Shemaiah שְׁמַעְיָ֫הוּ

Shemaiah is mentioned in Ezr.10.31 as one of the descendants of Harim who had married a foreign woman. This was part of a larger issue facing the Jewish community after their return from Babylonian exile, as many had intermarried with the surrounding peoples. Ezra called for the people to separate themselves from their foreign wives and children to maintain the purity and integrity of the Jewish faith. Shemaiah, along with the other Israelites who had married foreign women, agreed to put away their wives in obedience to Ezra's directive.