Jeshohaiah is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Jeshohaiah was a leader of the tribe of Simeon, named in the genealogical records of that tribe in 1 Chronicles. He appears in a list of men described as “princes” or heads of their fathers’ houses within Simeon, men who lived during the period when the tribe’s territory and population were being recorded. The setting of 1 Chronicles 4 is the Chronicler’s account of the descendants of Simeon, a tribe that received its inheritance within the territory of Judah rather than as a separate allotment.
The Simeonite genealogy in this chapter traces families and clans, and then names a group of leaders who lived in a particular era. Jeshohaiah is listed alongside Elioenai, Jaakobah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, and Benaiah. These men are identified in the surrounding verses as leaders who, in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, went to the entrance of Gedor, attacked the Meunites who lived there, and settled in their place. They also struck down the remnant of Amalekites who had escaped, and they live there to this day, according to the text.
Beyond his inclusion in this list, Scripture says nothing further about Jeshohaiah personally. He did not perform any individually recorded deed; his significance lies in his place among the heads of Simeon’s clans during a time of expansion and conflict. The record preserves his name as one of the men who led their families in taking possession of land and defeating the enemies of Israel in that region.
The Name
The name Jeshohaiah is a Hebrew name, and its meaning is not clearly recoverable with certainty. It appears to be a compound name incorporating a form of the divine name, likely beginning with a shortened form of Yahweh, as is common in Hebrew personal names ending in “-iah.” The first element is uncertain, and scholars have proposed various possibilities without firm agreement. Because the meaning is not well established, it is best to say plainly that we cannot be certain what the name meant to those who gave it, rather than assign it a meaning that the evidence does not support.
A Closing Thought
Jeshohaiah is one of those figures who appears for a single verse and then vanishes from the record. He was a leader, but we know nothing of his personality, his words, or the length of his life. Yet his name is preserved in Scripture among the men who led their families faithfully in their generation. Most of us will not be remembered by many, and our deeds may go unnoticed by the wider world. But God keeps His own record, and a life spent leading one’s household in faithfulness is never lost to Him.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 1 Chronicles 4:36 — And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah,