Mirma is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Mirma was a descendant of Benjamin, named in the genealogies of the tribe recorded in 1 Chronicles. He appears in a list of the sons of Shaharaim, a Benjamite who lived in the region of Moab after he had sent away his wives Hushim and Baara. The chronicler records that Shaharaim had sons by Hodesh his wife: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, Jeuz, Shachia, and Mirma. These seven are together described as “his sons, heads of the fathers”—that is, they were reckoned as heads of their ancestral households within the tribe of Benjamin.
Beyond this single notice, Scripture tells us nothing further about Mirma. He did not perform any deed that the text records, spoke no words that are preserved, and is not mentioned again anywhere in the Old or New Testament. His entire legacy in the biblical record is his name in a genealogy. He lived, he belonged to a family, and he was counted among the fathers of his clan.
His appearance comes in the midst of the extensive genealogical material in 1 Chronicles, where the chronicler traces the tribes of Israel—especially Judah, Levi, and Benjamin—as part of establishing the nation’s identity after the exile. Mirma’s inclusion shows that he was a recognized head of a Benjamite household, a link in the chain of the tribe’s descent. The setting is not a narrative of events but a record of lineage, and within that record Mirma stands as one of the named sons of Shaharaim.
The Name
The name Mirma is a Hebrew name whose meaning is not clearly recoverable from the biblical text or from standard lexical sources. It appears only here in the King James Bible, in 1 Chronicles 8:10, and no explanation of its sense is given in Scripture. Some Hebrew names are transparent in meaning because their components are common words, but Mirma does not yield an obvious or well-established definition, and scholars have not reached a settled consensus on what it signifies. It is better to say plainly that the meaning is uncertain than to assign it a meaning that the text does not support.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never be remembered in a history book, and neither was Mirma—except for one line in a list of names. Yet that line was enough. He was a son, a father, a head of a household among the people of God, and his name was preserved because he belonged to a family and a tribe that belonged to the LORD. There is quiet comfort in that. Faithfulness in ordinary life, hidden from the world’s notice, is still seen by God, who does not forget the smallest name written in His record.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 1 Chronicles 8:10 — And Jeuz, and Shachia, and Mirma. These were his sons, heads of the fathers.