Zemirah
Zemirah was a son of Becher and grandson of Benjamin (1Ch.7.8).
Biography
Zemirah was a son of Becher and a grandson of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel. He is listed among the heads of Benjamin's descendants in 1 Chronicles 7:8, part of a genealogical record that enumerates the mighty warriors and clan leaders of the tribe. The name Zemirah, which carries the sense of 'song' or 'melody' in Hebrew, is otherwise unattested in narrative biblical literature. His appearance is limited entirely to this genealogical register during the era of the sojourn in Egypt and the wilderness, placing him in the generation after Benjamin himself. He belonged to the extended family structure that shaped the tribe of Benjamin's identity in early Israelite history.
Significance
Though Zemirah appears only in a genealogical list, his inclusion in 1 Chronicles 7:8 reflects the Chronicler's theological conviction that every member of God's covenant community has a name and a place in the unfolding story of Israel. The tribe of Benjamin, to which Zemirah belonged, would later play outsized roles in biblical history, producing King Saul and the apostle Paul. Genealogical records like this one affirm that Israel's national identity was rooted not in abstract ideals but in real family lineages. Even obscure individuals like Zemirah bear witness to the providential continuity God maintained through Israel's tribal structure from the patriarchal era onward.
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]