Seraiah

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

1.  2 Samuel 8:17.

2. The high priest under king Zedekiah; taken by Nebuzaradan, captain of the Babylonian guard, and slain at Riblah ( 2 Kings 25:18;  1 Chronicles 6:14;  Jeremiah 52:24).

3. Son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite; came to the Babylonian viceroy Gedaliah to Mizpah, who promised security to the Jews who should dwell in the land, serving the king of Babylon ( 2 Kings 25:23;  Jeremiah 40:8).

4.  1 Chronicles 4:13-14.

5.  1 Chronicles 4:35.

6.  Ezra 2:2;  Nehemiah 7:7 Azariah.

7.  Ezra 7:1.

8.  Nehemiah 10:2.

9.  Nehemiah 11:11.

10.  Nehemiah 12:1;  Nehemiah 12:12.

11. Neriah's son, Baruch's brother ( Jeremiah 51:59;  Jeremiah 51:61). Went with Zedekiah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Jeremiah gave a special copy of the prophecy to Seraiah where with to console the Jews in their Babylonian exile. Though Seraiah was to cast it into the Euphrates, a symbol of Babylon's fate, he retained the substance in memory, to communicate orally to his countrymen. Calvin translated "when he went in behalf of Zedekiah," being sent to appease Nebuchadnezzar's anger at his revolt. "This Seraiah was a quiet prince," menuchah , from nuwach "to be quiet" (compare  1 Chronicles 22:9, "a man of rest") . Seraiah was not one of the courtiers hostile to God's prophets, but quiet and docile, ready to execute Jeremiah's commission, notwithstanding the risk. Glassius translated "prince of Menuchah" (on the borders of Judah and Dan, called also Menahath) , margin  1 Chronicles 2:52. Maurer translated "commander of the royal caravan," on whom it devolved to appoint the resting places for the night.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Seraiah . 1 . (  2 Samuel 8:17 ) See Shavsha. 2 . High priest in the reign of Zedekiah. He was put to death, with other distinguished captives, by order of Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah,   2 Kings 25:18;   2 Kings 25:21 ,   Jeremiah 52:24;   Jeremiah 52:27 . He is mentioned in the list of high priests,   1 Chronicles 6:14 . Ezra claimed descent from him,   Ezra 7:1 ( 1E  Esther 8:1 Azarias , 2E  Esther 1:1 Sam araias ). His name occurs also in   Esther 5:6  Esther 5:6 Saraias . 3 . One of ‘the captains of the forces’ who joined Gedaliah at Mizpah (  2 Kings 25:23 ,   Jeremiah 40:8 ). 4 . Second son of Kenaz father of Joab, and brother of Othniel (  1 Chronicles 4:13-14 ) 5 . Grandfather of Jehu, a prince of Simeon (  1 Chronicles 4:35 ) 6 . One of the twelve leaders who returned with Zerub babel,   Ezra 2:2 =   Nehemiah 7:7 Azariah , l   Esther 5:8 Zaraias 7 . A priestly clan (  Nehemiah 10:2;   Nehemiah 11:11;   Nehemiah 12:2;   Nehemiah 12:12 ,   Esther 5:8  Esther 5:8 =   1 Chronicles 9:11 Azariah ). 8 . One of those sent to apprehend Jeremiah and Baruch (  Jeremiah 36:26 ). 9 . Son of Neriah and brother of Baruch (  Jeremiah 51:59-64 ). He held the office of sar menûchâh (Av [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘a quiet prince,’ mg. ‘ or prince of Menucha or chief chamberlain’; Rv [Note: Revised Version.] ‘chief chamberlain,’ mg. ‘ or quartermaster’).

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. David's scribe or secretary.  2 Samuel 8:17 . See Shavsha.

2. Son of Azariah, and high priest in the reign of Zedekiah. When Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar he was carried to Riblah, and there put to death.  2 Kings 25:18;  1 Chronicles 6:14;  Jeremiah 52:24 .

