Who was Shemaiah in the Bible?

Prophet who stayed Rehoboam from warring against Israel. He was also sent by God to tell Rehoboam and the princes of Judah that because of their sins God had left them in the hands of Shishak, king of Egypt, who had come to attack them; but on their repentance they were told he should not destroy them. Shishak seized their treasures, and they became tributary to Egypt. Shemaiah wrote a 'book' concerning genealogies. 1 Kings 12:22-24; 2 Chr. 11:2-4; 2 Chr. 12:5-15.

The provocation to go to war with the tribes which had revolted was great. Rehoboam was ready to start the civil war. He gathered 180,000 men of Judah and Benjamin to fight against Israel and to restore the tribes to his kingdom. Shemaiah, the man of God, the prophet in Judah, received a message from the LORD, which he faithfully delivered. "Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren; return every man to his house, for this thing is done of me." It required courage to deliver such a message in the midst of the great preparations for war. Rehoboam and the people obeyed and did not go to war. They must have realized that if they disobeyed they would have fought against God. And the LORD also blessed the king and his people for believing the Word and being obedient. He always blesses when there is obedience. He built and fortified fifteen cities. "He fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them and store of victuals and of oil and wine." In several places he put shields and spears. Thus he made ready for a possible invasion from the side of Egypt, for Jeroboam, his rival, had been there. Rehoboam's fears were well founded, as we shall find in the next chapter.

Verses 24-32. Shemaiah, a Nehelamite, which means "the dreamer," was also in Babylon, and when the captives received the letter from Jeremiah, he answered the letter. The letter was received by a certain Zephaniah, of whom he inquired, "Why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?" When Zephaniah received this letter he read it to Jeremiah. The Lord exposes the Nehelamite as a deceiver, and his judgment is announced.

Shemaiah's message was the message of a false prophet. He told Nehemiah that they would come to slay him. He supposed that Nehemiah would flee after receiving this information in the form of a message from the Lord. But Nehemiah said, "Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being such as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in." He was a man of faith, in fellowship with God and he at once knew that the message was not from Him. He perceived God had not sent him. Shemaiah was the hireling of the adversaries. It was a cleverly laid plan, not only to frighten Nehemiah, but to make him sin, so that they might have something against him. It seems that Shemaiah was ceremonially unclean; that is probably the meaning of "shut up." He was not fit in that condition to be in the house of God, within the temple. And Nehemiah too, not being a priest, would have transgressed had he followed Shemaiah's suggestion. This was the cunning scheme. With this hireling prophet there were also other prophets and a prophetess, by the name of Noadiah.

Son of Delaiah: he sought to entrap Nehemiah. Neh. 6:10.

After the stoning of Adoram, Rehoboam's collector, Rehoboam fled to Jerusalem and gathered an army from Judah and Benjamin to fight against Israel to bring back the kingdom to the son of Solomon. Shemaiah (heard of Jehovah), a man of God, brought the message from the Lord not to fight against Israel. They were obedient and the war was averted. Many Israelites, who were true to Jehovah, as well as all the priests and Levites remained in the Kingdom of Judah. (As failure had come in, prophecy at once reappears. Shemaiah must have been a very courageous man to stand in face of a gathered army of 180,000 men, an angry king and an angry people and declare a message which must have been decidedly unwelcome. And one cannot but admire the gracious submission of king and people.)

Then Shishak came from Egypt against Jerusalem with an immense army. He was the first king of the twenty-second, or Bubastic dynasty. In his army were the Lubims (Libyans), Sukkims (desert tribes) and the Ethiopians. The cities which Rehoboam had built and fortified could not keep him out, for the LORD had brought him to punish Jerusalem. When Jerusalem was threatened and the Egyptian hordes were about to proceed against Jerusalem, Shemaiah, the man of God, appeared once more. He brought the solemn message from the LORD, "Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I left you in the hand of Shishak." That for which the LORD always looks first of all, when His people have sinned and departed from Him, was done by the princes and the king. "They humbled themselves." And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves and were returning to Him, He had compassion on them. Some deliverance was granted and the wrath was not poured out upon the city. And He is still the same gracious LORD, always ready to forgive His people, when they return unto Him. However, the pride of Rehoboam had to be dealt with and, therefore, Shishak was permitted to take away the immense riches which Solomon had stored up in the treasures of the house of the LORD and in the king's house. The shields of gold were also carried away. Sad is the record of this son of Solomon: "And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD." Had he prepared his heart to seek the LORD, he would not have done the evil which he did. The only thing which can keep from evil is to seek the LORD and walk in obedience to His Word. Rehoboam's reign, with the exception of three years in which he walked in the way of David and Solomon, was a reign of trouble. Besides Shishak's invasion "there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually" (verse 15).

Shem’a ah - The hearkener

Shem a i’ah (1) The hearkening of Jah

Shem a i’ah (2) Heard of Jehovah

Designation of Shemaiah the false prophet. Jer. 29:24, 31, 32. Its signification is unknown. In the margin it is 'dreamer.'

Satan's second effort, even more dangerous than the one just mentioned, arises within Jerusalem itself (vv. 10-14). Shemaiah, who was perhaps of priestly origin, here assumes the role of prophet, addressing himself as such to Nehemiah: "He pronounced this prophecy against me" (v. 12). "[He] had shut himself up", when Nehemiah came to his house, simulating fear, when there was nothing to fear. This man was hired by Tobijah and Sanballat: the love of money had made him become a traitor. He says: "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple; for they are coming to kill thee; even in the night are they coming to kill thee" (v. 10). He pressures Nehemiah to one possibility or the other: either to flee, driven by fear, or else to hide himself in the temple, where only the priests had access, in order to escape his would-be assassins. Now, if he had run away, he would have been accused of having a bad conscience, and if he had hidden himself in the temple, he would have been accused of profaning it by disobeying God's direct commandment. In either way, Nehemiah would have embarked on a path of sin which would have given him a bad reputation and put him to shame (v. 12).