by
Damien F. Mackey
“In his inscriptions, Nabonidus refers to his father
Nabu-balatsu-iqbi as a
"learned counsellor" … "wise
prince", "perfect prince" … "heroic governor".”
Wikipedia
It was customary for ancient kings to refer to their wise
mentors and counsellors as “Father”.
The great Joseph of Egypt, for one, was “Father to
Pharaoh” (Genesis 45:8).
The title in
ancient Egyptian was basically it ntr:
"Father
of the God Beloved of the God" the Egyptian title "it-ntr
mry-ntr"
and
the rites of royal investiture
Author
Date
1998
According to the
following, the title usually referred to the king’s father-in-law:
God's Father | Ancient
Egypt Wiki | Fandom
“God's
Father or Divine Father (ancient Egyptian: it-nṯr) is an ancient Egyptian honorific title. The
title was usually held by the father-in-law of the Pharaoh, the most famous
individuals would be Yuya and Ay, the latter even used
this title as his epithet upon ascending to the throne. The title may also be
given to the non-royal father of a pharaoh, as the title was attested
for Mentuhotep, the non-royal father of Pharaoh Sobekhotep
III of
the Thirteenth
Dynasty.
At the same time, the title could also serve as an honorific title for
consecrated priests, in which case the title was usually extended with
reference to the deity of the priest's cult, the most common example being the
"God's Father of Amun".”
But that
could not have been the case with Joseph.
The title can
apparently refer to one who was second to the king - as clearly was the
case with Joseph (Genesis 41:43): “[Pharaoh] had [Joseph]
ride in a chariot as his second-in-command … and people
shouted before him, ‘Make way!’ Thus he put him in charge of the whole
land of Egypt”.
Much later,
in the Medo-Persian realm, King Ahasuerus and his people had referred to the
crafty and conspiratorial – but no doubt extremely charismatic – Haman, by this
highly exalted title (Esther 16:10-11):
‘Now that you may
more plainly understand what we say, Aman [Haman] the son of Amadathi
[Hammedatha] … having nothing of the Persian blood, but with his cruelty
staining our goodness, was received being a stranger by us: And found our
humanity so great towards him, that he was called our father, and was
worshipped by all as the next man after the king’.
In
the case of Joseph, Haman and Daniel (whom we shall now consider), the
second-in-command can be found to have even, in certain instances, dominated a
ruler who was less wise (in the case of Joseph and Daniel), or less shrewd (in
the case of Haman).
Now I suggest that, when King Nabonidus referred to
Nabu-balatsu-iqbi - otherwise unattested (under that name) - as his “father”,
he was not meaning his biological father. He was referring to his wise
counsellor, whom he made governor (Daniel 2:48): “Then the king placed Daniel
in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over
the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men”.
Not only do the titles that the king uses with reference
to Nabu-balatsu-iqbi, "learned counsellor" … "wise
prince", "perfect prince" … "heroic governor", wonderfully
fit with what we know about the prophet Daniel (1:3-4):
Then the king
ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s
service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the
nobility— young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing
aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand,
and qualified to serve in the king’s palace ...
but the name, Nabu-balatsu-iqbi, seems to equate almost
perfectly with the Babylonian name that was given to Daniel: Belteshazzar.
It needs to be noted immediately that Belteshazzar
was not, as many may think it is, a Bel-name, like e.g. Belshazzar:
“Belshazzar (Babylonian
cuneiform: 
Bēl-šar-uṣur … meaning "Bel, protect the king" … Hebrew: בֵּלְשַׁאצַּר Bēlšaʾṣṣar) …”.
It is
more of a balatsu name, as in our Nabu-balatsu-iqbi:
nabu_balatsu_iqbi — Grokipedia
“The name Nabû-balāṭsu-iqbi is attested in
Neo-Babylonian Akkadian cuneiform as 𒀭𒀝𒁀𒆷𒀜𒋢𒅅𒁉 (variants include
dAG-ba-la-at-su-iq-bi and d na-bi-um-ba-la-at-su-iq-bi), with the standard
romanization Nabû-balāṭsu-iqbi. …. This theophoric
personal name invokes Nabû, the Mesopotamian god of wisdom, writing, and
scribes, whose cult was prominent in the Neo-Babylonian period, particularly at
Borsippa near Babylon. …. Linguistically, the name breaks down into three elements: Nabû (the
divine name), balāṭsu (possessive form
of balāṭu, meaning "life," with su indicating
"his"), and iqbi (the third-person perfect form of
the verb qabû, "to speak" or "to command"). The
full meaning is thus "Nabû has spoken (to grant) his life,"
idiomatically interpreted as "Nabû has given him life" or "Nabû
has preserved his life," reflecting a prayer for divine protection and
vitality. …. Such constructions emphasize the deity's agency in bestowing
essential blessings like longevity or prosperity”.
Moreover, the fact that it has Nabu for its theophoric
seems to accord perfectly with what King Nebuchednezzar - a Nabu/Nebo name -
says about Daniel’s given name (Daniel 4:8): ‘Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I
told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god,
and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)’
Thus we
could well expect that Daniel’s Babylonian name, Belteshazzar, comprised
the elements, Nabu (‘… after the name of my god …’), and balatsu-.
And this is
just what we do find in the name Nabu-balatsu-iqbi.
These names were quite variable.
Previously I have, with this sort of name construction in
mind, attempted an historical identification of Daniel as:
Nabu
ahhe bullit, Daniel as Governor of Babylon
(10) Nabu ahhe
bullit, Daniel as Governor of Babylon
I have also suggested an identification of Daniel with
Ubaru (Gubaru), governor of Babylon:
Prophet
Daniel as Esarhaddon's governor of Babylon, Ubāru
(10) Prophet
Daniel as Esarhaddon's governor of Babylon, Ubāru
Note, Ubāru is not a Belteshazzar type name, but more of a
description. It means that Ubāru was, just like the Hebrew Daniel, a “stranger,
foreign guest, resident alien, guest-friend”.
….
Nabu-balatsu-iqbi (Neo-Babylonian Akkadian: 𒀭𒀝𒁀𒆷𒀜𒋢𒅅𒁉, romanized: Nabû-balāṭsu-iqbi) was the father of the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus (r. 556–539 BC). A mysterious figure, Nabu-balatsu-iqbi is only
referenced in Nabonidus's own inscriptions, with no other record of his
existence or status.
….
In
his inscriptions, Nabonidus refers to his father Nabu-balatsu-iqbi as a
"learned counsellor" … "wise prince", "perfect
prince" and "heroic governor". …. Nabonidus never
elaborates more on his father's origin and ethnicity, just maintaining that he
was courageous, wise and devout. …. No person named Nabu-balatsu-iqbi who
can reasonably be identified as Nabonidus's father appears in documents prior
to Nabonidus's reign, making his father's status and position unclear.
….
…. Nabu-balatsu-iqbi
was also … possibly of … Aramean origin. ….
That
Nabu-balatsu-iqbi is repeatedly referred to as "prince" in
Nabonidus's inscriptions suggests some sort of noble status and political
importance. …. Frauke Weiershäuser and Jamie Novotny speculated that
Nabu-balatsu-iqbi could have been an Aramean chief. ….
Nabu-balatsu-iqbi was, like Daniel, a “mysterious figure”,
noble (“chief”), and foreign (Aramean).
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