Shimeath שִׁמְעָת
Mother of Jozacar, one of King Joash's assassins.
Biography
Shimeath was an Ammonite woman mentioned in 2Ki.12.21 and 2Ch.24.26 as the mother of Jozacar (or 'Jozachar') (or Zabad), one of the two servants who conspired against and assassinated King Joash of Judah. The biblical text identifies her as an Ammonitess, indicating that she was a foreigner from the nation of Ammon. Apart from her son's infamous act, no other details about Shimeath's life are provided in the Bible.
Family
In Scripture
2 biblical books2 Kings 1 verse
- 2 Kings 12:21
"For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in David’s city; and Amaziah his son reigned in his place."
2 Chronicles 1 verse
- 2 Chronicles 24:26
"These are those who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess."
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | שִׁמְעָת | H8100G |
Shimeath
1 (22)), one of the murderers of Joash, king of Judah. According to 2Ch 24:26 Shimeath is an Ammonitess and the mother, not the father, of Jozacar. Many textual emendations have been suggested (compare HDB, article "Shimeath"), but they are unnecessary, as the Chronicler's revised version of the incident in Kings was a deliberate one. The Chronicler was a sturdy opponent of intermarriage, and in the story of the assassination of King Joash he saw an opportunity to strike a blow against the hated practice. In the older account in Kings the names of the conspirators are given as "Jozakar the son of shim`ath, and Jehozabad the son of shemer." The two names are both masculine; but the final taw (t) of the former looked to the Chronicler like the feminine ending and offered him his opportunity. In his account, the one of the two murderers (dastardly villains, even though the king had merited death) was "the son of (shim`ath), the Ammonitess" and the other was "the son of (shimrith), the Moabitess" (compare Torrey, Ezra Studies, 212 ff).
Horace J. Wolf.
shim'-e-ath-its shim`athim; Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus Samathieim; Lucian, Samathein): A subdivision of the tribe of Caleb (1Ch 2:55). In the three families mentio