Shemaiah (prophet)

Shemaiah was a prophet in the reign of Rehoboam (I Kings 12:22-24). He is venerated as a saint in the liturgical calendar of the Eastern Orthodox Church on January 8.

He is best known for two events:

Preventing Rehoboam from war with Jeroboam -- 1 Kings 12:22-24; 2 Chronicles 11:2-4;
Prophesying the punishment of Rehoboam by Shishak, king of Egypt—2 Chronicles 12:5,7

King Rehoboam had assembled 180,000 troops to forcefully bring back the ten rebellious tribes. Shemaiah was known as a "man of God", and prophesies in verse 24 that this thing is from the Lord, and they are not to go up against the Northern Tribes, so "Everyone returned to their own house".

v t e Prophets in the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament
Pre-Patriarchal	Abel^‡ Enoch^‡ Noah^‡ (in rabbinic literature)
Patriarchs / Matriarchs	Abraham Isaac Jacob Sarah
Israelite prophets in the Torah	Moses (in rabbinic literature) Aaron Miriam Eldad and Medad Phinehas
Mentioned in the Former Prophets	Joshua Deborah Gideon Samson Elkanah Hannah Abigail Samuel Gad Nathan David Solomon Jeduthun Ahijah Shemaiah Elijah Elisha Iddo Hanani Jehu Micaiah Jahaziel Eliezer ben Dodavah Zechariah ben Jehoiada Huldah
Major	Isaiah (in rabbinic literature) Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel^‡ (in rabbinic literature)
Minor	Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah (in rabbinic literature) Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi
Noahide	Beor Balaam Job (in rabbinic literature)
Other	Amoz Beeri Baruch Agur Uriah Buzi Mordecai Esther (in rabbinic literature) Ezra Nehemiah Ruth Oded Azariah
Italics indicate persons whose status as prophets is not universally accepted. ‡ indicates persons whose status as prophets is exclusive to Christianity.

See also