Lives of Scripture

Gemariah son of Hilkiah appears once in Scripture, as one of two envoys King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:3). Jeremiah used the journey to send a letter, carried by Gemariah and his companion Elasah son of Shaphan, to the elders, priests, prophets, and people who had already been taken into exile (29:1-3). The letter told the exiles to build houses, plant gardens, marry, and seek the welfare of the city where they had been carried, praying to the LORD on its behalf (29:4-7). It warned them not to listen to prophets promising a quick return (29:8-9), because the LORD would bring them home only after seventy years were completed for Babylon (29:10). Scripture records nothing else about Gemariah; his one recorded task was carrying God's word to His people far from home.