Lives of Scripture
Shephatiah (M)
First named in Jeremiah 38:1
Shephatiah son of Mattan was one of four officials in King Zedekiah's court during the final Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, alongside Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah (Jeremiah 38:1). All four heard Jeremiah telling the people that "he who stays in this city will die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live... this city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon" (38:2-3). Convinced Jeremiah's words were undermining the defenders' morale, Shephatiah and his colleagues went to Zedekiah and demanded, "Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is discouraging the men of war... this man is not seeking the well-being of this people but rather their harm" (38:4). The weak king handed Jeremiah over, saying he could not oppose them, and the officials lowered Jeremiah by ropes into an empty cistern in the court of the guard, where he sank into the mud (38:5-6). Jeremiah would have died there had an Ethiopian official, Ebed-melech, not intervened and persuaded the king to have him pulled out (38:7-13). Shephatiah's role in this episode places him among those who tried to silence Jeremiah's unwelcome but accurate warning.
Thought for Today
Shephatiah wanted Jeremiah silenced for speaking a truth no one wanted to hear. Jesus, too, was condemned by leaders who could not bear His truthful words.
References: Jeremiah 38:1
Genealogy
Connections
- Mattan (M) — begot → Shephatiah (M)
- Jucal (M) ↔ demanded Jeremiah's death together ↔ Shephatiah (M)
Jucal son of Shelemiah and Shephatiah son of Mattan, together with two other royal officials, told King Zedekiah that Jeremiah's prophecies of Jerusalem's fall were demoralizing the city's defenders and should be punished by death, and the king let them lower Jeremiah into a cistern to die, until Ebed-melech intervened to save him.
Jeremiah 38:1-13
- Gedaliah (M) ↔ demanded Jeremiah's death together ↔ Shephatiah (M)
Gedaliah and Shephatiah were two of four officials who, convinced Jeremiah's warnings that Jerusalem would fall were undermining the city's defense, together demanded King Zedekiah put Jeremiah to death, then had him lowered by ropes into a muddy cistern to die.
Jeremiah 38:1-6