Shimei
Shimei was an Israelite who had married a foreign wife during the Babylonian exile and agreed to send her away.
Biography
Shimei appears in Ezra 10 as one of the Israelite men who had contracted marriages with foreign women during the Babylonian exile and subsequent return to the land. In response to Ezra's impassioned plea and public mourning over Israel's covenant violations, a communal assembly was convened and a binding resolution passed requiring the dissolution of these marriages. Shimei stood among those who pledged to send away their foreign wives and any children born to them, a wrenching social and personal act undertaken in service of covenantal holiness. His name is preserved in the register of those who complied, marking him as part of the community's corporate act of repentance and recommitment to the Mosaic covenant.
Significance
Shimei's inclusion in the Ezra 10 dissolution register reflects the collective nature of post-exilic covenant renewal. The post-exilic community understood that the exile itself had been a consequence of persistent covenant infidelity, and Ezra's reform was aimed at preventing a recurrence. Each named individual in this list represents a concrete, sacrificial act of devotion to God's covenant law. Theologically, these figures remind us that repentance is not merely inward but must be expressed in tangible, sometimes costly action. Shimei's compliance points forward to the New Testament call for authentic repentance that produces visible fruit consistent with transformed allegiance to God.
Verse Appearances (1)
Ezra
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]