Topical Encyclopedia
Overview:Shushan, also known as Susa, was an ancient city of significant historical and biblical importance. It served as the capital of Elam and later became one of the principal cities of the Persian Empire. Shushan is prominently mentioned in the Bible, particularly in the books of Esther, Nehemiah, and Daniel. The city is located in present-day Iran, near the modern city of Shush.
Biblical References:1.
Book of Esther: Shushan is most famously associated with the account of Esther, a Jewish woman who became queen of Persia. The events of the Book of Esther unfold in the royal palace of Shushan. King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) reigned from this city, and it was here that Esther bravely intervened to save her people from the wicked plot of Haman. The narrative highlights the providence of God in protecting the Jewish people.
Esther 1:2 states, "In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa."
2.
Book of Nehemiah: Nehemiah, a Jewish cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I, received news of Jerusalem's desolation while in Shushan. This prompted his heartfelt prayer and subsequent journey to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls.
Nehemiah 1:1 records, "The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa."
3.
Book of Daniel: Daniel, a prophet during the Babylonian exile, had a vision while in Shushan. This vision, recorded in
Daniel 8, involved a ram and a goat, symbolizing future empires and events.
Daniel 8:2 notes, "In the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal."
Historical and Archaeological Context:Shushan was a major center of political and cultural activity in the ancient Near East. It was strategically located and served as a hub for trade and administration. The city is known for its impressive architecture, including the palace complex where the events of Esther took place. Archaeological excavations have uncovered significant artifacts, including the Code of Hammurabi, which was discovered in the vicinity of Susa.
Theological Significance:Shushan's role in biblical history underscores the sovereignty of God in the affairs of nations and individuals. The narratives associated with Shushan demonstrate God's faithfulness to His covenant people, even when they are in foreign lands. The account of Esther, in particular, is a testament to divine providence and the courage of individuals who stand for righteousness.
Cultural and Religious Influence:The events in Shushan have had a lasting impact on Jewish culture and religious observance. The festival of Purim, which commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people as recounted in the Book of Esther, is celebrated annually with great joy and festivity. This celebration serves as a reminder of God's deliverance and the importance of faith and courage in the face of adversity.
Shushan remains a symbol of God's intervention in history and His ability to use individuals and circumstances to fulfill His purposes. The city's mention in the Bible continues to inspire faith and trust in God's providential care.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
Shushanlily; rose; joy
ATS Bible Dictionary
Shushan1.Psalm 60:1-12, title; pluralSHOSHANNIM,Psalm 45:1-14 69:1-36, titles; the name of a musical instrument. The word signifies a lily, or lilies; and if the instrument were so named from its similarity to this flower, we might understand the cymbal. Or it may denote a melody, so named for its pleasantness of the subject matter of the song, as in the title toPsalm 45:1-14.
2. The capital city of Elam, or Persia,Genesis 14:1Daniel 8:2, on the river Ulai. It was the winter residence of the Persian kings, after Cyrus,Esther 1:5; and is deeply interesting as the scene of the wonderful events narrated in the book of Esther. Here Daniel had the vision of the ram and he-goat, in the third year of Belshazzar,Daniel 8:1-27. Nehemiah was also at Shushan, when he obtained from Artaxerxes permission to return into Judea, and to repair the walls of Jerusalem,Nehemiah 1:1.
The present Shouster, the capital of Khusistan, in long. 49 East, lat. 32 North, of the river Karun, a branch of the Shat-el-Arab, has been generally believed to be the ancient Shushan, the Susa of the Greeks; but Mr. Kinneir rather thinks the ruins about thirty-five miles west of Shouster are those of that ancient residence of royalty, "stretching not less, perhaps, then twelve miles from one extremity to the other. They occupy an immense space between the rivers Kerah and Abzal; and like the ruins of Ctesiphon, Babylon, and Kufa, consist of hillocks of earth and rubbish, covered with broken pieces of brick and colored tile. The largest is a mile in circumference, and nearly one hundred feet in height; another, not quite so high, is double the circuit. They are formed of clay and pieces of tile, with irregular layers of brick and mortar, five or six feet in thickness, to serve, as it should seem, as a kind of prop to the mass. Large blocks of marble, covered with hieroglyphics, are not unfrequently here discovered by the Arabs, when digging in search of hidden treasure; and at the foot of the most elevated of the pyramids (ruins) stands the tomb of Daniel, a small and apparently a modern building, erected on the spot where the relics of that prophet are believed to rest." Major Rennell coincides in the opinion that these ruins represent the ancient Susa. The desolation of the place, abandoned to beasts of prey, agrees with the prediction inEzekiel 32:24.
