Person Old Testament
Isshijah
Also known as Isshijah =ESV; Ishijah =NIV, KJV
Isshijah, a descendant of Harim, was among those who agreed to put away their foreign wives during Ezra's reforms. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Ezra 10:31.
Why it matters. Descendant of Harim; agreed to put away foreign wife.
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Isshijah
Isshijah is mentioned briefly in Ezr.10.31 as one of the descendants of Harim who had married foreign women. This occurred during the time of Ezra, who led a significant reform movement among the Jews who had returned from Babylonian exile.
Ezra discovered that many of the Israelites, including priests and Levites, had intermarried with the pagan peoples of the land, going against God's commands (Ezr.9.1-2). After Ezra's prayer of confession (Ezr.9.3-15), the people agreed to make a covenant to put away their foreign wives and children (Ezr.10.3).
Isshijah is listed among those who complied with this decision (Ezr.10.31). No other details are provided about his life or family. His inclusion in this list highlights the widespread nature of the intermarriage problem and the importance of the reforms Ezra initiated to restore obedience to God's law.
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.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
Ezra (1 verse)