Person Old Testament
Elishama
Elishama was the grandfather of Ishmael, who assassinated Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the Babylonians. Mentioned in 2 verses across 2 books, first at 2 Kings 25:25.
Why it matters. Grandfather of Ishmael, who assassinated Gedaliah.
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Elishama
Elishama is mentioned as the grandfather of Ishmael, a member of the royal family who assassinated Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the Babylonians over Judah after the fall of Jerusalem (2Ki.25.25; Jer.41.1). Ishmael was the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama. The Bible describes Elishama as being "of the royal family," indicating his connection to the Davidic line. Apart from this familial connection, no further details are provided about Elishama's life or role. His grandson Ishmael's actions led to political instability and the flight of many Judeans to Egypt, fearing Babylonian retaliation (2Ki.25.26; Jer.41.16-18).
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Children
- Nethaniah
Appears in Scripture
Named in 2 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.