Bible Encyclopedias
Shimeath

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

shim´ḗ - ath ( שׁמעת , shim‛āth , or שׁמעת , shim‛ath ; the Septuagint in 2 Kings, Ἰεμουάθ , Iemouáth , Codex Vaticanus in 2 Chronicles, Σαμά , Samá , Codex Alexandrinus Σαμάθ , Samáth , Lucian, Σαμαάθ , Samaáth ): Father of Jozacar ( 2 Kings 12:21 (22)), one of the murderers of Joash, king of Judah. According to 2 Chronicles 24:26 Shimeath is an Ammonitess and the mother, not the father, of Jozacar. Many textual emendations have been suggested (compare HDB , article "Shimeath"), but they are unnecessary, as the Chronicler's revised version of the incident in Kings was a deliberate one. The Chronicler was a sturdy opponent of intermarriage, and in the story of the assassination of King Joash he saw an opportunity to strike a blow against the hated practice. In the older account in Kings the names of the conspirators are given as "Jozakar the son of שׁמעת , shim‛ath , and Jehozabad the son of שׁמר , shemer ." The two names are both masculine; but the final tāw ()ת of the former looked to the Chronicler like the feminine ending and offered him his opportunity. In his account, the one of the two murderers (dastardly villains, even though the king had merited death) was "the son of ( שׁמעת , shim‛ath ), the Ammonitess " and the other was "the son of (שׁמרית , shimrı̄th ), the Moabitess " (compare Torrey, Ezra Studies , 212 ff).

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