Seraiah (Hastings' Dictionary)

1. Scribe or secretary in the reign of David, 2S 8" (B 'A(Td, A 2apaias). In 2 S 20'^ he is called Sheva il^erS Nitr, Keth. k'P), B Ttjitous, A 'I<roCs. In 1 K 4' the name appears as Shisha x'i"P (B -afii, A -fi<rd). This form or Shasha would be restored else- where by Thenius, Wellhausen, and Stade ; while Klostermann prefers the form Shavsha kv'ic' (B 'l7)(roCs, X 2oi)s, A -oi'ffd), which is found in 1 Ch 18". 2. High priest in the reign of Zedekiah. He was put to death with otlier distinguished captives by order of Nebuchadnezzar at Kiblah, 2 K 25", ', Jer 52-''". He is mentioned in the list of high priests, 1 Ch G". Ezra clainjed descent from him, Ezr7' (1 Es8' Azaraia8,2Es 1' Saraias). His name also occurs in 1 Es 5'' Saraias. 3. One of ' the cap- tains of the forces ' who joined Gedaliah at Mizpah after his ajipointment as governor by Nebuchad- nezzar, 2 K 2.5'^, Jer 40. The text of Kings is evi- dently abridged from that of Jeremiah. The epithet 'the Netophathite' applied to his father in Kings really lielongs to a dili'erent person. 4. Second son of Kenaz, and brother of Othniel, 1 Ch 4"- ". He was father of Joab, who was the 'father 'of the • PEFSl, 1893, p. 119 ff. t Handbook to the Bible, p. 856. t The Land and the Book (Southern Palestine and Jeru- salem). Valley of Craftsmen, cf. Neh 11''. 5. Grandfather of Jeliu, a prince of Simeon, 1 Ch 4". 6. One of the twelve leaders who returned with Zerubbabel, Ezr 2-. In the corresponding list, Neh V, he is called Azariah (1 Es 5 Zaraias). 7. A priestly clan, probably named after the high priest of No. 2. This course of priests was lirst in order in the times of Zerubbabel (Neh 12-, 1 Es 5'), Joiakim (Neh 12i=), and Nehemiah (Neh 10"). This family is noted as one of those that .settled in Jerusalem (Neh 11"). In the corresiionding list, 1 Ch 9", Azariah is substituted. ' Very probably they were father and son, and the two lists hava selected ditlerent names to represent the priestly house, cf. 1 Ch 7"' (Ryle). 8. One of the three princes whom Jehoiakim sent to ai)prehend Jere- miah and Baruch (Jer 36-"). 9. Son of Neriah and brother of Baruch, Jer SP"". He held the office of .irii:p Hi' (AV 'a quiet prince,' ni. 'or prince of Me- nuclia or chief chamberlain ' ; RV ' chief chamber- lain,' m. 'or quartermaster'). TheVulg. tr. prinre/js prophelke; the Targ. (N.7?-ip-n an) and LXX (S.px'^' Siipux), followed by Gratz and Cheyne, read ' in command over(tlje)gifts,'i.e. r.:n:z-yj. In this official capacity he attended Zedekiah when that prince went to Babylon to pay homage to Nebuchadnezzar. Like his brother Baruch, he was a friend of Jere- miah ; and the prophet having written in a book the denunciations against Babylon that are now contained in Jer 50-5P, entrusted the volume to Seraiah, and bade him on his arrival at Babylon to read the prophecies, publicly, as it would seem, and then with the symbolic action of a prophet to cast the book into the Euphrates and proclaim, ' Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her.' This scene suggested to St. John the imagery of Rev WK N. J. D. White.