Person Old Testament
Mehetabel
Also known as Mehetabel =ESV, NIV; Mehetabeel =KJV
Mehetabel was an ancestor of Shemaiah, who opposed Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild Jerusalem's walls. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Nehemiah 6:10.
Why it matters. Ancestor of Shemaiah, who opposed Nehemiah.
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Mehetabel
Mehetabel is mentioned in the context of Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. Shemaiah, a man described as "the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel," was hired by Nehemiah's enemies, Sanballat and Tobiah, to intimidate Nehemiah and hinder the work on the wall. Shemaiah invited Nehemiah to meet with him in the temple and suggested that they close the doors, claiming that there was a plot to kill Nehemiah. However, Nehemiah perceived that Shemaiah was not sent by God and that his prophecy was intended to frighten Nehemiah and discredit him (Neh.6.10-13). Mehetabel's role in this narrative is limited to being mentioned as an ancestor of Shemaiah, providing context for Shemaiah's background and family lineage.
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
- Delaiah
Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
Nehemiah (1 verse)