The preceding statements are confirmed by Loftus, who with Col. Williams visited and in part explored these ruins in 1851-2. Shush, we say, abounds in lions, wolves, lynxes, jackals, boars, etc. During nine months of the year the country is burnt up by the most intense heat, though exceedingly rich and beautiful in the rainy season. His excavations in the great mound disclosed the ruins of a vast palace, commenced apparently by Darius, carried on by Xerxes, and finished by Artaxerxes Mnemon. It is altogether probable that this was the scene of the festival described inEsther 1:1-22. The "pillars of marble" may perhaps be even now traced in the ruined colonnade forming a great central court; the huge columns were fluted and highly ornamented, and one of the capitals measured was twenty-eight feet high.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
A lily, the Susa of Greek and Roman writers, once the capital of Elam. It lay in the uplands of Susiana, on the east of the Tigris, about 150 miles to the north of the head of the Persian Gulf. It is the modern Shush, on the northwest of Shuster. Once a magnificent city, it is now an immense mass of ruins. Here Daniel saw one of his visions (
Dan. 8); and here also Nehemiah (
Nehemiah 1) began his public life. Most of the events recorded in the Book of Esther took place here. Modern explorers have brought to light numerous relics, and the ground-plan of the splendid palace of Shushan, one of the residences of the great king, together with numerous specimens of ancient art, which illustrate the statements of Scripture regarding it (
Dan. 8:2). The great hall of this palace (
Esther 1) "consisted of several magnificent groups of columns, together with a frontage of 343 feet 9 inches, and a depth of 244 feet. These groups were arranged into a central phalanx of thirty-six columns (six rows of six each), flanked on the west, north, and east by an equal number, disposed in double rows of six each, and distant from them 64 feet 2 inches." The inscriptions on the ruins represent that the palace was founded by Darius and completed by Artaxerxes.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
SHUSHANshoo'-shan (shushan; Sousan, Sousa):
1. Position, Eytmology and Forms of Its Name:
This city, the Susu or Susan of the Babylonians, and the native (Elamite) Susun, is the modern Shush (Sus) in Southwestern Persia, a series of ruin-mounds on the banks of the river Kerkha. The ancient etymologies ("city of lilies" or "of horses") are probably worthless, as an etymology in the language of the place would rather be expected. Sayce therefore connects the name with sassa, meaning "former," and pointing to some such meaning as "the old" city. It is frequently mentioned in the Babylonian inscriptions of the 3rd millennium B.C., and is expressed by the characters for the goddess Ishtar and for "cedar," implying that it was regarded as the place of the "divine grove" (see 5, below). In later days, the Assyrians substituted for the second character, that having the value of ses, possibly indicating its pronunciation. Radau (Early Babylonian History, 236) identifies Shushan (Susa) with the Sasa of the Babylonian king Kuri-galzu (14th century B.C., if the first of the name), who dedicates to the Babylonian goddess Ninlil an inscription of a certain Siatu, who had, at an earlier date, dedicated it to Ishtar for the life of the Babylonian king Dungi (circa 2500 B.C.).
2. The Ruins:
The surface still covered with ruins is about 2,000 hectares (4, 940 acres), though this is but a fraction compared with the ancient extent of the city, which is estimated to have been between 12,000 and 15,000 hectares (29, 640-37,000 acres). Though considerable, the extent of Susa was small compared with Nineveh and Babylon. The ruins are divided by the French explorers into four tracts:
(1) The Citadel-mound (West), of the Achemenian period (5th century B.C.), circa 1,476 by 820 ft., dominating the plain (height circa 124 ft.).
