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Shemaiah
SHEMAIAH (shē-mā'ya, Heb. shem‘yâh, The Lord has heard)
SHEMAIAH shĭ mā’ yə (שְׁמַעְיָ֑ה; LXX Σαμαίας, meaning God hears). A name carried by a considerable number of Biblical and apocryphal persons. It was predominantly given to those engaged in spiritual pursuits, as Levites, priests and prophets.
The Biblical references.
1. A son of Shecaniah, in the line of Zerubbabel. He was the keeper of the East Gate, and worked on the repair of the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah (
2. A descendant of Simeon, a chieftain and head of a town (
3. Member of a Reubenite family (
4. A Levite, belonging to the house of Merari, also referred to in
5. Another Levite, of the family of Jeduthun and Elkanah. Probably his son, Obadiah or Abda (
6. A leading Levite in the days of David, and the chief of the sons of Elizaphan of the Kohathites. With two hundred of his brethren, he assisted in bringing the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem (
7. The son of Nethanel, of the Levites, and a scribe who recorded the results of King David’s choice by lot of those who would serve in the twenty-four courses of the newly organized Temple service (
8. The oldest son of Obed-edom, whose sons in turn were distinguished by great ability. He belonged to the division of the gatekeepers in the new Temple order (
9. A prophet who advised Rehoboam not to take military action against Jeroboam and the ten northern tribes that seceded (
10. A Levite, sent by Jehoshaphat in a company of sixteen men, which included eight other Levites, two priests and five princes, to assist in his reforms by teaching the law throughout the cities of Judah (
11. A Levite who assisted in the cleansing of the Temple during the reign of Hezekiah. He was a son of Jeduthun (
12. A man, prob. a Levite, who assisted in the distribution of the “free-will offerings to God” to the priests and Levites assembled at the E gate (
13. A chief of the Levites, along with Conaniah and Nethanel his brothers. A member of a wealthy group that made liberal gifts of sacrificial animals for Josiah’s revival Passover (
14. A son of Adonikam and a member of a group that accompanied Ezra in the return from the Babylonian exile (
15. A different Shemaiah, sent by Ezra as a member of a delegation to Iddo in the interest of recruiting additional Levites for the priestly service in Jerusalem (
16. A priest, one of four sons of Harim, who had married a foreign wife, and was required by Ezra’s judgment to put her away (
17. Another man in the line of Harim, evidently not the same as 16 above, but an ordinary Israelite, who had also married a foreign wife (
18. A hired prophet, sent by Tobiah and Sanballat to intimidate Nehemiah, and so hinder progress on the rebuilding of the wall. The fear of assassination was calculated to cause him to flee into the Temple, a forbidden act, and so bring reproach upon him in the eyes of the people, and perhaps divine wrath as well. Nehemiah wisely refused this ploy (
19. The name of a group of priests, prob. one of the twenty-four courses, who participated with Nehemiah in the sealing of the covenant at the dedication of the wall (
20. A priest, who was a member of a company marching to the right upon the walls, at the time of Nehemiah’s dedicatory services (
21. Another Levite, descended from Asaph (
22. A trumpet player, and priest’s son, who was one that marched with the group going to the right in the dedication ceremonies (
23. A Levite musician with the group that marched to the left during the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem (
24. The father of a prophet named Uriah, from Kirjath-jearim. He prophesied against Jerusalem in the time of King Jehoiakim, who sought his life. Uriah, however, escaped to Egypt, but he was brought back and executed by Jehoiakim (
25. A false prophet, called Shemaiah of Nehelam, who attempted to interfere with Jeremiah’s ministry. The latter pronounced judgment upon him, in the extinction of his family, who would not witness the return from captivity (
26. The father of Delaiah, a prince who was among the witnesses of Jehoiakim’s burning of the scroll containing the words of Jeremiah (
The apocryphal references.
1. Those previously mentioned, under 13, 14, 15 and 16 respectively.
2. One of the “sons of Ezora,” who had married a foreign wife, in Ezra’s time (
3. An acquaintance of Tobit, who calls him “the great Shemaiah” (
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
she-ma’-ya, she-mi’-a (shema`yah (in
(1) Codex Vaticanus Sammaias; Codex Alexandrinus Samaias (
(2) Son of Shecaniah (
(3) A Simeonite (
(4) A Reubenite (
(5) A Merarite Levite (
(6) A Levite of the family of Jeduthun, father of Obadiah or Abda (
(7) Head of the Levitical Kohathite clan of Elizaphan in the time of David (
(8) The scribe (
(9) A Korahite Levite, eldest son of Obed-edom (
(10) A Levite (
(11) One of the men "over the free-will offerings of God" (
(12) A Levite of the family of Jeduthun in the reign of Hezekiah (
(13) A chief of the Levites (
(14) A "chief man" under Ezra (
(15) A member of the family of Adonikam (
(16) A priest of the family of Harim who married a foreign wife (
(17) A layman of the family of Harim who married a foreign wife (
(18) A prophet (
(19) One of the 24 courses of priests, 16th under Zerubbabel (
(20) A priest, descendant of Asaph (
(21) A singer (or clan) participating in the dedication of the wall (
(22) Father of the prophet Urijah (
(23) A false prophet who was upbraided by Jeremiah (29:24-32) for attempting to hinder his work. He is styled "the Nehelamite" and was among those carried into captivity with Jehoiachin. In opposition to Jeremiah, he predicted a speedy ending to the captivity. Jeremiah foretold the complete destruction of Shemaiah’s family.
(24) Father of Delaiah, who was a prince in the reign of Zedekiah (
(25) "The great," kinsman of Tobias (Tobit 5:13).
Horace J. Wolf