Berachiah, Berechiah

BERACHIAH, BERECHIAH bĕr ə ki’ ə (בֶּ֣רֶכְיָ֔ה, whom Jehovah has blessed. 1. One of the descendants of Solomon whose name appears in the list of the Jews living in Judah during the postexilic period (1 Chron 3:20). He was also a descendant of Jeconiah, the king who was taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 b.c.

2. The father of Asaph who at David’s command was appointed by the Levites to be one of three in charge of the service of song. Heman was the central figure with Asaph on his right hand and Ethan on his left. The appointment of singers began at the bringing of the Ark to Jerusalem and was continued at the Temple after it was built by Solomon (6:31-39; 15:16, 17).

3. The son of Asa, one of the Levites who returned to Judah from Babylon and dwelt in Netopah or one of its villages. The Levites, of which Berechiah was one, were among the first returnees with Joshua and Zerubbabel to occupy their former villages and to take part in the rebuilding of the Temple and city (9:14-16).

4. A gatekeeper for the Ark at the time of David’s restructuring of the Levitical service. Many were made singers or musicians, but some, as this Berechiah, were made gatekeepers (15:23), a function maintained by Solomon after the Temple was built.

5. The son of Meshillemoth, one of the chiefs of Ephraim who opposed the bringing of captives from Judah into Samaria in the days of Ahaz. The chiefs opposed the action on the ground that it would bring guilt upon Israel and intensify Jehovah’s fierce anger against them because the captives were kinfolk and it was against Jehovah’s law to make slaves of such (2 Chron 28:8-13).

6. The father of Meshullam who was one of the priests who were repairing the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. His area of labor was the Fish Gate (Neh 3:3, 4) and above the Horse Gate opposite his dwelling (3:30). Berechiah was also the grandfather of the woman who married Tobiah’s son, Jehohanan, which relationship had resulted in an unhealthy grip by Tobiah upon the Heb. community (6:18).

7. The son of Iddo and the father of the prophet Zechariah (Zech 1:1). Zechariah was the prophet who more than any other supported the work of Joshua and Zerubbabel in rebuilding the Temple after the Babylonian captivity.