A Jewish leader who served as governor of Judah under Cyrus the Great, king of Persia. When Cyrus became king, he ordered that the temple in Jerusalem should be rebuilt (Ezra 1:1–4; compare 6:1–5). He chose Sheshbazzar to be governor of Judah (Ezra 5:14). Cyrus gave him the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple when he took control of Jerusalem (1:7–9). Sheshbazzar fulfilled this commission and took the vessels to Jerusalem with the returning exiles (verse 9). He helped to begin the restoration of the temple (5:16).
Sheshbazzar appears in the Bible only four times, all in the book of Ezra (1:8–9; 5:14–16). For many years, it scholars thought that Sheshbazzar was another name for Zerubbabel, another Jewish leader. Both men were from the royal family of Judah. The Bible calls Sheshbazzar "the prince of Judah," which might mean he was next in line to be king.
The Bible does not tell us his family history, but he might appear in the Bible under a different name, either Zerubbabel or Shenazzar (1 Chronicles 3:18–19). In the record of people who returned to Jerusalem, Sheshbazzar’s name does not appear. The name of Zerubbabel is at the beginning of this list. This is where we would expect Sheshbazzar’s name to be. Both were governors of Judah.
Zerubbabel is associated with laying the foundation of the temple (Ezra 3:8–11). But in Ezra 5:16, that work is attributed to Sheshbazzar, which agrees with chapter 1.
The name "Sheshbazzar" only appears when the text discusses dealings with Persian officials. For example, chapter 1 tells of his work with Cyrus. In chapter 5,his name appears in a letter written by Tattenai, a Persian official. This suggests the Persians knew him as Sheshbazzar, while the Jewish people called him Zerubbabel. Both names come from the Akkadian language. This is different from cases where Babylonians gave new names to Jewish captives, like in Daniel 1:7.