3. Son of Tanhumeth: a captain in the time of Gedaliah.   2 Kings 25:23;  Jeremiah 40:8 .

4. Son of Kenaz and brother of Othniel.   1 Chronicles 4:13,14 .

5. Son of Asiel, of the tribe of Simeon.   1 Chronicles 4:35 .

6. A chief man who returned from exile.   Ezra 2:2 . Supposed, as in the margin, to be called AZARIAHin  Nehemiah 7:7 .

7. Father of Ezra the scribe.   Ezra 7:1 .

8. Priest who sealed the covenant.   Nehemiah 10:2 .

9. Son of Hilkiah: 'ruler of the house of God.'   Nehemiah 11:11 .

10. Priest who returned from exile.   Nehemiah 12:1,12 .

11. Son of Azriel: he was ordered by Jehoiakim to seize Baruch and Jeremiah.   Jeremiah 36:26 .

12. Son of Neriah: to him was committed by Jeremiah a roll 'written against Babylon,' to be read at Babylon, and then with a stone tied to it, he was to cast it into the Euphrates; and to declare, "Thus shall Babylon sink."   Jeremiah 51:59-64 . In verse 59, instead of 'a quiet prince,' it is better translated 'chief chamberlain,' as in the margin.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 2 Samuel 8:17 2 Samuel 20:25 1 Kings 4:3 scribe  1 Chronicles 18:16

2. Chief priest taken into Babylonian Exile in 587 B.C. ( 2 Kings 25:18;  1 Chronicles 16:14;  Jeremiah 52:24 ).  3 . “Quiet prince” (Kjv), “quartermaster” (Reb, Nas, Nrsv) Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.) sent to Babylon with instructions from himself and from Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 51:59-64 ).  4 . Priest and father of Ezra ( Ezra 7:1 ).  5 . Army officer who reported to Gedaliah when he was named governor immediately after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. ( 2 Kings 25:23; compare  Jeremiah 40:8 ). He may have been involved in rebellion Ishmael led. 6. Leader in tribe of Judah ( 1 Chronicles 4:13 ).  7 . Member of tribe of Simeon ( 1 Chronicles 4:35 ).  8 . Leader of returning Exiles under Zerubbabel ( Ezra 2:2 ); apparently the same as Azariah ( Nehemiah 7:7 ).  9 . Priestly family ( Nehemiah 10:2;  Nehemiah 12:12 ).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Sera'iah.

1. The king's scribe , or secretary, in the reign of David.  2 Samuel 8:17. (B.C. 1043).

2. The high priest, in the reign of Zedekiah.  2 Kings 25:18;  1 Chronicles 6:14;  Jeremiah 52:24. (B.C. 594).

3. The son of Tanhumeth, the Netophathite.  2 Kings 25:23;  Jeremiah 40:8.

4. The son of Kenaz, and brother of Othniel.  1 Chronicles 4:13-14.

5. Ancestor of Jehu, a Simeonite chieftain.  1 Chronicles 4:35.

6. One of the children of the province, who returned with Zerubbabel.  Ezra 2:2. (B.C. 536).

7. One of the ancestors of Ezra, the scribe.  Ezra 7:1.

8. A priest, or priestly family, who signed the covenant with Nehemiah.  Nehemiah 10:2.

9. A priest, the son of Hilkiah.  Nehemiah 11:11.

10. The head of a priestly house, which went up from Babylon with Zerubbabel.  Nehemiah 12:12.

11. The son of Neriah, and brother of Baruch.  Jeremiah 51:59;  Jeremiah 51:61. He went with Zedekiah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. (B.C. 594). Perhaps, he was an officer, who took charge of the royal caravan on its march, and fixed the places where it should halt.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The son of Neriah. When Zedekiah made a journey to Babylon to do homage to Nebuchadnezzar, Seraiah had charge of the royal gifts to be presented on that occasion. Jeremiah took advantage of the occasion, and sent with Seraiah a word of cheer to the exiles in Babylon, and an announcement of the doom in store for that guilty city. The roll containing this message ( Jeremiah 50:1-8 ) Seraiah was to read to the exiles, and then, after fixing a stone to it, was to throw it into the Euphrates, uttering, as it sank, the prayer recorded in  Jeremiah 51:59-64 . Babylon was at this time in the height of its glory, the greatest and most powerful monarchy in the world. Scarcely seventy years elapsed when the words of the prophet were all fulfilled.  Jeremiah 51:59 is rendered in the Revised Version, "Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain," instead of "was a quiet prince," as in the Authorized Version.

