Shelomith

Biblical Record

Shelomith is not the name of a single individual but a name borne by several people from different periods. According to the Korean Revised Version, they include the following:

• Daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan (Leviticus 24:10-11): She married an Egyptian and bore a son. While fighting with an Israelite in the camp, this son "blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed." The people brought him to Moses, and at the LORD's command he was stoned to death outside the camp (Leviticus 24:23). Of Shelomith herself, only her name and family are recorded.
• Daughter of Zerubbabel (1 Chronicles 3:19): She is introduced as the sister of Meshullam and Hananiah.
• Son of Shimei, a Gershonite Levite (1 Chronicles 23:9): He appears, together with Haziel and Haran, as one of the chiefs (heads of the fathers' houses) of the house of Laadan.
• Son of Izhar, a Kohathite Levite (1 Chronicles 23:18): He is recorded as the chief. It is widely held that "Shelomoth" in 1 Chronicles 24:22 is the same person.
• Child of Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:20): A child born to Maachah the daughter of Absalom, named together with Abijah, Attai, and Ziza.
• A family of returning exiles (Ezra 8:10): The name of a family that returned from Babylon with Ezra; the son of Josiphiah and 160 males came from this family.

In addition, a descendant of Rehabiah who was in charge of the treasuries of the dedicated things in the time of David (1 Chronicles 26:25-28) is called "Shelomoth" in the Korean Revised Version, although some Hebrew manuscripts and translations spell the name "Shelomith."

Significance within the Bible

Shelomith does not appear in the New Testament. In most cases the name appears only in genealogies or lists. The account in Leviticus 24 shows that families formed through marriage with foreigners existed within the Exodus community. The incident is followed by a law that anyone who blasphemes the name of God is to be dealt with in the same way, whether stranger or native-born (Leviticus 24:16, 22). The Shelomith of 1 Chronicles 3:19 is one of the few women named in the post-exilic genealogy of the Davidic royal line.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• Meaning of the name: The name is understood to derive from the same root as shalom, meaning "peace."
• Textual variants: The Hebrew text of Ezra 8:10 reads "of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah." Some translations, following the ancient Greek version, render it "of the sons of Bani, Shelomith the son of Josiphiah."
• Extra-biblical tradition: Jewish rabbinic literature (midrash) preserves a story that the Shelomith of Leviticus was a woman who greeted everyone with "Shalom." It also identifies her husband with the Egyptian taskmaster whom Moses killed (Exodus 2:11-12). These are later traditions not found in the biblical text.
• Connection with archaeological evidence: Some scholars identify the name "Shelomith" inscribed on a seal from the Persian period with the daughter of Zerubbabel, but this identification has not been established.

In the Korean Church

The individuals named Shelomith are rarely treated as a topic in their own right in sermons or Sunday school lessons. The text of Leviticus 24 is sometimes preached in connection with the Third Commandment of the Ten Commandments, which forbids taking the name of God in vain.