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Person Old Testament

Shaphan

Shaphan was the father of Jaazaniah, one of the seventy elders of Israel who were involved in idolatrous practices in the temple. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Ezekiel 8:11.

Why it matters. Father of Jaazaniah, an idolatrous worshipper

Primary passages
Last reviewed
2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team

About Shaphan

Shaphan, mentioned in Ezk.8.11, was the father of Jaazaniah, one of the seventy elders of Israel who were involved in idolatrous worship practices within the temple. In a vision given to the prophet Ezekiel, he sees these elders burning incense and engaging in abominable practices in a secret chamber of the temple. Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, is specifically named among these elders. This event highlights the spiritual decay and the prevalence of idolatry among the leaders of Israel, even within the sacred precincts of the temple. The mention of Shaphan as the father of Jaazaniah suggests that he may have been a well-known figure, possibly due to his own position or the significance of his family. However, the text does not provide any further details about Shaphan himself or his role in the events described in the vision.

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
Jaazaniah

Appears in Scripture

Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.

  • Ezekiel (1 verse)

    8:11

Record type: Person. FaithGraph explanations on this page are editorial and are not Scripture.