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Seraiah'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/s/seraiah.html. 1897.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The name of six persons, alluded to in the following passages:  2 Samuel 8:17;  2 Kings 25:18;  Ezra 7:1;  Jeremiah 36:26;  40:8;  51:59 . The last is termed "a quiet prince" or "chief chamberlain." He bore to the Jews in Babylon a message from the prophet Jeremiah.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

There were several of this name in the Old Testament. ( 2 Samuel 8:17;  1 Chronicles 4:14; 1Ch 4:35;  Jeremiah 52:21) The name seems to be compound-of Sera, or Shera, to govern—and Jah: hence, it means the Lord is my governor.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Serayah', שְׂרָיָה [once in the prolonged form, Seraya hu, שְׂרָיָהוּ,  Jeremiah 36:26], warrior of Jehovah; Sept. Σαραίας or Σεραϊ v α, but with many v.r.), the proper name of eight men.

1. Second named son of Kenaz, and father of a Joab who was head of a family of the tribe of Judah in the valley of the Charashim ( 1 Chronicles 4:13-14). B.C. cir. 1560.

2. The scribe or secretary of David ( 2 Samuel 8:17). B.C. cir. 1015. This person's name is in other places corrupted into Sheya , שְׁיָא; A.V. "Sheva" ( 2 Samuel 20:25), "Shisha," שֵׁישִׁא ( 1 Kings 4:3), and "Shavsha,", שִׁוְשָׁא ( 1 Chronicles 18:16).

3. Son of Asiel and father of Josibiah of the tribe of Simeon ( 1 Chronicles 4:35). B.C. ante 720.

4. The son of Azriel, and one of the persons charged with the apprehension of Jeremiah and Baruch ( Jeremiah 36:26). B.C. 606.

5. The son of Neriah and brother of Baruch ( Jeremiah 51:59;  Jeremiah 51:61). He held a high office in the court of king Zedekiah, the nature of which is somewhat uncertain. In the A.V. we have, "This Seraiah was a quiet prince," שִׂר מְנוּחָה, which, according to Kimchi, means a chamberlain, or one who attended the king when he retired to rest (i.e. prince of rest); but better, perhaps, according to Gesenius, "chief of the quarters" for the king and his army, that is, quartermaster -general, after the meaning of menuchah as a halting place of an army ( Numbers 10:33). The suggestion of Maurer, adopted by Hitzig, has more to commend it, that he was an officer who took charge of the royal caravan on its march, and fixed the place where it should halt. Hiller (Onomast.) says Seraiah was prince of Menuchah, a place on the borders of Judah and Dan, elsewhere called Manahath. This Seraiah was sent by Zedekiah on an embassy to Babylon, probably to render his submission to that monarch, about four years before the fall of Jerusalem. B.C. 594. He was charged by Jeremiah to communicate to the Jews already in exile a book in which the prophet had written out his prediction of all the evil that should come upon Babylon ( Jeremiah 51:60-64). It is not stated how Seraiah acquitted himself of his task; but that he accepted it at all shows such respect for the. prophet as may allow us to conclude that he would not neglect the duty which it imposed.

6. The high priest at the time that Jerusalem was taken by the Chaldaeans. B.C. 588. He was sent prisoner, to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, who put him to death ( 2 Kings 25:18;  1 Chronicles 6:14;  Jeremiah 52:24;  Ezra 7:1).

7. The son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and one of those to whom Gedaliah promised security ( 2 Kings 25:23;  Jeremiah 40:8). B.C. 587.

