Sheal is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Sheal was one of the men listed among the descendants of Bani in the Book of Ezra, in a passage recording those who had taken foreign wives during the period of Israel’s return from exile. He is named in Ezra 10:29 alongside Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, and Ramoth, all identified as “the sons of Bani.” This list belongs to the reforms led by Ezra the priest, who called the people of Judah to repentance and covenant renewal after they had intermarried with the surrounding peoples, contrary to the law of God.
The source note identifies Sheal as one of the men who helped repair the walls of Jerusalem, mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah. The rebuilding of the wall under Nehemiah’s leadership was a later event in the same general era of restoration, when exiles who had returned to Judah labored together to restore the city’s defenses and, with them, the community’s standing and security. Men from various families and towns took responsibility for different sections of the wall, and Sheal is remembered as one who took part in that work.
Scripture itself says very little about Sheal. He appears only once by name in the King James Bible, in the Ezra passage, where he is simply listed among the sons of Bani. The record does not tell us his father’s name beyond the family heading, his age, his trade, or the outcome of his particular case. What we have is a name on a list—a man counted among a people being called back to faithfulness, and, according to the source note, a man who later put his hand to the work of rebuilding Jerusalem’s broken wall.
The Name
The name Sheal is a Hebrew name, but its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the text or from standard reference sources. It appears only here in the King James Bible, and Scripture offers no explanation of it. Some Hebrew names are transparent in meaning because they are built from common roots and are explained elsewhere in the narrative; Sheal is not one of these. Because the meaning is not well established, it is best to say so plainly rather than assign it a definition the text does not give. What can be said is that it was a personal name borne by an Israelite man of the post-exilic community, preserved in the inspired record even though its sense is lost to us.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never be famous, and neither was Sheal. He is a single name on a single list, a man whose story is almost entirely hidden. Yet he was counted among the returned exiles, he was called to account for his sin, and he is remembered as one who helped rebuild a broken wall. That is a faithful life in miniature: repentance, then service, then quiet obscurity. God keeps records we would never keep, and He does not forget the labor of hands that built what others would later walk past without a thought.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Ezra 10:29 — And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.