Shemaiah
Shemaiah, a scribe in the chamber of Elishama during the reign of King Jehoiakim.
Biography
This Shemaiah served as a scribe housed in the chamber of Elishama the secretary during the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah (Jeremiah 36:12). He is mentioned in the dramatic account of Jeremiah's scroll, dictated to Baruch, being read aloud in the temple and then brought before the royal officials assembled in Elishama's chamber. His son Delaiah was among the princes who heard the scroll's contents and urged that King Jehoiakim not burn it. While Shemaiah himself is not described as taking a direct role, his connection to this chamber places him at one of the most consequential moments in prophetic history, the royal rejection of God's written word.
Significance
Though Shemaiah the scribe appears only tangentially in the narrative of Jeremiah 36, his household occupies a critical position in the drama of divine revelation versus royal rejection. His son Delaiah's intercession on behalf of the scroll represents a minority voice of conscience within Jehoiakim's court. The broader episode illustrates the tension between earthly power and prophetic authority, as the king's destruction of the scroll did not annul the word of God, Jeremiah simply dictated it again with additions. This scribe's presence in the text situates ordinary officials within the larger story of how God's word prevails despite human resistance.
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]