Captain of the Guard

Biblical Text and Content

The Korean term siwi-daejang (侍衛隊長), rendered "captain of the guard," refers to the head of a unit that attends and protects the king. The title is used chiefly of Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian official who appears in the accounts of the fall of Judah.

• 2 Kings 25:8–21: Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard and a servant of King Nebuchadnezzar, entered Jerusalem, burned the temple and the royal palace, and broke down the city walls. He carried the people away captive but left some of the poor to tend the vineyards and work the land. He also brought Seraiah the chief priest and others to the king at Riblah. The same events are recorded in Jeremiah 52.
• Jeremiah 39:9–14; 40:1–6: At the king's command, Nebuzaradan released Jeremiah and let him choose for himself whether to remain in the land or go to Babylon.
• Jeremiah 52:30: This verse records that in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan carried away 745 people of Judah as captives.
• Genesis 37:36; 39:1; 40:3: Potiphar, the officer of Pharaoh of Egypt who bought Joseph, also bore a related Hebrew title. Depending on the Korean translation, it is rendered either "captain of the guard" or "commander of the royal bodyguard." The prison in which Joseph was confined is said to have been "in the house of the captain of the guard" (Genesis 40:3).

Background and Meaning of the Term

The Hebrew title is sar haṭṭabbaḥim in Genesis and rab-ṭabbaḥim in 2 Kings and Jeremiah. The underlying word ṭabbaḥ derives from a root meaning "to slaughter" or "to butcher," and in 1 Samuel 9:23–24 it denotes a "cook." Accordingly, some explain that the title originally designated the officer in charge of the royal kitchen and later broadened to mean a military commander responsible for guarding the king and carrying out executions. Scholars differ, however, on the precise course of this development. Arioch in Daniel 2:14 is likewise described as holding a related title in Aramaic.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

Nebuzaradan's actions carried out a historic turning point: the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile. They are read as the fulfillment of the judgment foretold by the prophets. In Jeremiah 40:2–3, a Gentile official declares, "The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place"; this passage is often interpreted as confirming, from the mouth of a Gentile, that the judgment proceeded from the will of God.

The same Hebrew title does not appear in the New Testament. The word rendered "guard" (siwi-dae) in Korean translations of Philippians 1:13, however, translates a different original word, referring to the Roman emperor's praetorian guard or the governor's residence (the praetorium). In addition, in some manuscript traditions (the text followed by the King James Version), Acts 28:16 mentions a "captain of the guard" to whom Paul was delivered. This portion is absent from the text followed by the New Korean Revised Version.

Interpretation and Issues

• Jeremiah 39 states that Jeremiah was released from the court of the prison, while chapter 40 says he was among the captives at Ramah before being released. Scholars are divided over the relationship between these two accounts, some regarding them as consecutive events and others as distinct traditions.
• Potiphar and Nebuzaradan are separate individuals from different eras and nations. It is unclear whether the shared title implies that they held the same office.
• Some Jewish traditions are reported to have identified Potiphar with Potipherah, the priest of On who became Joseph's father-in-law (Genesis 41:45). The text itself, however, does not state this.