NEZZAU (4. v.).
Nebushas'bau (lleb. Nebushazban' , lari^a? [written in the text with a small final n, for which some copies have, perhaps by error, as], from Nebo, and Persian chesbun, " votary," i. e. adorer of Nebo ; Sept. omits, but some copies \\Vi\e.^a\ioi<(jiZ,^uvm'Sa(ii)vaap- (TtXxi^i ; Vulg. Nubusezban), the Kabsaris {q. v.) or chi( f ( h.-nnliirlain of the Babylonian court, sent by Xcliii' 1 I'll 1 111 v/ar, in connection with the two other chief diL;iiii;irir<. N< liuzaradaii (the Eab-tabbachim, or chief of the boily-L^uard) and Nergal-sharezer (the IJab-mag, or head of the ;M:ii;ians). to release Jeremiah from prison on the capture of Jerusalem (Jer. xxxix, 13). B.C. 588. " Nebu-sliasban's oflice and title were the same as those of Ashpenaz (Dan. i, 3), whom he probably succeeded. In the list given (ver. 3) of those who took possession of the city in tlie dead of the night of the 11th Tam- muz, Nebushasban is not mentioned by name, but merely by his title Rab-saris. So at the Assyrian in- vasion in the time of Hezekiah, Tartan, Kab-saris, and Kab-shakeh, as the three highest dignitaries, addressed the Jews from the head of their army (2 Kings xviii, 17). Possibly these three ofliccrs in the Assyrian court an- swered to the three named above in tlie Babylonian" (Smith).
Nebuzar'adan (Ileb. Nebuzaradan', 'j'iX'pT!l23, for signif. see below; Scjit. 'Sajiov'Cnpcav v. r. "Siijiov- ^opcai'; Josephus, No/io/'^opcni'/jr, Ant. x, 9, 1 and 2; Vulg. Nebuzardan), the Kab-tabbachim, i. c. chief of the slaughterers or executioners (A. V. "captain of the guard"), a high officer in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, apparently (like the Tartan in the Assyrian army) the next to the person of the monarch. He appears not to have been present during the siege of Jerusalem ; jirob- ably he was occupied in the more important operations at Tyre, but as soon as the city was actu.ally in the hands of the Babylonians he arriveil, and from that moment everythuig was completely directed by him. B.C. 588. It was he who decided, even to the minutest details of fire-pans and bowls (2 Kings xxv, 15), what should be carried off and what burned, which persons should be taken away to Babylon, and whicli left behind in the country. One act only is referred directly to Nebu- chadnezzar—the appointment of the governor or super- intendent of the coiKpiered district. All I liis Nebuzar- adan seems to have carried out with \\isdom and mod- eration. His conduct to Jeremiah, to whom his atten- tion had been directed by his master (.ler. xxxix, 11), is marked by even higher qualities than these, and the prophet has preserved (xl, 2-5) a speech of Nebuzar- adan to him on liberating him from his chains at Hamjih, which contains expressions truly remarkable in a heathen. He seems to have left Judiva for this time when he took down the chief people of Jerusalem to his master at I.'iblah (2 Kings xxv, 18-20). Six years af- terwards lie again appeared (Jer. Iii, 30). Nebuchad- nezzar in his twenty-third year made a descent on the regions east of the Jordan, including the .\mmonites and Moabites (Josephus, Ant. x, 9, 7), who escaped when
NECERES
903
NECESSITY
Jerusalem was destroyed. See Moab. Thence he pro- ceeded to Egypt (Joseph. i6«/.), and, either on the way thither or on the return, Nebuzaradan again passed through the country and carried oti' seven hundred and forty-live more captives (Jer. lii, 30).
The name, like Nebu-chadnezzar and Nebu-shasban, contains that of Neho the Babylonian deity. The other portion of the word is less certain. Gesenius {Thes. p. 839 h) translates by Jifercurii dux doininus, taking the "It as =; "lb, "prince," and "'IX as = "illX, "lord." Ftirst, on the other hand {llandwb. s. v.), treats it as equivalent in meaning to the Hebrew rah-tahhachim, which usually follows it, and sometimes occurs by itself (2 Kings XXV, 18; Jer. xl, 2, 5). To obtain this mean- ing he treats the first member as — Pers. sar, Sansc. ciro, "chief," as Gesenius; but compares the last mem- ber of the name to the Sansc. ddiia, from do, " to cut off." Gesenius also takes zaradan as identical with the first element in the name of Sardan-apalus. But this latter name is now explained by Sir H. Kawlinson as Assur-dan-i-pal (Rawlinson's Herod, i, 41)0).— Smith.
iPTeceres is the name which the Turks give to a clan of people inhabiting the mountains about Jebily, in Syria, who are of a very strange and singular char- acter. It is the principle of the Neceres to adhere to no certain religion ; chameleon like, they put on the color of religion, whatever it be, which is reflected upon them by the persons with whom they happen to con- verse. With Christians, they profess themselves Chris- tians; with Turks, they are good Mussulmans; with Jews, they pass for Jews ; being such Proteuses in re- ligion that nobody was ever able to discover what shape or standard their consciences are really of. See Brough- ton, Bihlioth. IJist. Sacra, ii, s. v. See Nassaeians.
Necessarians. See Necessitarians.
Necessary Doctrine and Erudition (for any C/iris/itni iikih) is tlio title of a book wliich the Eng- lish people received Irom their sovereign, licnry VIII, in the year 1543, in connection with the legal prohibi- tion of reading the Scriptures. In contradistinction to the Institulioii of a Christian Man (q. v.), which was called the " Bishops' Book," the present formulary was called the "King's Book." The Necessary Doctrine was not, like the other, sanctioned by the authority of Convocation, but was composed by a committee origi- nally nominated by the king, their compositions receiv- ing the stamp of his personal approbation. Henry him- self had a considerable share in the execution of the work, the chief part of which was corrected by his own hand ; and evidence still remains of the diligence with which he had collected and compared the oi)lnions of his bishops and divines on the different points of dis- cussion. The Preface was probably written bv himself, and, among other matter, contains a vindication of the late prohibition of the Bible. Cranmer also wrote a portion of it — that concerning faith. But while it was evangelical in doctrine, it was popish in other things, affirming transubstantiation, calling marriage a sacra- ment, and maintaining the seven sacraments of Roman- ism. As an authorized formula it retained authority till the king's death. This work has occasioned in the present day much discussion and dispute, arising from the prejudices of its readers. One party has confidently appealed to it as a criterion of the opinions of the Re- formers on many doctrinal points, in opposition to the Church from which they had separated; another party has condemned it in the most unqualified terms, as lean- ing even in doctrine towards popery rather than Prot- estantism. For a full account of the plan and contents of this work, see Carwithen, Hist, of the Church of Eng- land, vol. i, ch. vii; see also Palmer, On the Church, i, 468 sq., 481 sq. ; Eadie, Kccles. Cyclop. ; Eden. Theol. Diet. ; Farrar, Eccles. Diet. ; Buriiet, Ref. i, 459, 58G ; iii, (524 ; A mer. Theol. Rer. Feb. 18G0, p. 1^2 ; Bib. Sacra, 1865, p. 350; 1863, p. 891.