It’s not often you get a person with more than 10 people in the Bible who share the name, such as Shemaiah. Moreover, one of these men named Shemaiah had a book named after him—sadly, lost to time. Another one of these men has received sainthood status in the Orthodox church.
Without much of a flourish, we will dive right into the many men, the many myths, and the many legends.
Who Are the Men Named Shemaiah in the Bible?
Shemaiah, sometimes spelled Samaia in the Septuagint, has a name that means “God heard.” Considering one of the men who goes by this name is a prophet, this name has a special meaning for that particular man.
Let’s now break down the various men named Shemaiah in the Bible.
- 1 Kings 12:22-24: Perhaps the most prominent out of all the men who go by this name (more on this later), Shemaiah served as a prophet during the time of Rehoboam. This happened after the nation of Israel had split into two. Rehoboam had made plans to attack the other half of the kingdom of Israel, but God spoke to Shemaiah. Shemaiah advised him not to, and he listened.
- 1 Chronicles 4: A person from the tribe of Simeon went by this name during the time of the kings.
- 1 Chronicles 9: A Levite, a person from the religious tribe of Israel, had a man named Shemaiah during the kings’ reigns.
- 1 Chronicles 15: Shemaiah and 200 relatives (other Levites) helped to carry the Ark of the Covenant into Hebron.
- Nehemiah 3:29: A man named Shemaiah helped to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem. Construction began when the Israelite people returned and realized the vulnerability of their defenses against foreign nations.
- Nehemiah 6: A false prophet who tries to stop Nehemiah and the others from building the wall.
- Nehemiah 12: A priest named Shemaiah returned with other Israelites from their captivity in Babylon. A prince by the same name helped in Nehemiah 12 during the new wall’s dedication.
There are so many others that we could list here. People who opposed prophets. Seemingly ordinary men who lived ordinary lives, to the best of our knowledge.
Yet, the first one we listed—the prophet during the time of Rehoboam, seems to get the most press regarding biblical scholars. Let’s look more into him.
What Is the Book of Shemaiah?
Sometimes, the Bible references books we no longer have access to. In 2 Chronicles 12, we read about two books lost to time.
The first is the History of Iddo the Seer. The second is the Book of Shemaiah.
Although it would be wonderful to have this book in our hands today, we don’t need it, as the scriptural canon has been completed, and the Book of Shemaiah (sometimes called The Acts of Shemaiah) has been left out of it.
It’s certainly fun to speculate about what could be inside. Perhaps it is similar to other prophetic books in the Bible.
Perhaps, like Jeremiah or Zephaniah, Shemaiah would write down whenever God spoke to him.
Perhaps he would document what was happening in the world around him as many of the prophets, such as Daniel, did. He was, after all, living in the time when the kingdom of Israel split. Certainly, his whole world had been shaken, and there was much to document in the press. Considering he also probably lived during the time of Solomon, he probably felt sad at seeing Israel go from its Golden Era to one of division.
Unfortunately, we don’t know much about what the book can contain. We know only that God spoke to him more than once in the passage above. Considering much of Israel had turned to idolatry during this time, we can imagine how necessary it was to hear the Word of God.
Is Shemaiah a Saint?
Now, when we use the word “saint,” we need to make it clear that in the Christian world, we believe that everyone who has saving faith becomes a saint. We obviously will probably not get a feast day commemorated by the church, but we are saints.
This is a little different when the Catholic or Orthodox church declares someone a saint and appoints a feast day for them. Announcing someone as a saint in these circles honors them in a way that we can especially remember their lives.
Whether we agree with this practice or not, we should know that Shemaiah has a sainthood day with the Eastern Orthodox church on January 8.
He’s often revered for his call for unity during times of division—listening to what God called him to say instead of agreeing with the majority of the Israelites at the time.
He is not attributed to being a “saint of anything in particular,” as in high church circles, some people become “the saint of publishing” or “the saint of lost things,” etc. However, some churches recognize the value of Shemaiah, that he pushed for God’s will despite what the king had wanted.
Thankfully, in this instance, the king obeyed. Unfortunately, Rehoboam didn’t seem to follow God in many other areas of his life. But perhaps this one act of obedience spared lives and allowed his kingdom to last for as long as it did before captivity.
What Can We Learn from Shemaiah in the Bible?
We could spend article upon article talking about the life lessons of each man named Shemaiah in the Bible. But for today, we’ll focus on the prophet during the time of Solomon and Rehoboam. Here’s what we can learn:
He lived, and served God, in the good times as well as bad times. As a Gen Zer, I’ve lived in mostly bad times. But I know many of my older Christian colleagues who experienced good times. Times without political unrest. Times of prosperity. And I can imagine the stress one might feel from very good to bad times. It’s easy to become embittered, despairing, and apathetic. Nevertheless, Shemaiah listened to God in both times. Because of this, he turned the king away from a very bad decision. We have to do the same. Entrust God with our ears, even when life falls apart around us.
He called for unity. Unity matters, especially in a time of division. As we live in such polarizing times, we need to cling to God and Scripture and value the diversity within the body of Christ. God hates division. Just as God’s heart broke for Israel's split, we can imagine how much it hurts him to see the church so divided over non-doctrinal topics. We need to seek unity now more than ever.
He served God, though his legacy isn’t what he would have liked. Unfortunately, although his name survives, his writings do not. We may never know just how much he moved for God. We know that Scripture dedicated a cameo to him, deeming him important enough to be a focus during political unrest for the kings. In the same way, our legacy may not live on. Our great-great-grandchildren may not know what we did. That doesn’t matter. What matters is we lived for God and listened to him, whether that lived into posterity or not.
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Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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