Bariah is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Bariah was a descendant of David, appearing in the genealogical record of the tribe of Judah. He is named only once in the King James Bible, in 1 Chronicles 3:22, within a genealogy that traces the line of David through his son Solomon down to the post-exilic period. The Chronicler, writing for the returned exiles, preserved these family records to establish continuity between the pre-exilic Davidic line and the community that came back from Babylon.
According to the text, Bariah was one of six sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, Igeal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat. The verse states plainly, “And the sons of Shechaniah; Shemaiah: and the sons of Shemaiah; Hattush, and Igeal, and Bariah, and Neariah, and Shaphat, six.” Bariah is thus listed as the third of these six brothers, a member of the royal house of Judah in a generation removed from King David by many years.
Scripture records nothing else about Bariah. No deed, word, or event is attributed to him. He appears only as a name in a list, one link in a chain of descent. Yet that is precisely what the text preserves: his place in the family of David, and through that line, his place in the unfolding story of God’s covenant people. He lived, he belonged, and he was remembered in the record of Israel.
The Name
The name Bariah is a Hebrew name, and its meaning is not clearly recoverable with certainty. Suggested derivations connect it to roots associated with “fleeing” or “escaping,” or possibly to a word for “fugitive,” though scholars do not agree, and the etymology remains uncertain. Because the meaning is not well established, it is best to say so plainly rather than assign a confident definition. What can be said is that the name belongs to the Hebrew naming tradition of the Old Testament, and like many such names, it may have carried a meaning meaningful to his family that the text does not explain.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never be remembered in a list that survives for thousands of years. Bariah’s entire legacy in Scripture is a single name in a single verse—and yet he was part of something far larger than himself: the line through which God preserved His promises. There is quiet encouragement here. A life hidden from history is not hidden from God. Faithfulness in obscurity still belongs to His story, and the One who numbers the stars also knows every name He has written down.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 1 Chronicles 3:22 — And the sons of Shechaniah; Shemaiah: and the sons of Shemaiah; Hattush, and Igeal, and Bariah, and Neariah, and Shaphat, six.