Geshem the Arabian

Last updated

Geshem the Arabian (or Geshem the Arab; Hebrew: גֶשֶׁם הָעַרְבִי) is an Arab man mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. He was an ally of Sanballat and Tobiah and adversary of Nehemiah (Neh. 2:19, 6:1). In Neh. 6:6 he is called "Gashmu," which is probably more correct, as an Arab tribe named "Gushamu" is known (Cook, "Aramaic Glossary," s.v. גשמו). When Nehemiah proceeded to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, the Samaritans and the Arabs made efforts to hinder him. Geshem or Gashmu, who probably was the chief of the Arabs, joined the Samaritans and accused Nehemiah of conspiracy against the Persian king.

Identification

Three sources possibly refer to the Geshem who opposed Nehemiah. A 5th-century B.C. Aramaic inscription from Egypt refers to a certain "Qaunu, the son Gashmu, the king of Kedar." [1] Kedar was one of the main Arab groups in this period. Moreover, both a contemporary account and a king list from Dedan mention Gashmu. If Nehemiah's "Geshem the Arab" was indeed a Kedarite king, his influence would have stretched from northern Arabia to include Judah.

Related Research Articles

The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible which formerly included the Book of Nehemiah in a single book, commonly distinguished in scholarship as Ezra–Nehemiah. The two became separated with the first printed rabbinic bibles of the early 16th century, following late medieval Latin Christian tradition. Composed in Hebrew and Aramaic, its subject is the Return to Zion following the close of the Babylonian captivity. Together with the Book of Nehemiah, it represents the final chapter in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book of Nehemiah</span> Book of the Bible

The Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, largely takes the form of a first-person memoir by Nehemiah, a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, concerning the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws (Torah).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra</span> Figure in early Jewish history

Ezra or Esdras, also called Ezra the Scribe in Chazalic literature and Ezra the Priest, was an important Jewish scribe (sofer) and priest (kohen) in the early Second Temple period. In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras. His name is probably a shortened Aramaic translation of the Hebrew name עזריהוAzaryahu, "Yah helps". In the Greek Septuagint the name is rendered Ésdrās, from which the Latin name Esdras comes.

Malachi, also known as Malachias, is the name used by the author of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) section of the Tanakh. According to the 1897 Easton's Bible Dictionary, it is possible that Malachi is not a proper name; because it simply means "messenger", many assume it to be a pseudonym. Jewish tradition claims that the real identity of Malachi is Ezra the scribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samaritans</span> Ethnoreligious group native to the Levant

Samaritans, also known as Israelite Samaritans, are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic ethnic religion similar to Judaism, but differing in several important aspects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samaria</span> Region of ancient Israel

Samaria is the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron, used as a historical and biblical name for the central region of Israel, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is known to the Palestinians in Arabic under two names, Samirah, and Mount Nablus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ishmaelites</span> Abrahamic tradition of tribal identity

The Ishmaelites were a collection of various Arab tribes, tribal confederations and small kingdoms described in Abrahamic tradition as being descended from and named after Ishmael, a prophet according to the Quran, the first son of Abraham and the Egyptian Hagar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah</span> Central figure of the biblical Book of Nehemiah

Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. He was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia.

The proper name Arab or Arabian has been used to translate several different but similar-sounding words in ancient and classical texts which do not necessarily have the same meaning or origin. The etymology of the term is closely linked to that of the place name Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qasr al-Abd</span> Building in Iraq al-Amir, Jordan

Qasr al-Abd is a large Hellenistic palace from the first quarter of the second century BCE. Most scholars agree it was built by the Tobiads, a notable Jewish family of the Second Temple period, although the descriptions doesn't mention that. Its ruins stand in modern-day Jordan in the valley of Wadi Seer, close to the village of Iraq Al-Amir, approximately 17 kilometers west of Amman.

Lihyan, also called Dadān or Dedan, was a powerful and highly organized ancient Arab kingdom that played a vital cultural and economic role in the north-western region of the Arabian Peninsula and used Dadanitic language. The Lihyanites ruled over a large domain from Yathrib in the south and parts of the Levant in the north.

Geshem may refer to:

Ezra–Nehemiah is a book in the Hebrew Bible found in the Ketuvim section, originally with the Hebrew title of Ezra. The book covers the period from the fall of Babylon in 539 BCE to the second half of the 5th century BCE, and tells of the successive missions to Jerusalem of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, and their efforts to restore the worship of the God of Israel and to create a purified Jewish community. It is the only part of the Bible that narrates the Persian period of biblical history.

According to the Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, Tobiah was an Ammonite official who attempted to hinder Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, and took over the storerooms of the Temple for his own use.

Sanballat the Horonite – or Sanballat I – was a Samaritan leader, official of the Achaemenid Empire, and contemporary of the Israelite prophet Nehemiah who lived in the mid-to-late 5th century BC. He and his family are mentioned in the contemporary Elephantine papyri and ostraca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yehud Medinata</span> Province of the Achaemenid Empire

Yehud Medinata, also called Yehud Medinta or simply Yehud, was an autonomous administrative division of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. It constituted a part of Eber-Nari and was bounded by Arabia to the south, laying along the frontier of the two satrapies. Spanning most of Judea—from the Shephelah in the west to the Dead Sea in the east—it was one of several Persian provinces in Palestine, together with Moab, Ammon, Gilead, Samaria, Ashdod, and Idumea, among others. It existed for just over two centuries before the Greek conquest of Persia resulted in it being incorporated into the Hellenistic empires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 4</span> Chapter from Nehemiah in the Old Testament

Nehemiah 4 is the fourth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 14th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter recounts how the Jews had to militarize the building of the wall due to the constant threat from their enemies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 6</span> Chapter in the Book of Nehemiah

Nehemiah 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 16th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter records the continuing opposition to Nehemiah from sources both external and internal.

References

  1. Retsö, Jan (2013). The Arabs in Antiquity: Their History from the Assyrians to the Umayyads. London, United Kingdom; New York City, United States: Routledge. p. 250. ISBN   978-1-136-87289-1.

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : E. G. H. M. Sel. (1901–1906). "Geshem the Arabian:". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls.