Kolaiah
“Voice of the Lord, or the Lord has spoken”
Summary
The name of two men in Scripture: a Benjamite ancestor and the father of a false prophet condemned by Jeremiah.
☩Father of Ahab the False Prophet
The more notable Kolaiah was the father of Ahab, one of two false prophets among the Jewish exiles in Babylon whom Jeremiah condemned for their lies and immoral conduct. Ahab son of Kolaiah, along with Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, prophesied falsely in the Lord's name and committed adultery with their neighbors' wives. Jeremiah pronounced that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon would roast them in the fire, and their fate would become a byword among the exiles: "The Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire." This severe judgment demonstrated that false prophecy would not be tolerated, even in exile.
☩Benjamite Ancestor
A different Kolaiah was a Benjamite, the son of Maaseiah and father of Pedaiah, in the ancestral line of Sallu. Sallu was among the Benjamites who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity and settled in the city. This Kolaiah lived significantly before the exile, perhaps several generations before the fall of Jerusalem.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Kolaiah," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Kolaiah," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Kolaiah," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Kolaiah," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).