Jeziah is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Jeziah was one of the sons of Merari, mentioned in the genealogies of the Levites in 1 Chronicles. The Levites were the tribe set apart for the service of the tabernacle and, later, the temple, and the family of Merari was one of the three main divisions of that tribe, alongside the families of Gershon and Kohath. To be numbered among the sons of Merari was to belong to a lineage entrusted with holy service, carrying forward a heritage of worship and ministry in Israel.
Jeziah is named only once in the King James Bible, appearing in the list of those who had taken foreign wives during the period of Israel’s restoration after the Babylonian exile. In Ezra 10:25, he is listed among “the sons of Parosh,” a group described as “of Israel.” This places him in the setting of Ezra’s reform, when the people of Judah, having returned to the land, were called to put away the unlawful marriages they had contracted with the peoples of the surrounding nations.
The Scripture records his name among those who were counted in this matter, but it says nothing further of his words, his actions, or his response. He stands as one name in a longer list, a man whose story is folded into a larger account of a community being called back to covenant faithfulness. What we know of him is simply this: he was named, he was numbered, and he was part of a generation summoned to repentance.
The Name
The name Jeziah appears to be a Hebrew name, and its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the text itself or from the source note provided. Hebrew names often carry meaning, frequently built from divine names or roots describing character, but in this case no established or certain meaning can be stated. It would be dishonest to assign a meaning simply to fill the space. What can be said is that the name belongs to the Hebrew world of the post-exilic community, and like many names in the genealogical and reform lists of Ezra and Chronicles, it survives as a witness to a real person rather than as a word with a known translation.
A Closing Thought
Jeziah’s life is remembered in a single verse, tucked inside a list of names most readers pass over. Yet his inclusion matters. He was a real man, part of a real family, caught up in a real moment of national repentance. Most of us will never be famous, and our names may never appear in any record beyond a few lines. But God does not measure a life by how much is written about it. Jeziah was known, named, and counted among the people of God—and that is enough.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Ezra 10:25 — Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.