<strong>SHECANIAH, SHECHANIAH</strong> (shĕk-ă-nī'a, Heb. <em>shekhanyâh, dweller with the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span></em>)<br /><br />

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<strong>SHECANIAH</strong> <strong>shĕk’ ə nī’ ə</strong> (<span class="hebrew">שְׁכַנְיָֽה</span>, or <span class="hebrew">שְׁכַנְיָ֖הוּ</span>, meaning <em>the Lord has taken up His abode</em>). 1. A descendant of Zerubbabel (<bibleref ref="1Chr.3.21">1 Chron 3:21</bibleref>, <bibleref ref="1Chr.3.22">22</bibleref>) and therefore a member of Judah’s royal line; almost certainly to be identified with the Shecaniah of <bibleref ref="Ezra.8.3">Ezra 8:3</bibleref> and possibly with the father of Shemaiah of <bibleref ref="Neh.3.29">Nehemiah 3:29</bibleref>.<br /><br />

2. The leader, chosen by lot, of the tenth group of priests, having special responsibility in connection with the house of the Lord (<bibleref ref="1Chr.24.11">1 Chron 24:11</bibleref>).

3. A priest in the reign of Hèzekiah whose faithful service in distributing the freewill offerings among his priestly brethren is noted (<bibleref ref="2Chr.31.15">2 Chron 31:15</bibleref>).

4. The son of Jahaziel, who returned with Ezra from Babylonia to Jerusalem in the reign of Artaxerxes (<bibleref ref="Ezra.8.5">Ezra 8:5</bibleref>).<br /><br />

5. The son of Jehiel, who acted as spokesman for the large congregation whose conscience on the subject of mixed marriages had been stirred by Ezra (<bibleref ref="Ezra.10.2">10:2</bibleref>). Shecaniah confessed the national sin, expressed the nation’s hope, suggested that a covenant be made before the Lord to eliminate the evil of intermarriage, and encouraged Ezra to take the lead in this reform. Since his name does not appear in the list of <bibleref ref="Ezra.10.18-Ezra.10.44">Ezra 10:18-44</bibleref> he may not have been personally guilty.

6. The father-in-law of Tobiah the Ammonite, Nehemiah’s sworn adversary (<bibleref ref="Neh.6.18">Neh 6:18</bibleref>).<br /><br />

7. One of the priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel (<bibleref ref="Neh.12.3">Neh 12:3</bibleref>). A substitution of the Heb. letter <span class="hebrew">ב</span> (b) for <span class="hebrew">ך</span> (k) (the two are easily confused) has led to the form Shebaniah in <bibleref ref="Neh.10.4">Nehemiah 10:4</bibleref>; <bibleref ref="Neh.12.14">12:14</bibleref>.<br /><br />

<h2>International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)</h2>

shek-a-ni’-a, shekan’-ya (shekhanyah (in <bibleref ref="1Chr.24.11">1Ch 24:11</bibleref>; <bibleref ref="2Chr.31.15">2Ch 31:15</bibleref>, shekhanyahu); Codex Vaticanus Ischania, Sekenia):

(1) A descendant of Zerubbabel (<bibleref ref="1Chr.3.21">1Ch 3:21</bibleref>,<bibleref ref="1Chr.3.22">22</bibleref>). This is the same Shecaniah mentioned in <bibleref ref="Ezra.8.3">Ezr 8:3</bibleref>.

(2) "The sons of Shecaniah," so the Massoretic Text of <bibleref ref="Ezra.8.5">Ezr 8:5</bibleref> reads, were among those who returned with Ezra, but a name appears to have been lost from the text, and we should probably read "of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel" (compare 1 Esdras 8:32, "of the sons of Zathoes, Sechenias the son of Jezelus").

(3) Chief of the tenth course of priests (<bibleref ref="1Chr.24.11">1Ch 24:11</bibleref>).

(4) A priest in the reign of Hezekiah (<bibleref ref="2Chr.31.15">2Ch 31:15</bibleref>).

(5) A contemporary of Ezra who supported him in his opposition to foreign marriages (<bibleref ref="Ezra.10.2">Ezr 10:2</bibleref>).<br /><br />

(6) The father of Shemaiah, "the keeper of the east gate" (<bibleref ref="Neh.3.29">Ne 3:29</bibleref>).<br /><br />

(7) The father-in-law of Tobiah the Ammonite (<bibleref ref="Neh.6.18">Ne 6:18</bibleref>).

(8) The eponym of a family which returned with Zerubbabel (<bibleref ref="Neh.12.3">Ne 12:3</bibleref>). It is the same name which, by an interchange of "bh" and "kh", appears as Shebaniah (see [[Shebaniah]], (2)) in <bibleref ref="Neh.10.4">Ne 10:4</bibleref>,<bibleref ref="Neh.10.12">12</bibleref>,<bibleref ref="Neh.10.14">14</bibleref>.

Horace J. Wolf<br /><br />