Shimshai

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Shim'sha-i or Shimsha'i. (Sunny). The scribe, or secretary, of Kehum, who was a kind of satrap of the conquered province of Judea, and of the colony of Samaria, supported by the Persian court.  Ezra 4:8;  Ezra 4:13;  Ezra 4:17;  Ezra 4:23. He was apparently an Aramaean, for the letter which he wrote to Artaxerxes was in Syriac.  Ezra 4:7. (B.C. 529).

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Shimshai . The scribe or secretary of Rehum (  Ezra 4:8-9;   Ezra 4:17;   Ezra 4:23 ), called in   Esther 2:16  Esther 2:16 Samellius .

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

The scribe of Rehum, the royal prefect of Judaea; he joined in writing in Syriac to Artaxerxes to stop the building of the temple and city ( Ezra 4:7-24).

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Scribe or secretary to Rehum, who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem.  Ezra 4:8,9,17,23 .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Ezra 4:8,9,17-23

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Ezra 4:1

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

shim´shı̄ , shim´shā́ - ı̄ ( שׁמשׁי , shimshay  ; Codex Vaticanus Σαμασά , Samasá , Σαμαέ , Samaé , Σαμεαίς , Sameaı́s Σαμεσά , Samesá  ; Codex Alexandrinus Σαμσαί , Samsaı́  ; Lucian, Σαμαίας , Samaı́as , throughout; in 1 Esdras 2:17 he is called "Semellius," the Revised Version (British and American) "Samellius"; a number of explanations of this name have been offered, but no one has been generally favored. One conjecture traces it to an Old Iranian caritative שׁשׁמי , conformed to שׁמשׁ ; another prefers the Old Bactrian simēzhi = simaēzhi  ; compare Bdb , under the word The name looks as though it were derived from שׁמשׁ , shemesh , "the sun"): A state secretary who, with Rehum (which see) and others, wrote to Artaxerxes to persuade him to prohibit the rebuilding of the temple ( Ezra 4:8 ,  Ezra 4:9 ,  Ezra 4:17 ,  Ezra 4:23 ).

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Shimshay', שַׁמְשִׁי ,' My Suns, or Sunny'; Sept. Σαμψά v. r. Σαμασά , etc.), a scribe or secretary of Rehum, who was a kind of satrap of the conquered province of Judaea and of the colony at Samaria. supported by the Persian court ( Ezra 4:8-9;  Ezra 4:17;  Ezra 4:23). B.C. 529. He was apparently an Aramaean, for the letter which. he wrote to Artaxerxes was in Syriac (ner. 7), and the form of his name is in favor of this supposition. He is called Semelius by Josephus ( Σεμέλιος Ant. xi, 2, 1). The Samaritans were jealous of the return of the Jews, and for a long time plotted against them without effect. They appear ultimately, however, to have prejudiced the royal officers, and to have prevailed upon- them to address to the king a letter which set forth the turbulent character of the Jews and,the dangerous character of their undertaking, the effect of which was that the rebuilding of the Temple ceased for a time. (See Nehemiah).