(2) The Royal City on the East of the Citadel, composed of two parts: the Apadana (Northeast), and a nearly triangular tract extending to the East and the South. This contains the remains of the palace of Darius and his successors, and occupies rather more than 123 acres. The palace proper and the throne-room were separated from the rest of the official buildings.
(3) The City, occupied by artisans, merchants, etc.
(4) The district on the right bank, similarly inhabited. This in ancient times extended into all the lower plain, between the Shaour and the Kerkha. Besides these, there were many isolated ruins, and the suburbs contained a number of villages and separate constructions.
3. The "Royal City," "The Citadel," and the Ruins Therein:
Most of the constructions at Susa are of the Persian period. In the northern part of the Royal City lie the remains of the Apadana, the only great monument of which remains were found on the level. The principal portion consisted of a great hall of columns, known as the throne-room of Artaxeres Mnemon. It replaced an earlier structure by Darius, which was destroyed by fire in the time of Artaxerxes I. The columns apparently had capitals of the style common in Persia-the foreparts of two bulls kneeling back to back. In the Citadel a palace built by Xerxes seems to have existed, the base of one of his columns having been found there. Bricks bearing the inscriptions of early Elamite kings, and the foundations of older walls, testify to the antiquity of the occupation of this part. According to the explorers, this was the portion of the city reserved for the temples.
4. The Monuments Discovered:
The number of important antiquities found on the site is considerable. Among the finds may be mentioned the triumphal stele of Naram-Sin, king of Agade (3rd-4th millennium B.C.); the statuettes of the Babylonian king Dungi (circa 2360 B.C.); the reliefs and inscriptions of the Elamite king Ba(?)-sa-Susinak (circa 2340 B.C.); the obelisk inscribed with the laws of Hammurabi of Babylon; the bronze bas-relief of the Elamite king Sutruk-Nahhunte (circa 1120 B.C.), who carried off from Babylonia the stelae of Naram-Sin and Hammurabi above mentioned, together with numerous other Babylonian monuments; the stele of Adda-hamiti-In-Susnak, of a much later date, together with numerous other objects of art and inscriptions-a most precious archaeological find.
5. Assur-bani-apli's Description of the City:
Shushan passed through many serious crises, one of the severest being its capture and destruction by the armies of the Assyrian king Assur-bani-apli about 640 B.C. According to his account, the ziqqurat or temple-tower of Susa was built of enameled brick imitating lapis-lazuli, and was adorned with pinnacles of bright bronze. The god of the city was Susinak, who dwelt in a secret place, and none ever saw the form of his divinity. Lagamaru (Laomer) and five other of the city's deities were adored only by kings, and their images, with those of 12 more (worshipped by the people), were carried off as spoil to Assyria. Winged bulls and genii adorned Susa's temples, and figures of wild bulls protected the entrances to their shrines. Other noteworthy things were the sacred groves into which no stranger was allowed to enter, and the burial-places of the Elamite kings. After recovering from the blow inflicted by the Assyrians, Shushan ultimately regained its old importance, and, as the summer residence of the Persian kings, became
the home of Ahasuerus and Queen Esther (Nehemiah 1:1Esther 1:2, 5;Esther 2:3;Esther 3:15;Esther 9:11Daniel 8:2; Additions to Esther 11:3).
LITERATURE.
See Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de l'art dans l'antiquite, volume V, Perse, 1890; de Morgan, Delegation en Perse (Memoires), 1900, etc.; Histoire et travaux de la delegation en Perse, 1905; article "Elamites" in Hastings ERE; article ELAM in this work.
T. G. Pinches
SHUSHAN EDUTH
shoo'-shan e'-duth.
SeeSONG;PSALMS.
Greek
4677. Sousanna -- "lily," Susanna, one of the women accompanying...... Word Origin of Hebrew origin
shushan Definition "lily," Susanna, one of the women
accompanying Jesus on His journeys NASB Word Usage Susanna (1). Susanna.
