Person
Amariah
- Biblical References
- 12 passages
About Amariah
Amariah is a name borne by several different men in the Old Testament, most of them priests or Levites. The texts rarely give enough detail to show whether two mentions refer to the same person, so the men are set out below by the context in which the name appears, without assuming identities the Bible does not state.
In the High-Priestly Genealogy
The genealogy of Aaron's descendants in 1 Chronicles 6 names two men called Amariah, several generations apart:
Amariah son of Meraioth, father of Ahitub and grandfather of Zadok: "Meraioth was the father of Amariah, Amariah was the father of Ahitub" (1 Chronicles 6:7; see also 6:52).
Amariah son of Azariah, a later descendant in the same line, again the father of a son named Ahitub: "Azariah was the father of Amariah, Amariah was the father of Ahitub" (1 Chronicles 6:11).
The ancestry of Ezra the scribe includes "the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth" (Ezra 7:3). Ezra's list is shorter than the genealogy in Chronicles; the Amariah it names is, as in 1 Chronicles 6:11, the son of an Azariah.
Chief Priest under Jehoshaphat
When King Jehoshaphat appointed Levites, priests, and heads of families to judge in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 19:8), he told them: "Amariah, the chief priest, will be over you in all that pertains to the LORD" (2 Chronicles 19:11). Chronicles does not connect this chief priest with either Amariah of the genealogy.
Levites and Temple Officials
A Levite descended from Hebron son of Kohath, listed among "the sons of Hebron: Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second" (1 Chronicles 23:12, 19; 24:23).
One of the men who, under Kore son of Imnah the Levite, "faithfully distributed portions to their fellow priests in their cities" during the reforms of King Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 31:14-15, 20).
After the Exile
A priest among "the priests and Levites who went up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua" (Nehemiah 12:1-2). In the days of Joiakim, Jehohanan is listed as head of the priestly family of Amariah (Nehemiah 12:12-13).
A priest among those who sealed the covenant document in the time of Nehemiah the governor (Nehemiah 10:1, 3, 8).
A descendant of Bani, named among the men who had married foreign women (Ezra 10:34, 42, 44).
An ancestor of Athaiah, one of the descendants of Judah who settled in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11:4).
Ancestor of Zephaniah
The prophet Zephaniah is introduced as "son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah" (Zephaniah 1:1). The verse does not say whether this Hezekiah is the king of Judah.
Significance
The recurrence of Amariah among priestly and Levitical families reflects how names were handed down within those families; in 1 Chronicles 6 the sequence Amariah, Ahitub, Zadok appears twice (6:7-8, 11-12). Keeping the different men apart avoids reading the chief priest of Jehoshaphat's day, the Levites, and the returned exiles as a single figure.