Hazaiah is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Hazaiah was a resident of Jerusalem who lived in the city after the return from the Babylonian exile. He is mentioned only once in the King James Bible, in a genealogical record found in Nehemiah 11. That chapter describes how the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, the holy city, while others remained in the surrounding towns. Hazaiah is named among those whose family line was counted among the residents of Jerusalem in that restored community.
The single verse that names him, Nehemiah 11:5, traces a lineage: “And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Colhozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni.” In this chain, Hazaiah appears as an ancestor of Maaseiah, a man who lived in Jerusalem after the exile. The text presents him not as a leader or a prophet but as a link in a family line, one generation among several stretching back through Adaiah, Joiarib, Zechariah, and Shiloni.
Scripture records nothing else about Hazaiah—no deed, no word, no personal detail beyond his place in this genealogy. His significance in the biblical account is that he belonged to a family that returned from exile and helped repopulate Jerusalem. The source note confirms only that he was a resident of Jerusalem after the return from Babylonian captivity. Everything else about his life remains unknown to us.
The Name
The name Hazaiah appears to be a Hebrew name, and its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the text itself. Hebrew names often carry meaning, frequently combining a divine name element with a verb or noun. Some scholars have suggested that Hazaiah may relate to a root meaning “to see” or “to behold,” with the divine name “Yah” attached, potentially yielding a sense such as “Yah has seen” or “the LORD has seen.” However, this proposed meaning is not firmly established, and the exact derivation and sense of the name remain uncertain. It is better to acknowledge that the meaning is not clearly known than to assert a definition the evidence does not securely support.
A Closing Thought
Hazaiah’s life is summed up in a single line of a genealogy—no miracles, no speeches, no recorded acts of faith. Yet he stands within a chain of generations that carried the covenant people through exile and back to Jerusalem. Most of God’s faithful servants are remembered this way: not in headlines, but in the quiet continuity of families who trusted and endured. Hazaiah’s name in Scripture is a reminder that being part of God’s story does not require fame. Faithfulness across ordinary generations is itself a lasting testimony, and God does not forget those who serve Him unseen.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Nehemiah 11:5 — And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Colhozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni.