Jachin

Jachin ("he establishes") is borne by several men in the Hebrew Scriptures and is also the name Solomon attaches to one of the two bronze pillars at the porch of the temple. The same consonantal name surfaces in a clan list from Simeon, in the rosters of post-exilic priests at Jerusalem, in the cycle of priestly courses appointed under David, and on the right-hand pillar of the temple itself. The four bearers should be kept distinct, since the name's recurrence has often been collapsed in popular reference.

Son of Simeon

Jachin appears among the six sons of Simeon listed at the descent into Egypt: "And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman" (Gen 46:10). The same six recur, with the same order, when the Levitical priesthood is being introduced and the genealogy of Aaron is anchored in Simeon's line: "And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman; these are the families of Simeon" (Ex 6:15).

By the second wilderness census, the family group derived from Jachin is counted as a recognised Simeonite subdivision: "The sons of Simeon after their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites" (Num 26:12). The Chronicler, working with a later list, drops Ohad and Zohar and substitutes the form Jarib for Jachin: "The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul" (1Ch 4:24). Jarib here is treated as the same person as Jachin under an alternate name.

The Pillar at the Porch

The second use of the name is given by Solomon to the south, or right-hand, pillar of the two free-standing bronze columns Hiram cast for the porch of the temple: "And he set up the pillars at the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Jachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz" (1Ki 7:21). The Chronicler reports the same naming when the building of the house is summarised: "And he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz" (2Ch 3:17). The pair is conventionally read as a sentence-name — Jachin, "he establishes," matched with Boaz, "in him is strength."

A Priest Who Returned from Exile

After the return from Babylon, a priest named Jachin is listed among the heads of priestly households who took up residence in Jerusalem. The Chronicler's roster of those who came back to live in the city begins, "And of the priests: Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib, Jachin" (1Ch 9:10). Nehemiah's parallel roster of Jerusalem inhabitants gives the same three names, with Joiarib in place of Jehoiarib: "Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin" (Neh 11:10).

Head of the Twenty-First Course

The fourth Jachin is the priest assigned by lot to the twenty-first of the twenty-four courses David organised for service at the sanctuary: "the one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul" (1Ch 24:17). This is a separate office-bearer from the post-exilic priest of the same name, though both stand within the broader Aaronic line organised by David.