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שְׁמַעְיָ֫הוּ

Shemaiah

BDB lists 10 entries for ‘Shemaiah’ fuller range ↓

H8098 Strong's Hebrew
Shᵉmaʻyâh Transliteration
/shem-aw-yaw'/ Pronunciation
Usage in the Hebrew Bible 41 appearances

Compare with another word →

About this entry

At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.

שמעיה (Shᵉmaʻyâh) is a Hebrew name most often rendered “Shemaiah.” It first appears in 1 Kings 12:22. Spanning 39 verses in 6 books, it ranks among the moderately common words of the Hebrew Bible. 1 Chronicles dominates its distribution — 11 of 39 verses. The sections below give every occurrence and version rendering.

Gloss history

Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship

Strong's · 1890
Shemaiah
Modern gloss
Shemaiah
Strong's 1890 agrees
Strong's 1890 and current BDB scholarship align on this entry's primary sense — a good signal that the gloss above is unambiguous and stable. Download share card

About this word

Strong's H8098 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.

These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →

39
distinct verses
The word appears in 39 distinct verses.
6 / 39
OT books
The word appears in 6 of 39 Old Testament books.
1 Kings 12:22
first appearance
The earliest occurrence is in 1 Kings 12:22.
Jeremiah 36:12
last appearance
The latest occurrence is in Jeremiah 36:12.
#891
by frequency
Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 891 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).

View all 39 occurrences in the concordance →


Most concentrated in

By section of the Old Testament

  • Pentateuch 0 · 0%
  • Historical 34 · 87%
  • Wisdom 0 · 0%
  • Prophets 5 · 13%

By traditional corpus

Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 39 distinct verses.

  • Writings (Ketuvim) 33 verses · 85%
  • Prophets (Nevi'im) 6 verses · 15%

How translations render this word

Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).

  • King James Version: Shemaiah 36×, Came to shemaiah 2×
  • American Standard Version: Shemaiah 33×, Came to shemaiah 2×, Concerning shemaiah 2×
  • Berean Standard Bible: Shemaiah 39×
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text: Shemaiah 36×

King James Version Public Domain

Renders H8098 across 41 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Shemaiah” 36×
  • “Came to shemaiah” 2×

Plus 3 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.

American Standard Version Public Domain

Renders H8098 across 41 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Shemaiah” 33×
  • “Came to shemaiah” 2×
  • “Concerning shemaiah” 2×

Plus 4 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.

Berean Standard Bible Public Domain

Renders H8098 across 41 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Shemaiah” 39×

Plus 2 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.

unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Renders H8098 across 37 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Shemaiah” 36×

Plus 1 rendering that appears only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.


33 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB

What do BDB’s symbols mean?

BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:

Symbol Meaning
𝔊 the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX)
𝔙 the Vulgate (the Latin translation)
𝔖 the Syriac version (the Peshitta)
𝔗 the Targum (the Aramaic translation)
ψ the Psalms
√ root (the underlying root or stem)
‖ parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel)
† the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited

The 33 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.

Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.


Word origin

n.pr.m. Σαμαιας, etc.: שְׁמַעְיָה,

— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.

Derived from שמע (shâmaʻ) (H8085) — to hear.

Part of speech: Proper Name Masculine


Jastrow Dictionary

A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.

שְׁמַעְיָא

  • (b. h.) pr. n. m. Shemaiah, colleague of Abṭalion (v. אַבְטַלְיוֹן). Pes. 66ᵃ. Ab. I, 10. Yoma 71ᵇ. Gitt. 57ᵇ; a. fr.

A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.


Forms in the corpus

The 33 distinct written forms H8098 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.

Form Parsing Example Uses
שְׁמַֽעְיָ֥ה Noun, Proper Ezra 10:31 4
שְׁמַֽעְיָ֧ה Noun, Proper 1 Chronicles 9:14 3
שְׁמַֽעְיָ֔ה Noun, Proper 1 Chronicles 9:16 2
שְׁמַֽעְיָ֗ה Noun, Proper 1 Chronicles 26:7 2
שְׁמַעְיָ֗ה Noun, Proper 1 Chronicles 3:22 2
וְ/לִֽ/שְׁמַֽעְיָ֤ה Noun, Proper 1 Chronicles 26:6 1
וּ/שְׁמַֽעְיָ֨הוּ Noun, Proper 2 Chronicles 35:9 1
וּֽ/שְׁמַֽעְיָ֔ה Noun, Proper Ezra 10:21 1
וּֽ/שְׁמַֽעְיָ֖ה Noun, Proper Nehemiah 12:34 1
וּֽ/שְׁמַֽעְיָ֜ה Noun, Proper Nehemiah 12:42 1
וּֽ/שְׁמַֽעְיָ֜הוּ Noun, Proper 2 Chronicles 31:15 1
וּֽ/שְׁמַֽעְיָ֤ה Noun, Proper 2 Chronicles 12:5 1
וּֽ/שְׁמַעְיָ֑ה Noun, Proper Ezra 8:13 1
לִֽ/שְׁמַעְיָ֖ה Noun, Proper Nehemiah 12:18 1
לִֽ֠/שְׁמַעְיָה Noun, Proper Ezra 8:16 1
שְׁ֠מַעְיָהוּ Noun, Proper Jeremiah 36:12 1
שְֽׁמַֽעְיָ֡הוּ Noun, Proper 2 Chronicles 17:8 1
שְֽׁמַֽעְיָ֧ה Noun, Proper Nehemiah 6:10 1
שְֽׁמַֽעְיָה֩ Noun, Proper 1 Chronicles 24:6 1
שְֽׁמַעְיָ֡ה Noun, Proper Nehemiah 12:36 1
שְׁמַֽעְיָ֑ה Noun, Proper Nehemiah 10:8 1
שְׁמַֽעְיָ֖ה Noun, Proper 2 Chronicles 29:14 1
שְׁמַֽעְיָ֣ה Noun, Proper Nehemiah 3:29 1
שְׁמַֽעְיָ֤ה Noun, Proper 1 Chronicles 26:4 1
שְׁמַֽעְיָ֥הוּ Noun, Proper 2 Chronicles 11:2 1
שְׁמַֽעְיָֽה Noun, Proper 1 Chronicles 4:37 1
שְׁמַעְיָ֑ה Noun, Proper 1 Chronicles 3:22 1
שְׁמַעְיָ֔הוּ Noun, Proper Jeremiah 26:20 1
שְׁמַעְיָ֖ה Noun, Proper Jeremiah 29:31 1
שְׁמַעְיָ֣ה Noun, Proper Jeremiah 29:32 1
שְׁמַעְיָ֥ה Noun, Proper 1 Kings 12:22 1
שְׁמַעְיָ֥הוּ Noun, Proper Jeremiah 29:24 1
שְׁמַעְיָ֧ה Noun, Proper Nehemiah 11:15 1

