Ginnethon

Ginnethon is a priest of the post-exilic restoration. He surfaces three times in Nehemiah — once as a signatory to the sealed covenant, once in the priest-roster of those who came up with Zerubbabel, and once as the named head of his father's house under Joiakim. The middle reference uses a variant spelling, Ginnethoi.

Sealing the Covenant

In the sealed-covenant list of Nehemiah's reform, Ginnethon is named among the priests who put their seal on the document: "Now those who sealed were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah" (Ne 10:1) — and, further down the priestly file, "Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch" (Ne 10:6). His name stands in a short three-name string in the priests' subsection of the signatory list.

Coming Up with Zerubbabel

In the priest-and-Levite roster of the first return, Ginnethon's name is given in the variant form Ginnethoi: "Now these are the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua" (Ne 12:1) — and, in the listing that follows, "Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah" (Ne 12:4). The variant spelling sits inside the same priestly file that the chapter sets up at verse 1.

Head of His Father's House Under Joiakim

The next-generation roster names the heads of the priestly houses in the days of Joiakim — "And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers' [houses]: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah" (Ne 12:12) — and continues, "of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam" (Ne 12:16). The pattern is "of [father's-house name], [current head]," so Ginnethon here functions as the eponymous head whose son Meshullam carries on the office.