husband of Shimeath
Shimeath's husband, unnamed in the Bible, was the father of Jozachar, one of the assassins of King Joash.
Biography
The unnamed husband of Shimeath was the father of Jozachar (also called Zabad in 2 Chronicles 24:26), one of the two royal officials who conspired against and assassinated King Joash of Judah (2 Kings 12:21; 2 Chronicles 24:25). Shimeath is identified as an Ammonite woman, making her son Jozachar of mixed Israelite-Ammonite heritage. The biblical text notes this foreign lineage pointedly, as the assassination followed Joash's apostasy and his murder of the priest Zechariah son of Jehoiada. Though the father is unnamed, he represents a figure whose household became entangled in one of Judah's most dramatic regicide narratives, a family whose son would strike down a king who had once been faithful to God but had turned to idolatry.
Significance
The household of Shimeath's husband intersects Scripture at a pivotal moment of divine judgment: the assassination of King Joash following his abandonment of the covenant and his killing of the prophet Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20-25). The Chronicler explicitly links Joash's death to divine retribution: 'Thus God repaid him for the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest.' That one of the assassins had Ammonite lineage through his mother underscores the moral complexity of the narrative. This anonymous father's legacy through his son Jozachar illustrates how the consequences of apostasy and injustice ripple through political structures, ultimately serving God's justice in human history.
Verse Appearances (1)
2Kgs
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]