Zemira is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Zemira was a descendant of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob, and he is named in the genealogies of the tribe of Benjamin recorded in 1 Chronicles. He appears in the family line of Becher, one of Benjamin’s sons, and is listed as the first of nine sons attributed to Becher in 1 Chronicles 7:8. The passage reads: “And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alameth. All these are the sons of Becher.”
The setting of this mention is the great genealogical record that opens the book of 1 Chronicles. After the return from exile, the Chronicler gathered the ancestral lists of Israel’s tribes to reestablish the people’s identity and their place within the covenant community. Zemira belongs to that record—a name preserved among the families of Benjamin, the tribe of Saul and, later, of Esther and Mordecai.
Scripture tells us nothing else about Zemira. We are not given his occupation, his character, his length of life, or any deed he performed. He is simply one of the “sons of Becher,” a link in a lineage. Yet his inclusion in the inspired record means he was counted among the people of God, and his name was carried forward through the generations of Israel.
The Name
The name Zemira is a Hebrew name, and its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the biblical text. Some have suggested a connection to words for “song” or “music,” and others to ideas of pruning or cutting, but these proposals rest on uncertain roots and are not firmly established. Because Scripture gives no interpretation of the name and the etymology is debated, it is best to say plainly that the meaning of Zemira is not clearly known. What is certain is that it belonged to a real man in the tribe of Benjamin, and that God saw fit to preserve it in His Word.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never be remembered in a history book. Our lives may look, from the outside, like a single line in a long list—a name, a family, a generation passing to the next. Zemira’s brief appearance reminds us that God does not measure a life by how much is written about it. He knew Zemira by name, placed him within His people, and kept his name in the record of Scripture. The quiet, faithful lives that seem unnoticed by the world are fully seen by the God who numbers even the hairs of our heads.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 1 Chronicles 7:8 — And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alameth. All these are the sons of Becher.