Shelemiah
Shelemiah, the father of Irijah, the guard who arrested Jeremiah.
Biography
Shelemiah, the father of the guard captain Irijah, appears in Jeremiah 37:13 at a critical juncture in Jeremiah's ministry during the siege of Jerusalem. When the Babylonian army temporarily withdrew and Jeremiah attempted to leave the city, Irijah arrested him at the Benjamin Gate, accusing him of deserting to the Chaldeans. Shelemiah himself is not an active character in the narrative, but through his son he is placed at the intersection of military duty, political suspicion, and prophetic suffering. The Benjamin Gate arrest led to Jeremiah's beating and imprisonment in a dungeon, a stark example of the prophet enduring persecution for faithfully proclaiming God's word.
Significance
Shelemiah's significance derives from his son Irijah's role in Jeremiah's arrest and imprisonment. The episode in Jeremiah 37 underscores the profound loneliness and suffering of the prophetic vocation. Jeremiah, who had declared the truth of Babylon's coming dominion, was branded a traitor by a society unwilling to hear God's word. The family of Shelemiah, through Irijah's official capacity, became instruments of that unjust persecution. This narrative serves as a sobering reminder that faithful proclamation of God's truth may be met with hostility from the very communities the prophet serves, and that God's servants are not always spared from the consequences of others' disobedience.
Verse Appearances (1)
Jeremiah
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]