SOBNA (Heb. Šebhnā', LXX Σόφυζε). - Steward of the royal house of Judah and prime minister (cf. 2 Chron. 26:21 etc.) in the time of Hezekiah (721-693 B.C.).

Anticipating war with the Assyrians, he was having a sumptuous tomb cut in the rock, in a clearly visible place; he made a display of proud chariots; his conduct was a disgrace to Hezekiah. Therefore Isaiah around the year 701 confronted him, foretelling his removal from office and that "he will roll like a ball into a broad plain (Egypt, Assyria?), where he will die dishonored." Eliakim will succeed him (Isa. 22:12-25).

In Isa. 36:3, 11, 22; 37:2 and 2 Kings 18:18, 26, 37; 19:2, among the envoys sent by Hezekiah to the rabh tāqēh of Sennacherib, after Eliakim (steward) S. is named as secretary (has-sāphār). Many identify the two S. In the demotion to secretary, Isa. 22:15-25 would have been fulfilled. However, it seems more probable to distinguish them, because of the different office and because Hezekiah would not have kept in so high a position one who was the disgrace of his house. His name in 2 Kings differs from Isa. (Šebhnāh); in Isa. 36:3 ff. it may have been harmonized with Isa. 22:15 ff. A seal found at Tell ed-Duwejr (Lachish) bears the inscription: "Of S. (son) of Achab."

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: W. B. Stevenson, s. v. in Dict. of the Bible, IV (1942), p. 483 f.; D. Diringer, Le iscrizioni antico-ebraiche palestinesi, Florence 1934, p. 214.

Bonaventura Mariani

@incollection{ec11_sobna_ebr_sebhna_settanta_soph, author = {Mariani, Bonaventura}, title = {Sobna (Ebr. ŠEbhnĀ', settanta σόφυζε)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XI}, pages = {824}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/sobna-ebr-sebhna-settanta-sophuze} }

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