Person Old Testament
Shimshai
Shimshai was a scribe who, along with Rehum the commander, wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes opposing the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Mentioned in 4 verses across 1 book, first at Ezra 4:8.
Why it matters. Scribe who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Shimshai
Shimshai is mentioned in Ezr.4.8, 9, 17, and 23 as a scribe who, together with Rehum the commander, opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia. Shimshai and Rehum wrote a letter to the king, accusing the Jews of rebuilding the city and its walls, and claiming that this would lead to rebellion against the Persian Empire. In response to their letter, Artaxerxes ordered the work on the city to cease until further notice. Shimshai and Rehum, along with their associates, then went to Jerusalem and forcibly stopped the Jews from rebuilding the city. This opposition temporarily halted the reconstruction efforts until the reign of King Darius, who later allowed the Jews to resume their work on the temple and the city.
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 4 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.