Gemariah
“Yahweh has accomplished or perfected”
Summary
The name of two men in the time of Jeremiah: a noble who sought to prevent the burning of Jeremiah's scroll, and an ambassador sent to Babylon.
☩Son of Shaphan
Gemariah son of Shaphan was a scribe and one of the nobles of Judah during the reign of Jehoiakim. From his official chamber in the Temple, Baruch read aloud Jeremiah's prophecies to the people. When Gemariah's son Michaiah reported this reading to the princes in council, they summoned Baruch to repeat it. Though Gemariah and the other princes heard the divine message with fear, he joined with Elnathan and Delaiah in entreating the king not to burn the scroll—a plea Jehoiakim refused.
☩Son of Hilkiah
A different Gemariah, son of Hilkiah the high priest who found the book of the law, was sent by King Zedekiah as an ambassador to Babylon carrying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah entrusted him with a letter to the Jewish captives, warning them against false prophets who promised a speedy return and counseling them to settle peacefully in Babylon.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Gemariah," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. III (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Gemariah," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Gemariah," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 4.George Morrish, "Gemariah," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).