Same root — word family

Other BDB entries built from the same root as H8098, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.

Derives from

Shares the same root

Proper names from this root

People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.

Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 13 — not the complete family. 6 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.


Bible dictionary

Public-domain dictionary articles matched to this entry by name (Shemaiah). A biblical name can be shared by more than one person or place, so an article may treat several.

Easton's Bible Dictionary · M. G. Easton, 1897

Whom Jehovah heard. (1.) A prophet in the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:22-24).

(2.) Neh. 3:29.

(3.) A Simeonite (1 Chr. 4:37).

(4.) A priest (Neh. 12:42).

(5.) A Levite (1 Chr. 9:16).

(6.) 1 Chr. 9:14; Neh. 11:15.

(7.) A Levite in the time of David, who with 200 of his brethren took part in the bringing up of the ark from Obed-edom to Hebron (1 Chr. 15:8).

(8.) A Levite (1 Chr. 24:6).

(9.) The eldest son of Obed-edom (1 Chr. 26:4-8).

(10.) A Levite (2 Chr. 29:14).

(11.) A false prophet who hindered the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Neh. 6:10).

(12.) A prince of Judah who assisted at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 12:34-36).

(13.) A false prophet who opposed Jeremiah (Jer. 29:24-32).

(14.) One of the Levites whom Jehoshaphat appointed to teach the law (2 Chr. 17:8).

(15.) A Levite appointed to "distribute the oblations of the Lord" (2 Chr. 31:15).

(16.) A Levite (2 Chr. 35:9).

(17.) The father of Urijah the prophet (Jer. 26:20).

(18.) The father of a prince in the reign of Jehoiakim (Jer. 36:12).

Smith's Bible Dictionary · William Smith, 1863

(heard by Jehovah).

+ A prophet in the reign of Rehoboam. (1 Kings 12:22; 2 Chronicles 11:2) (B.C. 972.) He wrote a chronicle containing the events of Rehoboam's reign. (2 Chronicles 12:5,15) + The son of Shechaniah, among the descendants of Zerubbabel. (1 Chronicles 3:23; Nehemiah 3:28) + A prince of the tribe of Simeon. (1 Chronicles 4:27) + Son of Joel, Reubenite. (1 Chronicles 5:4) (B.C. after 1706.) + Son of Hasshub, a Merarite Levite. (1 Chronicles 9:14; Nehemiah 11:15) + Father of Obadiah or Abda, a Levite. (1 Chronicles 9:16) + Son of Elizaphan, and chief of his house in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles 15:8,11) (B.C. 1043.) + A Levite, son of Nethaneel and also a scribe in the time of David. (1 Chronicles 24:6) (B.C. 1014.) + The eldest son of Obed-edom the Gittite. (1 Chronicles 26:4,6,7) (B.C. 1014.) + A descendant of Jeduthun the singer who lived in the reign of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:14) + One of the sons of Adonikam who returned with Ezra. (Ezra 5:13) + One of Ezra's messengers. (Ezra 8:16) + A priest of the family of Harim, who put away his foreign wife at Ezra's bidding. (Ezra 10:21) (B.C. 455.) + A layman of Israel son of another Harim, who had also married a foreigner. (Ezra 10:31) (B.C. 458.) + Son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, a prophet in the time of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 6:10) (B.C. 446.) + The head of a priestly house who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:8; 12:6,18) (B.C. 410.) + One of the princes of Judah at the time of the dedication of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 12:34) + One of the choir on the same occasion. (Nehemiah 12:38) + A priest. (Nehemiah 12:42) + A false prophet in the time of Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 29:24-32) + A Levite in the reign of Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 17:8) (B.C. 909.) + A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 31:15) (B.C. 726.) + A Levite in the reign of Josiah. (2 Chronicles 35:9) (B.C. 628.) + The father of Urijah of Kirjath-jearim. (Jeremiah 26:20) (B.C. before 608.) + The father of Delaiah. (Jeremiah 36:12) (B.C. before 605.)

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary · Roswell D. Hitchcock, 1869

that hears or obeys the Lord

Classic public-domain reference works; full attribution on Sources.


Septuagint verse parallels

This word appears in 26 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 39 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.

Read these verses in the Septuagint

This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.

Reading settings

Reading text

Shown beneath each verse's original-language words.

Old Testament
Old Testament edition

Read the OT as the Masoretic Hebrew (MT) or the Greek Septuagint (LXX).

English shown for the Greek Septuagint (in the Hebrew ↔ Greek comparison).

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