Lexical Definition

‎שְׁמַרְיָה‎ Shᵉmaryâh (shem-ar-yaw') Shemariah ^N:N-M-P
or שְׁמַרְיָהוּ Shᵉmaryâhûw (shem-ar-yaw'-hoo); from ‎שָׁמַר‎ and ‎יָהּ‎; Jah has guarded

Shamariah, Shemariah.

• § Shemariah = "kept by Jehovah"
• Shemarjah, the name of four Israelites

1) a Benjamite, one of David's mighty warriors who joined him at Ziklag
2) a son of king Rehoboam of Judah
3) an Israelite of the sons of Harim who had a foreign wife in the time of Ezra
4) an Israelite of the sons of Bani who had a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

Extended Information

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Ezr.10.32

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎שְׁמַרְיָ֫ה(וּׅ‎ proper name, masculine (‎׳‎‎י‎ has kept, preserved); — Σαμαρ(ε)ια(ς):

1. ‎יָ֫הוּ‎- a hero of David 1Chr 12:6* (van d. H. v.1Chr 12:5). Elsewhere ‎יָה‎-:

2. son of Rehoboam 2Chr 11:19.

3. contemporaries of Ezra:
a. Ezra 10:32.
b. vEzra 10:41.

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Male • Returned divorcee • Israelite who married a foreign woman

Man living at the time of Exile and Return

Shemariah, an Israelite who was among those who had married foreign women during the exile.

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Ezr.10.32;
• only referred to as Shemariah שְׁמַרְיָה.

Shemariah is mentioned in Ezra 10:32 as one of the Israelites who had married foreign women during the Babylonian exile. This was part of a larger issue facing the Jewish community after their return to Jerusalem, as many had intermarried with the surrounding peoples. Ezra, a priest and scribe, called for the people to separate themselves from their foreign wives and children to maintain the purity and integrity of the Jewish faith. Shemariah, along with the other Israelites who had married foreign women, agreed to put away their wives in obedience to Ezra's directive.

All entries for Shemariah: שְׁמַרְיָה