Man living at the time of Divided Monarchy
Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, was an official during King Jehoiakim's reign who opposed the burning of Jeremiah's scroll.
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Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, was an official during the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, as recorded in Jeremiah 36. He is first mentioned as the owner of the chamber in the upper court of the temple where Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, read the prophet's scroll to the people (Jer.36.10). When the officials heard about the scroll, they sent for Baruch to read it to them, and they were alarmed by its content (Jer.36.11-16). The officials, including Gemariah, advised Baruch and Jeremiah to hide while they reported the matter to the king (Jer.36.19). When King Jehoiakim heard the words of the scroll, he cut it with a scribe's knife and burned it in the fire, despite the pleas of Gemariah and some other officials (Jer.36.23-25). Gemariah's opposition to the king's actions demonstrates his respect for the prophetic word and his concern for the consequences of rejecting God's message. However, his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the destruction of the scroll.
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4 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H1587
From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people.
When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll,
he went down to the scribeʼs chamber in the kingʼs palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.
Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.