Jerahmeel

The name Jerahmeel (Hebrew יְרַחְמְאֵל, Yerachmi'el; Greek ιραμεηλ) appears several times in the Tanakh. It means "He will obtain mercy of God",^[1] "God pities",^[2] "May God have compassion",^[3] or "May God pity".^[4] , or "Moon from God".^[5]

Bearers of the name[]

There are probably three distinct persons of that name in the Tanakh.^[1]^[2]^[3] In order of their lifetimes they are:

a son of Hezron and great-grandson of Judah, as given in the extended genealogies in 1 Chronicles 2:9, 2:25–26 and 2:42.
a son of Kish, one of the Levites appointed by David to administer the temple worship, as described in 1 Chronicles 24:29.
a son of the king,^[6] sent with others by Jehoiakim to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, as given in Jeremiah 36:26.

The Jerahmeelites[]

The Jerahmeelites were a people, presumably descended from Jerahmeel number 1 above, living in the Negev, who David, while in service with the Philistines, claimed to have attacked (1 Samuel 27:10), but with whom he was really on friendly terms^[4] (1 Samuel 30:29).

Cheyne developed a theory which made the Jerahmeelites into a significant part of the history of Israel,^[2] but most subsequent scholars have dismissed his ideas as fanciful.^[7]

An Archangel[]

In some deuterocanonical and apocryphal writings there are references to an archangel variously called Jeremiel, Eremiel, Remiel, Ramiel etc. See the article Jerahmeel (archangel).

The Chronicles of Jerahmeel[]

The Chronicles of Jerahmeel is a medieval document ascribed to the 12th century Jewish historian Jerahmeel ben Solomon, and is unrelated to any of the above.

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Alfred Jones, Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names 1856, republished Kregel Publications 1990
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c , Rev. T. K. Cheyne; J. Sutherland Black. "Jerahmeel" (PDF). Encyclopædia Biblica. pp. columns 2363–2366.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Stenning, J. F. (1902). "Jerahmeel". In James Hastings (ed.). A Dictionary of the Bible.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Cook, Stanley Arthur (1911). "Jerahmeel" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 322.
^ Danby & Segal, A Concise English-Hebrew Dictionary, The Dvir Publishing Co. Tel Aviv, 1962, page 93
^ or, according to the interpretation of the King James version, a son of Hammelech
^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Jerahmeel". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

[jones-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Alfred Jones, Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names 1856, republished Kregel Publications 1990

[cheyne-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c , Rev. T. K. Cheyne; J. Sutherland Black. "Jerahmeel" (PDF). Encyclopædia Biblica. pp. columns 2363–2366.

[hastings-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Stenning, J. F. (1902). "Jerahmeel". In James Hastings (ed.). A Dictionary of the Bible.

[EB1911-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b Cook, Stanley Arthur (1911). "Jerahmeel" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 322.

[Danby-5] Danby & Segal, A Concise English-Hebrew Dictionary, The Dvir Publishing Co. Tel Aviv, 1962, page 93

[6] r, according to the interpretation of the King James version, a son of Hammelech

[JE-7] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Jerahmeel". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

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