Sismai
Sismai was a descendant of Judah through Jerahmeel, mentioned in the genealogy of Judah.
Biography
Sismai was a member of the tribe of Judah through the Jerahmeelite branch of Judah's lineage, recorded in 1 Chronicles 2:40 as the son of Eleasah and the father of Shallum. He appears in the extended genealogical register of Jerahmeel's descendants, a family line within Judah that Chronicles traces with unusual specificity. The Jerahmeelites are also known from 1 Samuel 27:10, where they appear as a group with whom David had dealings during his years as a fugitive. Sismai belongs to the era of the Divided Monarchy, though nothing beyond his genealogical position is recorded, and he exists in Scripture solely as a link in this tribal record.
Significance
Sismai exemplifies the way in which 1 Chronicles deploys genealogy as a theological instrument. The book's extensive tribal lists are not mere antiquarian record-keeping but serve to establish the legitimacy and continuity of the covenant community, particularly crucial in the post-exilic context for which Chronicles was compiled. Every named individual in these lists represents a strand of the fabric through which Israel's identity and God's covenant faithfulness were transmitted. Sismai's place in Judah's genealogy affirms that the tribe through which the Davidic promise would eventually culminate in the Messiah was sustained not by heroes alone but by the long succession of ordinary lives faithfully recorded before God.
Verse Appearances (1)
1Chr
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]