Azrikam

Azrikam ("my help has arisen") is the name borne by four otherwise unconnected men in the Hebrew Bible: a postexilic descendant of David, a Benjaminite of the house of Saul, a Merarite Levite who heads a priestly genealogy in the rebuilt Jerusalem, and a court official slain in the reign of Ahaz. Each appears only briefly, almost always inside a list, but the four together cover roughly six centuries of Israel's history and three of its tribes.

Son of Neariah, in the Davidic Line After the Exile

The first Azrikam stands near the close of the Chronicler's genealogy of David. After tracing the kings down through Jehoiachin and into the postexilic generations, the list ends with the sons of Neariah: "And the sons of Neariah: Elioenai, and Hizkiah, and Azrikam, three" (1Ch 3:23). His placement registers the survival of the royal line into the period after the exile, even though no royal office is attached to his name.

Son of Azel, in the House of Saul

A second Azrikam belongs to the Benjaminite genealogy of Saul. Both of the Chronicler's parallel lists name him as the eldest of Azel's six sons: "And Azel had six sons, whose names are these: Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel" (1Ch 8:38), and again, "And Azel had six sons, whose names are these: Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan: these were the sons of Azel" (1Ch 9:44). The doubled record places this Azrikam in the line that runs from Jonathan and Merib-baal down to Azel.

A Merarite Levite Among the Returned Exiles

A third Azrikam is a Levite, named in the roll of those who lived in Jerusalem after the return. The Chronicler enters him as the grandfather of Shemaiah the son of Hasshub: "And of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari" (1Ch 9:14). Nehemiah's parallel list extends the same line one generation further back: "And of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni" (Ne 11:15). In both notices Azrikam stands as a link in the Merarite chain that secures Shemaiah's title to a place among the resident Levites of the restored city.

Governor of the House Under King Ahaz

The fourth Azrikam is an officer of the Judahite court in the days of Ahaz, killed in the Ephraimite invasion that the Chronicler records as a divine judgment on the apostate king: "And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the leader of the house, and Elkanah who was next to the king" (2Ch 28:7). The three victims fall in descending order of rank, the king's son first, the steward of the palace second, and the king's adjutant last; Azrikam's title, "leader of the house," marks him as the steward over Ahaz's royal household.