Person Old Testament
Sharezer
Sharezer, along with his brother Adrammelech, assassinated their father, King Sennacherib of Assyria, and fled to the land of Ararat. Mentioned in 2 verses across 2 books, first at 2 Kings 19:37.
Why it matters. Assyrian prince who assassinated his father Sennacherib
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Sharezer
Sharezer, mentioned in 2Ki.19.37 and Isa.37.38, was one of the sons of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. Along with his brother Adrammelech, Sharezer plotted against their father and assassinated him while he was worshiping in the temple of his god, Nisroch. After committing the murder, Sharezer and Adrammelech fled to the land of Ararat, which was located in modern-day Armenia. The assassination of Sennacherib occurred shortly after his campaign against Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah. The text does not provide any further details about Sharezer's life or his motivations for the assassination. However, the incident highlights the political instability and power struggles within the Assyrian royal family. The fact that Sharezer and his brother fled to Ararat suggests that they feared retribution or lacked support within Assyria. The assassination of Sennacherib marked the end of his reign and was a significant event in the history of Assyria and its relations with the kingdom of Judah.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Parents
- Sennacherib
- Siblings
- AdrammelechEsarhaddon
Appears in Scripture
Named in 2 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.