RABSARIS

(Rabʹsa·ris) [chief attendant; he who stands by the king].

The title of a chief court official in the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires. The Rabsaris was one of the committee of three high Assyrian dignitaries that was sent by the king of Assyria to demand the surrender of Jerusalem in King Hezekiah’s time.—2 Ki. 18:17.

The Rabsaris was one of the Babylonian officials taking control of Jerusalem for Nebuchadnezzar when the city fell in 607 B.C.E., and Nebushazban is named as the Rabsaris joining in ordering Jeremiah’s release from imprisonment. (Jer. 39:3, 13, 14) Excavations have unearthed monuments bearing the title.