Shemaiah

Biblical Record

Shemaiah was a prophet (one who receives and proclaims the word of God) active shortly after the division of the kingdom, when the nation split in two following the death of Solomon. His name is commonly interpreted to mean "the LORD has heard."

• Preventing war: When the ten tribes made Jeroboam their king and broke away, Rehoboam gathered 180,000 soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to fight against them. At that time the word of God came to "Shemaiah the man of God," commanding them not to fight against their brethren, the children of Israel, but to return every man to his house. Scripture records that this thing was from God, and the people heeded the word and returned home (1 Kings 12:21–24; 2 Chronicles 11:1–4).
• Warning during Shishak's invasion: In the fifth year of Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt took the fortified cities of Judah and came up as far as Jerusalem. Shemaiah went to the king and the princes (leaders) and delivered the message, "Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak." The king and the princes then humbled themselves and confessed, "The LORD is righteous." The word of the LORD came again to Shemaiah: God would not destroy them, but they would become Shishak's servants, "that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries." Shishak carried away the treasures of the Temple in Jerusalem and of the king's house, along with the shields of gold that Solomon had made (2 Chronicles 12:1–12).
• Recorder: 2 Chronicles 12:15 states that the acts of Rehoboam were written "in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies." This book has not survived.

Several people named Shemaiah appear in the Bible. Among them, Shemaiah the Nehelamite in Jeremiah 29 and the Shemaiah who tried to entrap Nehemiah in Nehemiah 6 are different individuals from the Shemaiah of this article.

Significance Within Scripture

Shemaiah is portrayed as a prophet who intervened in the king's decisions with the word of God at the beginning of the divided monarchy. In particular, 2 Chronicles uses his message to highlight the theme that when people humble themselves, wrath is turned away (2 Chronicles 12:7, 12:12). This theme recurs throughout Chronicles. The New Testament does not mention Shemaiah.

Interpretation and Issues

• 1 Kings records only the prevention of war, while the prophecy during Shishak's invasion appears only in 2 Chronicles. Some scholars relate this difference to what each book sought to emphasize.
• The biblical Shishak is commonly identified with the Egyptian king Shoshenq I, though scholars differ on the chronology and details.
• In the Septuagint, 1 Kings 12 contains a lengthy additional passage not found in the Masoretic Text. This passage reportedly attributes to Shemaiah the symbolic act of tearing a garment, which in the Hebrew text is performed by the prophet Ahijah. Protestant Bibles do not include this passage.

In the Korean Church

Shemaiah is seldom treated as a subject in his own right; instead, he is mentioned alongside Rehoboam and the division of the kingdom in sermons and Bible studies. He is chiefly associated with two lessons: the obedience of the king and people, who heeded the prophet's word and halted the war, and the humility and repentance of those who humbled themselves in the face of discipline.