Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SHEMAIAH

(Heb. šĕmaʿyâ, šĕmaʿyāhû)
(also SHAMMUA)

1. A Judean prophet at the time of the division of the monarchy following the death of Solomon. Shemaiah was sent by Yahweh to admonish Rehoboam, king of Judah, to return to Jerusalem and not wage war against Jeroboam (1 Kgs. 12:21-22; 2 Chr. 11:2-4). Later, when Yahweh punished Rehoboam and Judah because of their idolatrous practices, it was Shemaiah who declared to the leaders of Judah that the invasion by an Egyptian army led by Shishak was the consequence of their unfaithfulness. He also declared that final judgment over their idolatry would not come by the hands of Shishak (2 Chr. 12:5-8). Shemaiah also was a historian of the court and wrote a book containing the events of Rehoboam’s reign (2 Chr. 12:15).

2. The son of Shecaniah; a descendant of David (1 Chr. 3:22).

3. A leader of the tribe of Simeon, the father of Shimri (1 Chr. 4:37).

4. One of the leaders of the tribe of Reuben, the son of Joel (1 Chr. 5:4).

5. A Levite, the son of Hasshub, from the clan of Merari (1 Chr. 9:14), who lived in Jerusalem at the time the exiles returned from Babylon. He was one of the Levites responsible for the work outside the house of God (Neh. 11:15-16).

6. A Levite, the father of Obadiah and the son of Galal, from the clan of Jeduthun (1 Chr. 9:16). His name and the name of his son appear abbreviated in Neh. 11:17 as Shammua (3) and Abda.

7. The leader of a levitical family, descendant of Elizaphan. Shemaiah and 200 Levites carried the ark of the covenant when it was removed from the house of Obed-edom to the tent that David had prepared in Jerusalem (1 Chr. 15:8-11).

8. A Levite, the son of Nethanel, and the scribe who, in the days of David, recorded the names of the men who constituted the 24 divisions of priests (1 Chr. 24:6).

9. A Levite from the clan of Korah; firstborn son of Obed-edom (1 Chr. 26:4). Shemaiah and his sons were gatekeepers of the temple (1 Chr. 26:6-8).

10. One of the Levites sent by Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to teach the law to the people of Judah (2 Chr. 17:8).

11. The son of Jeduthun; one of the Levites who went through a process of ritual cleansing in order to help purify the temple during the time of Hezekiah (2 Chr. 29:14-15).

12. A Levite at the time of Hezekiah who helped distribute the freewill offering and gifts given to the Levites who lived in the towns of the priests (2 Chr. 31:15).

13. One of the leaders of the Levites who contributed 5000 sheep and goats and 500 bulls to help the Levites celebrate Passover in Josiah’s time (2 Chr. 35:9).

14. One of the sons of Adonikam who came to Judah with Ezra from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes (Ezra 8:13).

15. One of the leaders of the people who returned from exile in Babylon. Ezra sent him and others to Iddo, the leader in Casiphia, to bring Levites to attend to the service of God (Ezra 8:16-17). He may be the same person as 14 above.

16. A priest from the family of Harim who divorced his foreign wife (Ezra 10:21).

17. An Israelite from the family of Harim who divorced his foreign wife (Ezra 10:31).

18. A Levite, the son of Shecaniah. Shemaiah was the keeper of the East Gate of the temple and helped to repair a section of the walls of Jerusalem in the days of Nehemiah (Neh. 3:29).

19. The son of Delaiah, a prophet hired by Tobiah and Sanballat to intimidate Nehemiah and to discredit him (Neh. 6:10-13). Shemaiah tried to coerce Nehemiah to enter the temple and thus violate religious law because he was not a priest.

20. One of the priests who signed the binding agreement with Nehemiah and the leaders of the nation (Neh. 10:8[MT 9]) that required the leaders of Judah, the priests, and the Levites to follow all the commandments and regulations of the law of God (v. 29[30]). He had returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Neh. 12:6) and was probably the father of Jehonathan (v. 18).

21. One of the leaders of Judah who participated in the dedication of the new walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 12:34).

22. A priest, the son of Mattaniah, from the clan of Asaph. His grandson Zechariah played the trumpet during the dedication of the new walls of Jerusalem in the days of Jeremiah (Neh. 12:35).

23. A Levite who was among the musicians celebrating the dedication of the new walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 12:36).

24. One of the Levites who accompanied Nehemiah in the procession during the dedication of the new wall (Neh. 12:42).

25. The father of Uriah, a prophet from Kiriath-jearim killed by order of Jehoiakim (Jer. 26:20).

26. A Nehelamite and false prophet who lived among the exiles in Babylon. He prophesied the imminent return of the people to Judah and wanted priests in Jerusalem to reprimand and imprison Jeremiah for preaching that the Exile would last many years. When Jeremiah heard Shemaiah’s word, he prophesied that Shemaiah would not have descendants among the people of Judah and would not live long enough to see the return of the people from exile (Jer. 29:24-32).

27. The father of Delaiah, one of the officials who served in the court of Jehoiakim, king of Judah (Jer. 36:12). He was present when Baruch reread the scroll of Jeremiah’s prophecies before a group of royal officials gathered in the king’s palace.

Claude F. Mariottini

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SHEMAIAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)