Shashai is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Shashai was one of the men of Israel living in the post-exilic period, after the Jews had returned from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem and restore covenant life under the leadership of Ezra the priest and scribe. He is named only once in Scripture, in the list of those who had taken foreign wives, a matter that Ezra confronted with urgency because it threatened the purity and identity of God’s people. The context of Ezra 9–10 describes a serious covenant violation: the people, including priests and Levites, had intermarried with the surrounding nations, contrary to the law of God. When Ezra heard this, he tore his garment, fasted, prayed a prayer of confession, and called the people to repentance.
Shashai appears in the roster of those who had married foreign women and who agreed to put away their wives and offer a guilt offering for their sin. His name is recorded in Ezra 10:40, nestled among a long list of men who shared in this transgression. The listing of names in Scripture is not incidental; it marks real individuals who stood accountable before God for a specific disobedience and who were called to respond in repentance.
What Scripture says of Shashai is thus limited but clear: he was a man who had violated the covenant by marrying a foreign woman, and he was among those who submitted to the call for repentance. He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, and no further details about his life, family, or later faithfulness are recorded. His inclusion in the list underscores that this was a corporate sin requiring corporate confession, and that even ordinary men were summoned to obedience.
The Name
The Hebrew name Shashai (שָׁשַׁי) is of uncertain derivation, and its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the biblical text or standard Hebrew lexicons. Some attempts have been made to connect it to roots suggesting “whitish” or “pale,” but no meaning is well established, and scholars generally treat it as obscure. As with many names in the genealogical and list passages of Ezra–Nehemiah, the precise sense of the name cannot be determined with confidence, and it is best to say so plainly rather than assign a speculative meaning.
A Closing Thought
Shashai’s story is brief and unflattering, yet it is a story of grace. He sinned by entering a marriage God had forbidden, but when confronted with the truth, he did not harden his heart. His name appears in a list of the repentant, not merely the guilty. That is where every honest believer stands: named among those who have done wrong but who are invited to turn back to God. Shashai reminds us that repentance is not shameful; it is the doorway to restoration, and God in His mercy records the names of those who return to Him.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Ezra 10:40 — Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,