AMARIAH (ăm'a-rī'ah)

AMARIAH ăm’ ə rī’ ə (אֲמַרְיָ֣ה, and אֲמַרְיָ֨הוּ, the Lord has said). 1. A Levite in the line of Eleazar; son of Meraioth and grandfather of Zadok the priest (1 Chron 6:7, 52).

2. A Levite in the line of Kohath, in David’s time (1 Chron 23:19; 24:23). 3. A Levite in the line of Eleazar; son of Azariah; ministered in the Temple of Solomon (1 Chron 6:11; Ezra 7:3; 1 Esd 8:2 [KJV, ASV AMARIAS]; 2 Esd 1:2 [KJV, ASV AMARIAS]).

4. High priest in the reign of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron 19:11). Father is not named. 5. Son of Shephatiah of Judah; an ancestor of Athaiah (Neh 11:4). 6. A Levite who lived during the reign of Hezekiah (2 Chron 31:15); he helped in the distribution of offerings. 7. A Judahite; son of Bani who had married a foreign wife (Ezra 10:42). 8. A priestly family that returned to Jerusalem and sealed the covenant under Nehemiah (Neh 10:3; 12:2); he was the father of Jehohanan, a priest in the time of Joiakim (Neh 12:13). May be the same as Immer (1 Chron 24:14; Ezra 2:37; 10:20; Neh 7:40; 1 Esd 5:24; KJV MERUTH, ASV EMMERUTH).

9. Ancestor of the prophet Zephaniah; son of Hezekiah (possibly the king) (Zeph 1:1). 10. In KJV, ASV, Nehemiah 12:12 Meraiah may be a corruption of Amariah.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

(’amaryah and ’amaryahu, "the Lord has said"; compare HPN, 180, 285).

(1) A Levite in the line of Aaron-Eleazar; a son of Meraioth and grandfather of Zadok (1Ch 6:7,52) who lived in David’s time. Compare Zadok (2Sa 15:27, etc.) also Ant, VIII, i, 3 and X, viii, 6. (2) A Levite in the line of Kohath-Hebron referred to in 1Ch 23:19 and 24:23 at the time when David divided the Levites into courses. (3) A Levite in the line of Aaron-Eleazar; a son of Azariah who "executed the priest’s office in the house that Solomon built" (1Ch 6:10 f). Compare Ezr 7:3 where in the abbreviated list this Amariah is mentioned as an ancestor of Ezra. See [[Amarias]] (1 Esdras 8:2; 2 Esdras 1:2) and number (4) of this article (4) Chief priest and judge "in all matters of Yahweh" appointed by Jehoshaphat (2Ch 19:11). Possibly identical with Amariah, number (3). (5) A descendant of Judah in the line of Perez and an ancestor of Ataiah who lived in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile (Ne 11:4). Compare Imri (1Ch 9:4) and number (7) of this article, which Amariah seems to be of the same family,

(6) A Levite and an assistant of Kore who was appointed by Hezekiah to distributed the "oblations of Yahweh" to their brethren (2Ch 31:15). (7) A son of Bani who had married a foreign woman (Ezr 10:42). See number (5) of this article (8) A priest who with Nehemiah sealed the covenant (Ne 10:3); he had returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel (Ne 12:2) and was the father of Jehohanan (compare Hanani, Ezr 10:20), priest at the time of Joiakim (Ne 12:13). Compare Immer (Ezr 2:37; 10:20; Ne 7:40) and also Emmeruth (the [[King James Version]] "Meruth," 1 Esdras 5:24).

(9) An ancestor of Zephaniah, the prophet (Ze 1:1).