8. A priest, the son of Hilkiah, who returned from exile ( Ezra 2:2  Nehemiah 10:2;  Nehemiah 11:11;  Nehemiah 12:1;  Nehemiah 12:12). He is called Azariah (q.v.) in  Nehemiah 7:7. B.C. 536.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sḗ - rā´ya , sḗ - rı̄´a ( שׂריהוּ , serāyāhū , "Yah hath prevailed"; Septuagint Σαραίας , Saraı́as , or Σαραία , Saraı́a ):

(1) Secretary of David ( 2 Samuel 8:17 ); in  2 Samuel 20:25 he is called Sheva; in   1 Kings 4:3 the name appears as Shisha. This last or Shasha would be restored elsewhere by some critics; others prefer the form Shavsha, which is found in   1 Chronicles 18:16 .

(2) A high priest in the reign of Zedekiah; executed with other prominent captives at Riblah by order of Nebuchadnezzar ( 2 Kings 25:18 ,  2 Kings 25:21;  Jeremiah 52:24 ,  Jeremiah 52:27 ). Mentioned in the list of high priests ( 1 Chronicles 6:14 ). Ezra claims descent from him ( Ezra 7:1 (3)). See Azaraias; Saraias .

(3) The son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and one of the heroic band of men who saved themselves from the fury of Nebuchadnezzar when he stormed Jerusalem. They repaired to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, but killed him on account of his allegiance to the Chaldeans ( 2 Kings 25:23 ,  2 Kings 25:25 ).

(4) Son of Kenaz, and younger brother of Othniel, and father of Joab, the chief of Ge-harashim ( 1 Chronicles 4:13 ,  1 Chronicles 4:14 ).

(5) Grandfather of Jehu, of the tribe of Simeon ( 1 Chronicles 4:35 ).

(6) A priest, the third in the list of those who returned from Babylon to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel ( Ezra 2:2;  Nehemiah 7:7 , here called Azariah; 12:1), and third also (if the same person is meant) in the record of those who sealed the covenant binding all Jews not to take foreign wives ( Nehemiah 10:2 ). As the son of Hilkiah, and consequently a direct descendant of the priestly family, he became governor of the temple when it was rebuilt ( Nehemiah 11:11 ). He is mentioned (under the name Azariah) also in  1 Chronicles 9:11 .  Nehemiah 12:2 adds that "in the days of Joiakim" the head of Seraiah's house was Meraiah.

(7) Son of Azriel, one of those whom Jehoiakim commanded to imprison Jeremiah and Baruch, the son of Neriah ( Jeremiah 36:26 ).

(8) The son of Neriah, who went into exile with Zedekiah. He was also called Sar Menūḥāh ("prince of repose"). The Targum renders Sar Menūḥāh by Rabh Tı̄ḳrabhtā' , "prince of battle, and Septuagint by ἄρχων δώρων , árchōn dṓrōn , "prince of gifts," reading Minḥah for Menūḥāh . At the request of Jeremiah he carried with him in his exile the passages containing the prophet's warning of the fall of Babylon, written in a book which he was bidden to bind to a stone and cast into the Euphrates, to symbolize the fall of Babylon (  Jeremiah 51:59-64 ).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Serai´ah (warrior of Jehovah). There are several persons of this name in Scripture.

Seraiah, the scribe or secretary of David .

Seraiah, the father of Ezra .

Seraiah, the high priest at the time that Jerusalem was taken by the Chaldeans. He was sent prisoner to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, who put him to death .

Seraiah, son of Azriel, one of the persons charged with the apprehension of Jeremiah and Baruch .

Seraiah, son of Neriah, who held a high office in the court of King Zedekiah, the nature of which is somewhat uncertain. In the Authorized Version we have, 'This Seraiah was a quiet prince,' which should be rendered, according to Gesenius, 'chief of the quarters' for the king and his army, that is quartermaster-general. This Seraiah was sent by Zedekiah on an embassy to Babylon, probably to render his submission to that monarch, about seven years before the fall of Jerusalem. He was charged by Jeremiah to communicate to the Jews already in exile a book, in which the prophet had written out his prediction of all the evil that should come upon Babylon. It is not stated how Seraiah acquitted himself of his task; but that he accepted it at all, shows such respect for the prophet as may allow us to conclude that he would not neglect the duty which it imposed.

Seraiah, son of Tanhumeth, an accomplice of Ishmael in the conspiracy against Gedaliah .