...Strong's Hebrew
7802.Shushan Eduth -- Shoshannim-Eduth,Shushan-eduthShushan Eduth or Shoshannim Eduth. 7801, 7802.
Shushan Eduth or Shoshannim
Eduth. 7803 . Shoshannim-Eduth,
Shushan-eduth. Transliteration
...7800.Shushan -- residence of Pers. kings
... 7799, 7800.Shushan. 7801 . residence of Pers. kings. Transliteration:Shushan
Phonetic Spelling: (shoo-shan') Short Definition: Susa....
7799.shushan -- probably lily (or any lily-like flower)
shushan or shoshan or shoshannah. 7798, 7799.shushan or shoshan or
shoshannah. 7800 . probably lily (or any lily-like flower...
Library
A Reformer's Schooling
... And it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was inShushan
the palace, 2. That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men...
Esther, the Queen.
... In the third year of his reign he gave a royal feast to all the princes
and nobles of Persia and Medea, inShushan, the royal city....
The Kingdom Restored
... V. Questions: 1. Name Nehemiah's position and its duties. 2. LocateShushan.
3. Measure the distance fromShushan to Jerusalem....
The Court of the Gentiles. The Mountain of the House, in the...
... There was only one gate eastward, and that was called, the Gate ofShushan; because
the figure ofShushan, the metropolis of Persia, was engraven in it, in...
The Church and Social Evils
... A little party of pious pilgrims had gone from Persia to the city, and had come
back toShushan with a sad story of weakness and despondency, affliction and...
Concerning Esther and Mordecai and Haman; and How in the Reign of...
... of his riches, and this for a hundred and fourscore days; after which he made a
feast for other nations, and for their ambassadors, atShushan, for seven days....
The Later Hebrew Histories.
... summarized. The scene is laid inShushan the palace, better known as Susa,
one of the royal residences of the kings of Persia. The...
Hebrew Captives; Or, Mordecai and Esther.
... That home he wished no longer to see, and day after day he took his old station
at the gates ofShushan, and looked upon the magnificent walls that divided him...
Appendix 1 Massecheth Middoth
... Kipponos from the west; Tadi from the north"it did not serve for anything; the eastern
gate, upon which was a representation of the city ofShushan, and by...
Title and Position.
... ii.1, 2((here in a phrase most readily lending itself as a motto for the tale),
and Hosea 14:5. The placeShushan, too, is thought to have been named from the...
Thesaurus
Shushan (19 Occurrences)... Modern explorers have brought to light numerous relics, and the ground-plan of the
splendid palace of
Shushan, one of the residences of the great king
...SHUSHAN.
...Shushan-eduth (1 Occurrence)
Shushan-eduth. ShushanEduth,Shushan-eduth. Shut . Easton's Bible Dictionary...
(see SHOSHANNIM.). Multi-Version ConcordanceShushan-eduth (1 Occurrence)....
Susa (20 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia SUSA. su'-sa, soo'-sa (Additions to Esther 11:3).
SeeSHUSHAN. Multi-Version Concordance Susa (20 Occurrences)....
Castle (26 Occurrences)
... of Hacaliah. Now it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth
year, as I was inShushan the palace, (See JPS). Nehemiah...
Eduth (3 Occurrences)
... e'-duth (`edhuth, "testimony," a technical term for the Ten Commandments or for
the Law): In Psalm 60 title, "set toShushan Eduth" (literally, "a lily (is...
Citadel (20 Occurrences)
... Nehemiah 1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month
Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was inShushan the palace, (See NIV)....
Edict (22 Occurrences)
... The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city ofShushan was perplexed. (See
NIV).... A decree was given out inShushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons....
Capital (29 Occurrences)
... Nehemiah 1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month
Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was inShushan the palace, (See RSV)....
Fourteenth (25 Occurrences)
... Esther 9:15 The Jews who were inShushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth
day also of the month Adar, and killed three hundred men inShushan...
Runners (21 Occurrences)
... Esther 3:15 The runners went out quickly by the king's order, and a public statement
was made inShushan: and the king and Haman took wine together: but the...
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