the officials/eunuchs'.

Where it appears

2 Kings · 2

  1. 2 Kings 18:17 רַב־ סָרִ֣יס׀ [the] chief, court-official

    Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

    Here: First half of the title Rab-saris. 'Rab' means 'chief, great one' in both Hebrew and Assyrian.

Jeremiah · 4

  1. Jeremiah 39:3 רַב־ סָרִ֗יס [the] Rab-, saris

    Then all the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-sarsekim the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

  2. Jeremiah 39:13 רַב־ סָרִ֔יס [the] Rab-, saris

    So Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the captains of the king of Babylon

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.